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BMW didn’t have much competition in 2000 when it dropped the sleek, fun X5 into a stodgy SUV market. Seven years later, the Audi Q7 is more car-like, the Cayenne Turbo is faster, the Mercedes GL has more functional space, and all are plush. Never seriously eclipsed were the BMW’s looks or dynamic prowess, so the all-new 2007 X5 expands on its strong suits and moves to meet the other challenges with expanded cargo space and a first-ever third row of seats.

The X5 is taller than a Jeep Grand Cherokee and weighs nearly as much as a Chevy Tahoe, but BMW buyers still want a vehicle that drives like a BMW. The X5 has always had some of the sprightliest footwork of the luxo-utes, and BMW claims to have stepped it up big time with the new model. The new suspension configuration reads like a spec sheet for a proper sports car: Unequal-length control arms in front, and a multilink independent rear, with optional active damping (Electronic Damping Control) and variable rate roll stiffness (Active Roll Stabilization) on Sport Package–equipped vehicles. This layout is obviously better equipped for switchbacks than the Rubicon, but the last time we saw an X5 or Cayenne off-pavement was at a fruit stand.

An alphabet soup of technology upgrades.

The coordination of Electronic Damping Control and Active Roll Stabilization is handled by AdaptiveDrive, a system that promises superior dynamic control without any penalty in ride. The system works by processing data from numerous sensors to control body motion and magnetically-controlled damper valving. Press the Sport button on the center console and a different handling map will shore up the footwork with more aggressive valving and anti-roll bar settings. If you’re going to spend this much on a vehicle, the extra $3600 for the Sport Package strikes us as a no-brainer. It also includes 19-inch wheels and tires, special trim, and paint.

FlexRay, an in-car data transmission protocol that’s about twenty times faster than comparable systems, gets its world debut in the new Sport Package–equipped X5s. Developed with a large consortium of companies including DaimlerChrysler, GM, and VW, FlexRay has a bandwidth of 10 Mbit/second, or about 200 billion floating-point operations per second, enabling speedy communication of greater numbers of data points between the sensors and processors that facilitate active systems like safety, collision avoidance, powertrain management, and suspension. This means faster and more accurate response while leaving enough free bandwidth to download illicit copies of Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

As stiff as a race car.

Albert Biermann, the X5 Project Manager, was also project manager for the M3 GTR race car that handily gutted the Porsche 911 in ALMS GT racing in 2001, so when someone of his credentials is excited by a vehicle’s dynamics, we listen. The X5’s chassis is stiffer than the outgoing model by 15 percent, and according to Mr. Biermann, stiffer than the fully caged and seam-welded factory E30 M3 race cars he worked on in the 1980s. High-strength and ultra-high-strength steels are used liberally, and trick bits like cast aluminum strut tower tops and a triangulated strut tower brace do much for rigidity. Biermann is also proud of the stuff you’ll never see, like the carrier for the instrument panel, which is a light, stiff one-piece magnesium casting.

Active Steering is an option on Sport Package X5s, but it’s a system we weren’t terribly impressed with in the 5-series, so we see no reason to stray from the fine standard rack and pinion.

We don’t imagine brake fade being much of an issue with 13.7-inch front, and 13.6-inch rear brake rotors on the 4.8i and 13.1-inch front, 12.6-inch rear rotors in the 3.0si; the outgoing X5 stopped from 70 mph in just 164 feet. Flog your X5 at a lapping day and rest assured that the Brake Fade Compensation system can step in as needed, as can Brake Standby and Brake Drying.

Two familiar engine options.

Gone is the 4.4-liter engine option, leaving the carryover 350-horsepower Valvetronic V-8 in the 4.8i, and the 260-horsepower 3.0si powered by BMW’s sublime aluminum-and-magnesium inline-six that debuted in the 2006 330i. BMW claims 6.4 seconds to 60 mph with the V-8 and 7.8 seconds with the I-6. The attached six-speed transmission has been significantly revised, and BMW claims shifting speeds of up to 50-percent quicker than a conventional automatic. The transmission is able to skip gears while downshifting, and the torque converter now locks up at lower speeds for more efficient operation.

Transmission management has gone electronic, dumping the bulky mechanical lever for an electronic gear selector toggle similar to the M5 and M6. It seems a bit dainty for the platform, but opens up the console for afterthoughts like cup holders (“it vill hold ze Big Gulp,” we are assured). An electronic parking brake further frees up space, and adds an electronic hill-hold function. BMW’s full-time xDrive all-wheel-drive underpins both models, offering a standard and sporty 40/60 front-to-rear split, although this rate is variable via a computer-controlled, electronically clutched center differential.

Should you somehow outsmart the Dynamic Stability Control and its safety minions—ABS, Automatic Stability Control, Hill Descent Control, Dynamic Brake Control, Cornering Brake Control or the Automatic Differential Brake system—and get into an accident, crush zones, high-strength steels, the “stable passenger cell,” and standard frontal, hip/thorax, and curtain airbags will do their thing.

The new X5 has packed on the pounds.

Even with the extensive use of special steels, magnesium, and plastics, the new X5 is kind of a porker; that the original X5 was substantially lighter than the Porsche Cayenne parlayed into a superior driving experience for some.

Although the growth of posted unladen curb weights, 4982 pounds for the 3.0si and 5335 pounds for the more heavily-optioned 4.8i, seems substantial (an increase of 200 to 500 pounds), BMW claims this a result of a growing options list and testing methodology, and that a comparably equipped new model is only about seventy pounds heavier than the outgoing model. We’ll weigh one and let you know.

BMW is proud of the X5’s low drag coefficient (0.34 for the 3.0si and 0.35 for the 4.8i), and relates that the rear spoiler, and even the shape of the rear taillights, which were tweaked for efficiency. Adaptive xenon headlights are assisted by new fog lights that feature a movable reflector that illuminate the path of travel as dictated by steering angle—helpful on mountain roads and speeding through housing developments alike.

The X5’s restyle is not a large departure from the original. A thankfully un-bungled Bangle, the new body is a bit sexier, employing more pronounced wheel arches, a more intricately surfaced front end, and muscular rear haunches. Both lightweight and pedestrian friendly, the hood is made of aluminum and the fenders from thermoplastic. Time was well spent reducing visual mass through the use of matte black plastics in the nether regions and bumpers, as the new X5 is 7.4 inches longer and 2.4 inches wider.

A first-ever third row makes room for seven.

The greater exterior dimensions are reflected in the interior, which grows to accommodate more flesh and cargo. According to BMW, the options list on the new X5 is not unlike that on a 7-series, with “Personalization” the catch word. We are barraged by interior options, including four trim packages on the 3.0si, three on the 4.8i, and three distinct leather options. The excellent interior has been visually simplified with a dashboard borrowed from the new 5-series, and exhibits a more Zen elegance less dependent on stretches of burl to convey richness. Eco-friendly trim options like Poplar and Bamboo are available at no charge. A neat piece of engineering is the glove box, whose door splits horizontally in the middle and retracts into the dashboard.

Finally allowing the X5 to compete in the chic Mom segment is the optional 3rd row seat, which folds flat into the cargo floor when not in use. It expands available passenger capacity by two, but those people had better be thinner than the average American, and short to boot—press materials suggest “adequate space for occupants up to approximately 5’6” in height.” The extra space in the cargo floor was found by ditching the spare tire and installing runflat tires, a first for the segment and found on the 18-inch and optional 19- or 20-inch wheels. Order the 20s and you’ll find 315/35R-20 monsters tucked under the rear fenders.

iDrive is here to stay.

iDrive is standard in the X5 on all models. The third evolution of iDrive offers basic functionality that should have been there in the first place: complete control over oft-used functions via redundant, standard interfaces. Good old buttons and ***** are on the center console to for radio and climate control.

The best feature of the revised iDrive is a set of 6 programmable memory keys that double as standard radio preset keys. Touch, rather than depress, any of these keys, and you can dial a phone number, access preprogrammed radio stations, audio settings, a preset navigation location, or any other iDrive function that before required a jig with the Wheel of Frustration. We hear a completely revised iDrive may appear on the 2008 7-series similar to Audi’s MMI (Multi Media Interface).

The iDrive LCD display, mounted at the top of the center console, also carries the image from the rear camera when so optioned, and if you spring for the Park Distance Control, sonar will help you back out of tight or dark spaces, even suggesting a path via an overlaid, 3-dimensional, color-coded map that warns of obstacles.

Voice activation comes only with the navigation option, priced at $1900, or as part of the $2600 Technology Package that also includes a rearview camera, park distance control, and a lifetime subscription to realtime traffic information. While an $1800, 16-speaker, HD Radio-ready, 600-watt premium sound option exists, we imagine the standard 12-speaker system that includes subs under both front seats suffices. And yes, the X5 is iPod compatible.

If your daily carpool includes multiple menopausal companions, you might consider the optional new rear climate package that includes 4-zone automatic control. Further optional interior geekery includes a heads-up display offering information like vehicle speed and navigational prompts.

Much improved behind the wheel.

Where technology is concerned, a lot can change in seven years. It’s clear from even just a brief drive that the new X5 has much-improved dynamic conduct. Gone is the sudden jumpiness of the old car’s responses to steering and road surfaces. The new control-arm front suspension has equalized the X5’s roll axes at each axle, colluding with the adaptive shocks and active roll control system to provide a ride that is unusually flat, yet with superbly arrested ride motions. A drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains in persistent rain quickly revealed how sure-footed this new X5 is. The car turned in with pleasing accuracy, and clung to the driver’s line well beyond the point one might have expected it to push wide, given the wet and leaf-strewn surfaces. But even with the stability system disabled, the X5 could not be persuaded to slide the rear end. We tried every trick we know to provoke a tail slide while on BMW’s test track, but the X5 responded with no more than increasing understeer. It also exhibited great stability and stubborn resistance to yaw in slippery conditions. As enthusiasts, we’re always hoping for more neutrality, but, then again, it’s an SUV.

Although the active steering system proved to be a real boon during tight maneuvers, we still preferred the more linear responses from the standard steering gear. But we’ll be the first to admit that most of BMW’s customers would probably enjoy the very quick and easy low-speed steering benefits of the active system.

But even the new shift-by-wire gear selector has added to the enjoyment of driving the car, allowing fast manual shifts with just a short nudge of the lever. Our biggest complaint regarding this new X5 relates—as usual with BMWs—to the ergonomics. That shifter tempts some drivers to select Park by bumping it forward, whereupon it selects reverse. As with all modern BMWs, the turn signal stalk lacks detents, and you have to learn exactly the right pressure required to cancel the signals without a whole series of left-right-left overshoot selections. The good news is that even more functions have been pulled from the dreaded iDrive’s evil clutches in the new X5. If people were smitten by the previous X5, they ought to love the new one.

 
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Pictures

 
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You Tube - 2007 New BMW X5 promotional video

 
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very nice SUV im thinking of buying one before february. I think they are very beautiful cars.

 
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very nice
id take it over the benz suv hands down