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AutoExpress reviews the new BMW X5 and focuses on the comfort that the vehicle offers. After looking at the various components, they are convinced that this car is better than most of its competitors. Read why on this excerpt below:
The X5 has always had impressive handling for a car of its size, and the new model continues the trend. All new X5s will be fitted as standard with BMW’s Driving Experience Control, a toggle switch that lets the driver switch between Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Eco Pro modes.
Comfort really is comfortable, bringing to the X5 a fluidity and level of bump absorption that simply wasn’t present in the old version. Even in Sport mode (Sport+ has the same level of damper stiffness but dials out the assistance from the ESP and traction control) this new X5 has a level of comfort that would have been utterly alien to its predecessor. Unfortunately that means it can’t match the steering feel and chassis responses of its predecessor.
The electrically-boosted steering has a lovely weighty feel to it, but it fails to transmit precisely what the front tyres are up to. As the cornering forces build, things improve, and there’s still a level of agility only the Porsche Cayenne can beat and the Range Rover Sport can equal. But it’s still not quite the drivers’ car it was.
These things are relative though and the X5 will still dance rings around the Audi Q7 and Mercedes ML-Class. The fact that BMW has dialled down the dynamics slightly and upped the comfort levels shows they are fully aware of this car’s target customers – people who want a safe, high-riding SUV with an alluring badge on the bonnet. If a customer want to set lap times, they’ll buy an M3, if they need something to drive around the farm, they’ll buy a Land Rover anyway.
Verdict
The all-new X5 is now more handsome than before, better-built and more refined to drive. The 3.0-litre straight-six diesel remains at the top of the class for refinement and punch and the cabin is spacious, classy and superbly comfortable. In search of a more supple ride and improved on-road manners, it’s marginally less sharp than it once was, but it’s unlikely core customers will notice the change. It’s a successful update then that puts the new X5 neck-and-neck with the more expensive Range Rover Sport.
