Short Take Road Test
Note to BMW: Stop calling the X5 a Sports Activity Vehicle. The phrase hasn't caught on, and it implies that there's no utility to the X5 and makes you sound arrogant, like some kind of German engineers.
Okay, that spleen having been vented, let's proceed. Since its introduction for the 2000 model year, the X5 has been an unqualified success for BMW. But under pressure from a load of new sport-utes rolled out by VW, Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti, and others, X5 sales have slid by about five percent from their 2002 peak of 42,742 units. In the hope of reversing that trend, BMW has subjected the X5 to a fairly thorough midlife makeover (which, unfortunately, came too late for us to include the revamped X5 in our 5Best Trucks competition last month).
According to BMW, the 2004 X5 has more than 2100 new parts, two new engines, and four new colors. The most obvious update is a nose that's restyled from the A-pillar forward. It's a subtle face lift that retains BMW's trademark nostrils but adds emphasis with a series of showy chrome bars.
The most significant news is the xDrive full-time, four-wheel-drive system. Basically, xDrive is a more responsive system because it adds a computer-controlled limited-slip center differential. It processes information from wheel-speed and stability-control sensors—monitoring such things as yaw rate and steering-wheel position—to distribute torque among all four wheels in a few milliseconds. Although this sort of system is not unheard of, BMW says its version is more responsive because of its exclusively developed and patented software and hardware.
We flogged a few X5s equipped with the system at BMW's test track across the street from its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the X5 is built. Running water at strategic places on the track created conditions where all, some, or none of the wheels was able to get a grip. What we discovered was, well, nothing. The xDrive did its work with no discernible lag, noise, or effort. The X5 remained under control through all but the most moronic driving. Transparent is a word in vogue these days, but it falls short in describing this four-wheel-drive system; invisible is more like it.
The 2004 X5 has three engine choices. The X5 4.4i is now powered by a version of the 4.4-liter V-8 that's shared with BMW's 7-series. This engine has BMW's Valvetronic variable valve-lift system and 315 horsepower—25 more than the old 4.4-liter V-8. It also comes with a new six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. Later in the year, the top-of-the-line X5 4.8is comes with a stout 355-hp, 4.8-liter V-8, which replaces last year's 340-hp, 4.6-liter V-8. The 225-hp inline six found in the base X5 3.0i carries over from previous years but with a new six-speed manual.
At 4960 pounds, a loaded X5 needs all these horses, and the more the better. But oddly enough, the additional transmission gear and 25 horsepower don't improve the X5's performance. In this test, 60 mph arrived in 7.1 seconds and the quarter-mile flashed by in 15.4 seconds at 92 mph (our long-term 2001 X5 4.4i hit 60 in 6.7 seconds and did the quarter in 15.3 at 90 mph).
In addition to its fine engines, the X5 has plenty of techno goodies with such standard features as hill-descent control, which, at the push of a button, takes over on tricky downhills to keep the X5 straight and stable, and dynamic stability control, which includes ABS.
You expect all this stuff in a BMW, and the X5 doesn't disappoint. It is totally Bimmerish, with the Munich-based automaker's subtle blend of hard-edged technology and soft-surface luxury. The only perceptible difference between driving an X5 and, say, a 5-series sedan is that you sit higher up. The X5 also has BMW's usual fine balance among roll stiffness, supple compliance, and controlled pitch under braking—all of which made meandering over a couple hundred miles of smooth, twisty roads through the Great Smoky Mountains on a sunny day a truly rare treat.
This pleasure comes at a price, of course, which starts at $40,995 for the X5 3.0i, progresses to $52,195 for the X5 4.4i tested here, and tops out at about $65,000 for the upcoming X5 4.8is.
Maybe that's the difference between activity and utility. The former costs more.
