One of six luxury SUVs offered by BMW, the X5 is the brand’s second-best seller (after the X3). Gas, hybrid, and performance variants are available, including the new X5 xDrive50i powered by a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. The specials from BMW vary by region and are set to expire on July 1, 2019. We’re not expecting additional changes before then. For our examples, these deals cover the western states. 2,750 APR credit for customers who finance their purchase with BMW Financial. The credit is applied against your final costs, saving you money. Also, if you are a recent college graduate, there is an additional incentive available to you. 1,000 college grad rebate with other offers, lowering your upfront costs accordingly. Check with your BMW dealer to confirm eligibility. BMW offers 4.29-percent APR financing for 60 months. The rate is down slightly this month, making BMW's financing offer more competitive than what we've seen. 5,154 due at signing. 872, which is high. BMW’s lease deals include 10,000 miles per year of driving allowance.
It’s a comfortable place to spend time, with good quality materials lining the cabin while the large windows serve to amplify a sense of space. The rear bench seats three with the middle passenger needing to tackle a low but wide transmission hump. Open the tailgate to reveal enough space for a dog or two - there’s actually a little more room than in an Audi Q7. Or, if you fold the seats flat, a plentiful 1,800-litres is yours. The trouble with an SUV is that, while they might offer loads of luggage space, you have to lug whatever heavy item up to the height of the boot before setting it down. Thankfully the Touareg can squat 40mm at the rear to aid loading, providing you opt for air suspension. There’s also an electric tow hook available if you need to pull up to 3.5 tonnes. How does it drive? We took the 3.0-litre V6 TDI for a spin, and despite the diesel who-ha, it’s still expected to be the best seller.
After a moment of spooling the turbo, the 282bhp engine pulls cleanly thanks to a healthy 443lb ft of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels with the aid of a silky smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox which subtly swaps cogs in the background, although sudden acceleration does catch it out at times. It's a tranquil drive with road noise being well suppressed, and only a little wind noise from the A-pillars intruding at motorway speeds. Selecting Comfort Mode keeps the steering light and our car’s air suspension supple enough to cushion the few road imperfections we could find on Austria’s smooth Tarmac. A more conclusive test on our broken British roads awaits, but we reckon it’ll acquit itself well. The car’s Adaptive Cruise Control and array of supporting systems are well worth a mention. With everything engaged the Touareg will keep you in your lane, maintain a safe distance from the car ahead and adjust to changing speed limits. It also uses GPS to slow the car for tight bends, junctions and roundabouts — clever stuff.
Around town the Touareg has another tech trick up its sleeve to make life with an SUV easier. If you want to push on in the Touareg you’ll want to select Sport Mode and take manual control of the gears via wheel mounted paddles. The transmission is responsive, quickly dispensing your selected ratio. When driving with a bit of vigour you can feel the Active Ride Control at work impressively reducing body roll and maintaining a sense of composure. There isn’t much interaction through the controls, but the all-wheel drive traction and ample grip makes for a confident drive. This car’s competency continues if you leave the road thanks to its clever all-wheel drive system and suspension that can raise 70mm giving it good ground clearance. It’s obviously no Land Rover Defender, and most will spend their lives climbing speed bumps instead of mountain passes, but it’s nice to know the car is capable should you need its services one day. There’s also a dedicated snow mode which will be music to the ears of those who got caught up in the UK’s latest bout of the white stuff.
