SUVs began life as trucks. Trucks are bouncy and push a lot of air, which requires a lot of gas, and they're hard to maneuver. No fun. So SUV makers with sports car genetics, such as BMW and Porsche, have tried to marry fun driving with truck utility. The BMW X5 is a V8-powered SUV aimed to provide the driving fun of a sport sedan. A mid-size luxury SUV, the first X5 was introduced for the 2000 model year. It was a trim-looking, tightly handling, tall-riding wagon. We drove this model with its 4.4-liter engine several thousand miles. It was short on utility, which is these days described as the ability to carry bikes and boards (sand, surf, sail, skate and snow), which the original short X5 could barely accommodate. In fact, it had less cargo space than a 5 Series wagon. A bigger BMW X5 would better meet the requirements of luxury SUV buyers, more in line with SUVs from Cadillac, Mercedes, Acura, Audi, and Volvo. For 2007, BMW stretched the X5 seven inches, while preserving its ability to handle well and be nearly as fun to drive as BMW's sport sedans.
BMW also expanded the height and width of the wagon two inches each dimension. This bigger X5 is known as the second-generation X5, same name, bigger body. A BMW X5 adds a dimension to its intended tasks, traveling to places where active, fun sports take place, for example. Instead of hauling equipment and gear, the X5 gives sensitive automotive connoisseurs the top equipment they want to enjoy the activity of driving as much as possible. That's why BMW is trying to get its SUVs to be called SAVs, for sport activity vehicle. In other words, it's better for driving than hauling. This is not the wagon you fill with mulch for the garden and lumber to finish the basement. This is the car you take to the resort, and enjoy the drive, no matter the weather. Powerful, smooth engines propel the X5 and exhilarate the driver with quick reflexes. Handling is intuitive, like a sculpted water ski, and ride is supple, like a freshly adjusted and tuned full-suspension titanium Merlin mountain bike. If you enjoy the sport of driving, you'll like the dynamics of the X5 every bit as much as the nimble old X5.
If you drove every mid-size SUV on the planet to the most trendy restaurant or club in town, the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5 would get parked up front. Valets have a duty to pay attention to this styling stuff, since it identifies the likeliest over-tippers. The Range Rover Sport is also a contender in this status contest. The latest technology and design guarantee this treatment. Some of that technology includes super-bright xenon headlights that turn with the steering wheel. Cargo space is five cubic feet larger than that of the Cadillac SRX, and 11 cubic feet larger than that of the Volvo XC90. Rear legroom in the BMW is the same as that in the Volvo and a few inches less than the space in the Cadillac, which is the longest luxury SUV at more than 194 inches. Although the X5 has all-wheel drive and is considered an SUV, it has no low-range for its four-wheel-drive system and it rides as close to the ground as other luxury SUVs which is around eight inches. So we'd keep it on the road, not off. Snowstorms are okay, sand dunes are not.
