Big SUVs have a very prominent place in modern society. In the U.S. of A., they’re the chosen set of wheels for the Soccer Mom, because most have seven seats. In Europe, they’re bought because they figure amongst the safest cars on the road. Well, that and the fact they can take the entire family with luggage to a country home during holidays.
India’s very different. SUVs are bought here as a statement. Apart from the few buyers that actually use all the seats on a regular basis, most just have a chauffeur and a rather posh passenger hidden away somewhere on the back seat. They’ve nearly become a replacement for the luxury saloon.
And that brings us neatly onto the BMW X5 – a car that has to feel like BMW while being a big SUV. Does it? That’s what we’re here to find out. What we have here is the facelifted version of the second-generation X5, which came out way back in 2006. The facelift has given it the all-important LED daytime running lamps and some other clever and useful features.
The looks wont exactly set your soul on fire, but they are quite pleasing, especially in Bronze, in twilight, with the LEDs on. And even I will admit that it is proportioned very well.
But the looks, the ride quality, equipment level, boot space and third row of seats are the additions. The meat of any BMW is how it drives, so without further ado and all that…. In the city, the throttle feels a little abrupt.
Even the slightest bit of input will result in proportional output. It does take a bit of getting used to its responsiveness. But once you do, you find yourself driving more precisely. The steering is well weighted and is festooned with many useful and interesting buttons.
But it’s huge – the size of an elephant’s face. I have relatively large hands and even they looked small whilst holding the wheel. And while the interior is fantastically built, it doesn’t feel as good as some of its rivals. On paper it’s a seven-seater, but the last row is a little too cramped for anything other than short journeys. So it’s best to fold the last row down and make full use of the massive boot.
But forget the city. This is still a BMW. Let’s see what it can do when the going gets twisty. A friend recommended Malshej Ghat, which is a beautiful mountain road outside Mumbai. The first 25 kms were on a smooth flowing highway and this car revealed its Range Rover associations. After all, this car was designed and engineered by BMW when they still owned Land Rover.
It soaks up bumps of all shapes and sizes while maintaining perfect composure. And while you get the feeling that you are in complete control, you also appreciate the extent of its predictability — after five minutes of highway driving I knew exactly where its limits were in terms of grip, power and braking. And since every millimetre of input has a specific output, you’ll learn very soon that it does not like to be over-driven.
And then we reached a ribbon of smooth, twisting tarmac. This is BMW’s home turf. And it didn’t disappoint. There’s very little body roll for something of this size and weight. At no point in those 27 kilometres on that twisting road did I once back off because I was in an SUV. Well done on the dynamics BMW. My only dynamic complaint is of the brakes. They stop alright but the ABS and EBD kick in a lot sooner than you’d like. This robs you of a little bit of the feel that BMWs are known for.
On to the verdict. Does it drive as well as BMW’s saloons? No. It’s not even close to a 3 Series. But it’s vastly better to drive than other SUV of comparable price. But at 80 lakh (ex-showroom), it’s certainly not cheap. Buy it if you want the driving experience.
