Subscribe to RSS
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join us for:

Unsubscribe
Manage Your Subscription

 

Driver's Notebook: The X Factor

Daniel Pund

February 1, 2007

Of all the varieties of hyperbole generated by automakers over the last decade, none has been more consistent as the claim that company X’s new SUV handles like a sports car. So often have the marketing and public relations departments chanted this familiar refrain, that it started to sound more like a series of hums and pops than actual words.

The truth of the matter is that there is still no SUV that handles like a sports car. With its 2007 X5, though, BMW has come closer than any carmaker to blending the sometimes contradictory attributes of utility, luxury, and dynamic excellence. If it doesn’t exactly handle like a sports car, it certainly handles like a BMW sedan. And that is a good thing. (Click images to enlarge)

And why wouldn’t it be? The X5 outsold BMW’s own 540i wagon 40-to-1 in the years that both were produced. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, BMW should feel intensely flattered. The list of vehicles that now seek to emulate the X5’s sport-biased formula is long, and includes the Infiniti FX, the Porsche Cayenne, the Cadillac SRX, the Acura MDX, the Range Rover Sport, and the Audi Q7.

Borrowing a trick from the 5 Series sedan, the new X5 is the first vehicle in its class to offer active steering, which electronically varies the angle of the front wheels based on both driver input and vehicle speed. (Click image to enlarge)

The new, larger 2007 BMW X5 is an evolution of the original X5’s basic template for a sporting SUV, which sacrifices some utility and all off-road ability for on-road prowess. The handsome new version is instantly identifiable as an X5. Its characteristic ducktail tailgate remains, as do the tailpipes that exit through the rear bumper cover, and the front bumper still has the gray plastic protrusion that is intended to look like a brush guard. But sharp creases now break the flow of the X5’s curved body panels, making the vehicle’s skin look as if it were draped over a fine-boned skeleton—something like a Japanese paper lantern.

While retaining the essence of the original design, the new version’s proportions are quite different. The new X5 is stretched 7.4 inches in overall length, with 4.5 inches of that increase given to the wheelbase. In profile, its longer roofline and wheelbase give it a decidedly tall station wagon–like appearance.

The more carlike proportions are appropriate, because the new X5 drives more like a large luxury sedan than ever before. The original X5—particularly those equipped with the optional Sport Package—had a flinty, unyielding ride. Nor was the original X5’s high-speed stability up to admittedly high BMW standards. But the ’07 model is as serene and stable at speed as just about any luxury sedan. All X5s now come standard with 18-inch run-flat tires, which historically have doomed any vehicle to a harsh ride. The X5 exhibits no such problem. (Click image to enlarge)

A comfortable ride would be easy to achieve if BMW had given up on its quest for an SUV with truly carlike handling. With the help of a new double-wishbone front suspension (the first nonstrut front suspension on a BMW since 1961), the X5 handles more faithfully and energetically than any SUV on the market—at least any that one would be willing to drive on a daily basis.

Page:  1  |  2
Print ArticleEmail ArticleAdd to DiggAdd to Del.icio.us