2007 BMW X5

Some advocates of sporty German motorcars scoffed when BMW decided to enter the growing SUV race. Released for the 2000 model year, the first-generation X5 flaunted familiar BMW styling cues, especially up front. Still, this was a shocking departure for a company so widely known for its rear-drive sport sedans and serious two-seaters.


BMW marketers knew this, of course, and called the X5 a "Sports Activity Vehicle" rather than a humdrum sport-utility. Though deemed suitable for "any road, any time, any reason," the car-based X5 wasn't intended for demanding off-road exercises. The German automaker considers it "the very definition of sporting SUVs." They must know something, since 580,000 X5s have been built in South Carolina.

Styling

Though fully redesigned for 2007, don't expect dramatic differences. The X5 "needed enhancement, not replacement," BMW explains. On sale since October 2006, the latest X5 made its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show.


For the first time, seven-passenger seating is available. Equipped with folding rear seats and an automatic liftgate, the X5 offers a roomier cargo area. An expanded option list includes Active Steering, Active Roll Stabilization, Electronic Damping Control, a rearview camera and monitor, and variable second-row seating.


Two powertrains are available, promising more power as well as greater fuel efficiency. In the X5 3.0si, a new aluminum/magnesium inline six-cylinder engine produces 260 horsepower, versus 225 hp for last year's six-cylinder model. Torque output has grown from 214 to 225 pound-feet, and the engine's redline limit is boosted from 6500 to 7000 rpm. As BMW explains, the increased rpm lets the engine "wind out" for optimum acceleration, accompanied by "exciting sound."