Photo by Mario James
The 2008 BMW X5 available at Stewart Motors for $10.7 million.
Mario James, Gleaner Writer
WHENEVER AN entity gets really good at the things it produces, it hits a wall built by its very popularity. People like underdogs, and many in the buying public need variety. Status symbols and the like aside, cars and their manufacturers fall into this trap as well.
For example, Toyota's biggest problem is its own success. The more success is achieved, the more significant the number of people who are turned off by your brand.
For a niche manufacturer, though, it is a little different. BMW's range is not for everyone; the luxury car manufacturer has pigeonholed a special clientele, and has hung its hat on building vehicles with a performance swagger. As such, the quantity of products the manufacturer moves is not that great, with total production around a million cars a year. They do not have to please all the people all the time, and so they can afford to build a car like the X5.
BMW markets the X5 as the ultimate SUV. It hasn't always been so, though. Released in 1998, the X5's answer to all-wheel traction was called X-Drive, and it was one of those ideas that was a good concept, in the lab. Using a computer to control a 'power divider' that gave the system the capability to control the amount of torque sent to either axle was a good idea in theory. And for tarmac-driving dynamics, it worked very well. But, in off-road conditions, the vehicle was less than stellar, with conventional mechanical practice being able to get the better of it. The slowness of the earlier system coupled with a portly weight of nearly 5,000lb made for a platform that was somewhat unwieldy off-road.
Revised system
But the system has now been revised. BMW went back to the drawing board and did two things; it networked the computers that govern the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), ABS and X-Drive systems, and added torque vectoring to the X-Drive repertoire. This last bit is important, for it allows the car to vector more than 90 per cent of torque to any one of the four wheels. Interesting times were ahead!
The Teutons are nothing if not thorough, and the vehicle is very well turned out. X5 has the lines of an edgy Picasso masterpiece; it has the aura of Lee Haney's flexed biceps. The interior has all the space, panache and splendour of a room at the RIU, but condensed to seven seats and a lot of glass. Supple leather combines with long-sweeping shapes and a lovely feeling dash that I-Drive has left uncluttered to give its owner a place of airy tranquillity. There is really enough space for one to relax in this thing. The model we tested came with two TV screens (front and rear) as well as independent DVD players. So children of the well-heeled won't be asking, "Are we there yet?" too much.
2000 rpm
Our Clydesdale this week was equipped with a straight six 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, which vaults the X5 to 100 km/h in 8.1 seconds. It has 235 hp at 4,000 rpm and a stump pulling 383lb ft of torque! More importantly, this massive mountain of twist is available from 2,000 rpm!
The vehicle abounds with useful user-tech. The parking assist is the best this tester has used; it tells the driver graphically where the obstructions are, as well as audibly. The graphic is most intuitive, with green, yellow then red boundary lines indicating closeness of the object and the angle at which it approaches relative to the front and rear bumper. Also, when reverse is selected, the wing mirrors angle downwards, so the rear wheels can be seen. It is thoughtful touches like this that endear a vehicle to its owner and add pleasurably to the driving experience.
Programmable buttons
I-Drive has been further refined with the addition of several programmable buttons on the dashboard, which can be mapped to favourite functions. Non proprietary bluetooth communications are now available as well.
Automotives wanted to test the new system on the Palisadoes sands, but I was solo; no amount of coercing would change the minds of The Gleaner's 'dig out team'. (this is not to say that the X5 was incapable in the sand; just that yours truly didn't want to find out alone!). So we drove into the hills of St Andrew, and were pleasantly surprised. The gear selector for the six-speed Steptronic-equipped slushbox is strictly a drive by wire piece; there is no quadrant or gate ... it is more like a joystick than a gear selector.
Romping on the throttle resulted in a surging, kicking acceleration that was akin to being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. But the torque falls off too quickly before the up shift to second as drive-line management pulled fuel from the rail to effect a smooth shift.
In its element
We scooted up Red Hills Road, passed the square and on to Coopers Hill. there, the big Bimmer was in its element. This is a picturesque location, and the surroundings combined with the atmosphere inside the X5 to create a surrealistic feeling, a sense of oneness, of rightness with the world. There were places along that road that made one forget that he was in a civilised place.
But nature boy was brought quickly back to terra firma by the jauntiness that is Rock Hall, and the SUV was turned through 180 degrees to head down towards Parkes Road. This is a serious 'B' road that has somehow survived the onslaught of hurricanes Ivan and Dean, and it is in decent condition, but is fraught with more twists and turns than varicose veins. Automotives was expecting body roll and under-steer to be the order of the day in such a top-heavy vehicle, but the combination of superb programming and networked computers extended the limits of this vehicle beyond mine.
Under power and with nearly 400lb ft on top, DSC would not allow the rear to become unstuck or the front to plow. X5 just hooked and went where it was pointed, no drama, no fuss. Adaptive ride control, a progressive, real-time play on how stiff the suspension is and at which corners of the car are affected kept body roll to an absolute minimum; this wundervagen defies the laws of physics!
No cause for concern
The ride is typical German luxo-sedan, firm without being harsh. The brakes are also otherworldly, for even repeated panic stops from high knots coming down Parkes Road's famous 'corkscrew' were no cause for concern, no fade at all was encountered, and they were extremely 'modulateable'. Trail work though was the X5's forte. The chassis was put through some very challenging paces, including a situation that left the SUV tottering on two wheels, diagonally opposed. Like the ad says, the 'power is transferred from the wheels that slip to those which grip!' The system did this in reverse, under power, and in sandy/muddy conditions. It took everything Automotives threw at it, and asked for more!
Complexity
This tester is not a BMW fan. But the extensive refinement that is endemic to this particular brand cannot be denied. However, all these electronic aids (Automotives has heard from BMW top brass that there are as many as 70 computers in BMW cars nowadays) contribute to the vehicles complexity, and one wonders about the longevity such a vehicle will have in a clime that it wasn't really designed for. Sales manager for the BMW group, Heinz Meyer, has intimated that the group stands behind all its new products with a three-year sixty-thousand-kilometre BMW Service and Repair Inclusive plan that comes with new vehicles and operates in parallel with the two-year unlimited mileage warranty.
Additional coverage can also be purchased (rather expensively) as the vehicle ages. Given the sophistication of today's BMW, you might need it!
