That X5 Drive

(First of two parts)

Every once in a while, a groundbreaking vehicle comes along and shatters traditional expectations — even of established brands with fiercely loyal followings. In the case of BMW, the most recent example of this phenomenon comes in the form of its aging yet still impressive Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), the X5. While everyone knows that Bavarian born automobiles have almost no equal in the area of handling, they had always come in the form of either sporty sedans or coupes. Until the X5 came along, in fact, there was practically no BMW vehicle capable of combining on road finesse with off road bravado. In all honesty, the BMW X5 re-wrote the book on luxury off-roading. It’s no Hummer, but it certainly changed the way we look at "utility vehicles".

So... What does one do when given the chance to drive the BMW X5 along the well-kept freeways of North America? Indulge, of course! Which is exactly what this writer did not too long ago. Through seven days in sunny June, this writer was fortunate enough to have had an X5 to use through a California crisscross tour. And use it we did!

Through the kindness of our friends at BMW Philippines, we were able to have the 3.0L petrol variant waiting for us at LAX, which was this writer’s point of entry into the US of A. With several meetings within the Los Angeles County area in the bag, our immediate goal was to find the best way to use the X5’s capabilities en route to San Francisco, which was our other California destination. After asking around among the locals, we figured it would be prudent to take the scenic, albeit longer, Highway 1 or the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) as it is also popularly known. The decision proved to be one of the best we’d ever made where choosing a test drive route was concerned. All eight hours of mixed twisting, straight, mountainside, beachfront, farmland, small town, big city and wide highway variations of the PCH highlighted the X5’s vaunted strengths — which are many.

These strengths are, of course, controlled in varying degrees by BMW’s intelligent patented all-wheel drive system, xDrive. What the system does, basically, is constantly adjust the distribution of drive forces to respective situations that the vehicle goes through — both on and off the road. This makes the BMW X5’s many technologies like Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) available to the driver at all times — without him actually having to draw upon them. Bottom line? Little driving irritants like understeer (the pushing motion of a vehicle’s front wheels into the edge of a bend) and oversteer (the added, unnecessary swerving of the rear tires) and the like, are rendered practically nonexistent.

Whether it was a long, uneventful 80-mile an hour stretch or a twisting blind mountainside curb, the X5 handled well enough to make us forget we were actually riding a vehicle with a pretty high ground clearance. Overall vehicle traction was that good. Unfortunately, we stayed on paved roads the entire time so the Hill Descent Control and double axle-self leveling technology were features we were not able to maximize to their full potential. Steering, as expected, was razor sharp though the ride, though not exactly bumpy, was a bit on the firm side (not unexpected from a vehicle whose family draws on its traditional strength — sports car like steering and suspension systems).

The best, most convenient and most helpful feature of the X5, however, is sadly something we won’t have for a long, long time (well, at least the X5s that are available in North America). The X5’s onboard computer is equipped with an ultra-helpful GPS system that not only gave directions through a 5-inch screen up on the dash, it also spoke to us! Until one gets to use this feature, it’ll never be fully appreciated. Remember, we were going around California to meet with quite a number of people, many of whom we’d never visited before. So GPS was our companion and roadmap in one. By the time we’d made the trip back to Los Angeles, we were already actually so used to hearing our X5 speak that we just knew we’d miss it once we made our way back to the Philippine islands.

We tried hard to actually find flaws in the X5’s performance and looks but were quite happy to have found only a few. First off, it’s a six-year-old body. No matter how you look at it, that’s a long time for a vehicle model to be plying the streets without significant body changes. If you ask me, just a little more "sleek" in those curves could do the trick. Next, just a tinge more of the soft ride more inherent in BMW’s limousine, the 7Series, might be nice. Though that could be asking for a lot, BMW has been known to outdo itself with almost every single model upgrade, so it’s not exactly an impossible dream.

Here’s where the story heads, though. That X5 upgrade? It’s coming our way soon. And guess what? We’ve taken it on a long drive too. Oh yeah, despite the all-new vehicle not being made available ’til sometime in the first half of next year, we’ll still give you a sneak peek. That X5 drive part two? Wait for it in these pages next week!