BMW X5, fast but does it handle?

 

BMW Richard wrote: Yes it is in estoril blue

Good man.. only way to go..

We looked at the 4.6is.. lovely - they're nicely priced now that the facelift 4.8 is out but it made more sense for us to go diesel and new for our commuter as we didn't need 2 performance beemers. That said - had BMW got the finger out with the twin turbo unit then we would have had that to be fair... new spec D seems to pull nicely and return v.good. Was tempted to chip but really there's no need.

3.0D is serene - 4.6 brings different and new talents to the table. I think the sport suspension set-up is largely the same except yours will ride on 20s from what I recall which I just couldn't warrant speccing.

Have noted our interest for replacement X6 in 3yrs time - hopefully they stick to the 2-door coupe layout and offer up the bigger diesel engines to boot..

Not Estoril by any chance? the best X5 colour IMHO.

Peter Fenwick wrote: well if they're as reliable as my mates Discovery then no thanks.

not to mention their amazing ability to rust out in no time, especially that back door

 

and clealry I'm biased as you can guess...

stephenperry wrote: ive driven some lesser 4x4s in the past - discovery.... land rover 110....range rover... ford maverick...  these jeeps (i wince at having to call them cars) all had one thing in common - roly poly handling with a high centre of gravity, makes me feel very uncomfortable, i much prefer being in contact with ye olde terra-firma, the closer to it the better

Agree with you on most SUVs Stevie but the X5 with sports dampers etc rolls less than most family saloons I've been in.. no.. really! It's surreal ad if you can get down for a southern meet you can jump in ad see what ya think..

ive driven some lesser 4x4s in the past - discovery.... land rover 110....range rover... ford maverick...

these jeeps (i wince at having to call them cars) all had one thing in common - roly poly handling with a high centre of gravity, makes me feel very uncomfortable, i much prefer being in contact with ye olde terra-firma, the closer to it the better

i don't mind admitting that "green-laning" is something that would terrify me, all these massive lumbering behemoths titled over at crazy angles and navigating down sheer drops, and all at walking pace too, but yet give me a car and an open track and ill happily drive the wheels off it without any kind of fear - strange eh?

Edited by stephenperry

I can't yet comment what the big X is like at the limit but AFAIK the sport suspension (inc. active dampers) makes a massive difference given the mass of the thing. When hiring one point-to-point the culmination of diesel torque and completely planted chassis allowed me to easily stay with an E46 on some back raods and on a dampish day. The experience is quite surreall: In sport-trim it corners amazingly flat, with virtually no roll and the front shows amazing reluctance to wash out.. at limit it's even supposed to show a tendency to oversteer on lift or limit.. as shown by Tiff on 5th Gear.

In fact I've seen them going round roundabouts faster than you'd dare normally,... a combination of 4wd, fancy electrics and active dampers. Of course entry speed is everything.. That said you can't cheat the laws of physics but relatively speaking the X5 is a better handler than many other beemers (particuarly older models) when you take into account size, weight and cog. Given the example you gave it's no surprise the X5 struggled but over a range of handling disciplines I'm sure you might rethink. It's no sport car but it's a lot of fun..

Ok they're not that eco but in diesel form they're not the worst culprits either - the fact that they're bonkers is what makes them appealing.. and I see them as no less excessive as uber audis or Jap 4wd banzai machines.. 4wd adds another level of grip, traction and stability which in Scotland is a huge plus. However owners don't tend to hare about in them but instead waft with a smug smile..

Not sure if it's fair to slag off other models and it simply comes across as a case of the green eye guys.. It's a bit like in the school playground.. having spent years being picked on, as an E36 owner, from E30 owners, are you now looking for the fat kid to bully.. come on.. he'll squash you..

Edited by M BLUR

Jolly good show, I hate X5's - we should all be driving hydrogen powered Smart cars anyway

Edited by phb10186

Well on a slightly tenuously unrelated subject, we had a Range Rover parked in our car park last night. Sorry, I meant randomly aimed in the direction of several spaces. Now either the owner is either a) utterly incompetent at driving, or b) arrogant in the extreme by taking up several spaces. The shame of it is that the Range Rover is a very nice vehicle, a bit big granted, but an engineering masterpiece nonetheless. The fact that such an enormous vehicle could quite happily climb various mountains only amazes me further. So why oh why do people feel the need to buy such devices and drive around city centres in them?

From what I've heard about the X5 with a few subtle mods it does indeed handle very well, never going to be a sports saloon with the ride height but with stiffened springs it improves things no end. Perhaps the driver in your case Peter was suffering from a bit of a) above.