UK Press Event, Goodwood

We had a brief look around Goodwood House, the evening before we drove the X5. We had a quick insight into the history of the place, it was all very interesting but way too complicated to try and explain. But contrary to popular belief, the Head of the Family is The Duke of Richmond and not the Earl of March, who is the Duke’s son. Explaining about the X5 is probably simpler.

If you were to park the old and new X5 a few metres away from you, you wouldn’t see much difference between the two versions. But when you get up close it becomes apparent that a fair amount has changed. The exterior contours have changed quite a lot, as you would expect with a new platform. The trade mark kidney grille is larger; it also now has air intakes and air deflectors on the front wings that are called Aero Curtains and Air Breathers which ensure air passes over the wheels with minimum of disturbance. It has Air Blades, which work with the rear spoiler to smooth airflow around the car.

This new X5 is the 3rd Generation. The first generation was launched globally in 1999 and the second in 2007. There have been one or two modest facelifts in between the generations too. BMW on average have produced 5,500 per annum in the UK. 

BMW claim they invented the concept of the Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), although no doubt other manufacturers would also make this claim too. But there is no doubt that BMW are global market leaders in this segment.

With the new X5 come some new engines that are more fuel efficient and lower Co2 emissions. The most popular will undoubtedly be the 3.0 litre six cylinder 30d that produces 258hp and goes from 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds with a top speed, where permitted, of 142mph. It has a combined fuel consumption figure of 45.6mpg, and the Co2 emissions for this engine have dropped by 33g/km and are now down at 162g/km for the SE trim. 

Having said that we did not get chance to drive a version with this engine on the launch, for one simple reason; there weren’t any to drive. The only version built for the launch program was the M50d. In this state of tune the engine produces 381hp, goes from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds and has a Co2 figure of 177g/km. It was a shame the 30d is not yet on the UK fleet, but no doubt we will get chance to drive it at some point in the future, once production is up and running.

For the first time BMW are now offering the X5 in rear wheel drive form as well as the established 4x4 system. This version will be called the X5 sDrive, as opposed to xDrive. This is only available with the new lower powered 4 cylinder engine, known as the 25d, although the 25d can be specified with xDrive too. In sDrive form BMW believes it will account for around 5% of sales. Looking at the performance figures it will clearly appeal to the more cost conscious X5 buyer. The engine has 218hp, produced Co2 emissions of 149g/km and turns in 50.4mpg on the combined cycle. It has a top speed of 137 mph and sprints 0 - 62 in 8.2 seconds.

There are so many features on the X5, it is impossible to list them all. The car is full of technology, safety, comfort features and just oozes quality throughout. To give you a flavour of the equipment on offer, it now has an option of a colour Head-Up display. This shows the Satellite Navigation, your speed and a whole host of other data, it is a really nice option. The suspension setting can be changed at the push of a button and can be tailored to suit the driver or passengers on a variety of road surfaces. All models now have start stop to help reduce fuel consumption. A seven seat version is still available as an option. It also retains a split tailgate with the upper part having automatic operation as standard. The list of features and options really is endless.

We drove the 50d on the motorways on the South Coast, around Bognor Regis and across the South Downs, a very pleasant area to test a new car with some spectacular scenery. The new X5 is such a great car to drive; you do feel king of the road, so high up, so comfortable, so quiet, and so refined. It was a real pleasure to sit behind the wheel, and just enjoy yourself. You are surrounded by wood and leather and everything about the X5 is pure luxury and such high quality throughout.

After the road route around Hampshire and Sussex, it was time to take the X5 with xDrive off road and where better to do it than back on the Goodwood Estate. The course was fairly tame but it did give us chance to get these shiny new cars dirty. We went up and down some fairly steep, slippery surfaces, through a couple of inches of mud and down some narrow wooded lanes, with some tight corners with not much room for error. The xDrive coped easily in all conditions and you did feel safe and secure, with hardly any loss of traction and no slipping at all. The X5 proved it is an off roader. But you have to wonder just how many owners will take it off road or have any idea of its capabilities. The nearest many will get to going off road, is a trip down their long gravel driveway.

The new X5 is available as an M50d, as per the version we drove, and also SE or M Sport. It will have two design packages as alternatives to the standard specification to allow maximum personalisation. They are called ‘Design Pure Experience’ and ‘Design Pure Excellence’, confused? So was I along with most of the others attending the launch. BMW describe the packages as: 

‘They include a blend of design, colours and materials. The exterior and interior parts of these designs packages can be ordered as a total package or independently and can be combined with standard specification or with each other’.

Does that make it clearer? I was still lost.

Prices for this brilliant new X5 start from £42,590 (OTR) for the 25d in SE sDrive form, and up to £63,715 (OTR) for M50d. But the one to have is the xDrive30d M sport, which costs from £47,895 (OTR).

Describing how good the new X5 is and the list of standard equipment and options, is very difficult. Maybe writing about the history of Goodwood House and the family might have been easier after all.

Martin Ward, Manufacturer Relationship Manager