Test BMW X5 xDrive30d Steptronic 265 HP Pack M

Just in case you're wondering, those tires -which do not seem so big because they are proportionate to the large span of the car- are 21 " They fit tires with 275 mm width in front and 315 mm behind. Yes, the rims are optional, as is the sports braking system that hides some oversized discs which, in turn, are attacked by large blue tweezers marked with the "M" logo.

I did not want to leave out the escape exits . And they may like more or less, but at least in this BMW X5 package with M are real and 100% functional . I highlight it because many brands simulate false escape tails that are in the bumper, although the reality is that they hide them under the bumper. Minipunto for BMW!

Expected, great quality inside

The time comes to open the door and access the passenger compartment . Just as I told you earlier how well I used to use real exhaust, I was surprised that the doors do not have a high quality sound when closing . You know what I mean, that sound well damped and sealed that every car of a certain level deserves. Not that it sounds like it's going to be dismantled every time we close the door, far from it, but I think they should have taken better care of it. From my point of view, this is a fundamental point in every luxurious car.

Leaving aside that" penalty "committed, little else can we criticize the X5 once we are inside it. The quality and care for the details is outstanding . Everything is very well finished, done with the greatest of his care. It makes you want to run your hand through each of its panels, especially in the wood finish of the inserts that the test unit brings. Of course, there are no undesirable noises when pressing on critical joints of the dashboard or the center console, or when driving on broken asphalts.

Following in the passenger compartment, BMW has finally decided to implement a digital instrument panel in their new products. The BMW X5 is one of the first cars to use this 12.3-inch screen that brings a more technological design to the traditional interior design of the company. The picture looks perfectly and is not complicated to use. If we look ahead, the Head-Up Display helps us to capture all the information without completely diverting the view of the road.

The Infotainment screen, which brings together all the systems of the vehicle, it is very large. It can be operated in a tactile way, although the brand has kept the famous iDrive control so that it can be controlled more safely and intuitively while driving. Along with this circular command appear some direct access pushbuttons and, on your left, the different driving modes of the vehicle.

As usual in cars of a certain size, we have enough holes in the interior to empty pockets, place bottles water, leave more or less large objects and distribute them in the passenger compartment. The gaps in the doors, both front and rear, are quite generous, like the chest we have under the armrest. On the console, in front of the gear lever, there is another hole with a lid that has a wireless charging surface.

Real space for 5 people

For habitability, you can already imagine that in the front seats we have more than enough space for people of any size. In addition, the front seats have electrical settings and memory, being also the regulation of the steering wheel. The driver's seat allows to adjust the width of the "fins", to tighten more or less depending on the size of the driver. But the important thing is not in the front seats, but in the rear.

Thanks to its battle of almost 3 meters, 2.97 to be exact, the second row allows us to travel here behind with much comfort and space more than left over in all directions. With the seat of the driver regulated to me 1,76 of height, in the rear square I have left something more than 20 centimeters to get to touch with the knees in the backrest. By height there is not the slightest problem either.

As usual, the central square is always something narrower and more uncomfortable, but in this case we can consider without fear a Trip also occupying this seat . This is because the transmission tunnel is very little intrusive, the width of the body is generous because, despite having a panoramic roof, there are still several inches to rub against the head.

Among others details of the subsequent seats, we have four-zone climate control , air vents in the central pillars, bags to keep magazines and armrests with a space to store some object and two bottle holders. What I do not finish to understand is that this second row does not allow adjustment of backrest inclination or longitudinal adjustment to distribute the boot space. I do not understand how in a car as big and familiar as this BMW X5 does not bring it; even more knowing that there are versions of 7 seats, although ours is 5.

And a good trunk

The load capacity depends on whether we are facing a version of 5 or 7 places. In the case of the BMW X5 approved for 5 people, like the one we tested, we have 645 liters of luggage compartment at our disposal, which are expandable up to 1860 if we lower the rear seats . The variants of 7 seats, when only 5 are used, have 575 liters. The only "but" is that the blind covers baggage is not very high compared to the floor, so the feeling that we have is that they could have taken out enough more liters of capacity.

Mechanical range of the BMW X5

At the moment the mechanical range of the BMW X5 is quite simple, limited to two diesel versions -with 265 and 400 HP - and a gasoline -with 340 HP-. Soon will come a plug-in hybrid that will be called xDrive45e, boasting almost 400 HP and an electric range close to 80 kilometers.Its 3-liter engine, 6-cylinder in line and 24 valves with supercharging offers enough performance to move it with enough ease. It develops 265 CV at 4,000 laps and a huge torque of 620 Nm from only 2,000 revolutions .

If we add this engine to the box automatic gearbox Steptronic 8-speed and the integral xDrive drive - which sends torque to the front axle when it detects that the rear can lose motivity -, we get a acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in only 6.5 seconds . The maximum speed is 230 km/h. That is to say, it is a very solvent car. On the other hand, its approved mixed consumption is between 6 and 6.8 liters (depends on the type of rim and tire used).

At the wheel: Despite its aesthetic , its habitat is the highway

The time comes, now yes, to buckle up and see how does this BMW X5 xDrive30d behave. When you drive a car like this, almost 5 meters long and another 2 meters wide, the narrow sites and parking lots give more respect than ever; even more if, in addition, we add the handicap that it is a premium car that starts from the 76,000 euros without extras.

The turning radius is wide, which always makes maneuvering difficult. Our unit does not have the optional rear axle directive and, although I have not tested it on the X5, it is a guarantee of a remarkable plus of agility both when parking and on very slow roads, as it reduces the turning radius and it takes less time to draw the line. In addition, then on the highway also facilitates lane changes. A very extra to consider.

Despite the absence of the direction in the rear, we have not had too many problems when maneuvering in town. And this is because the 360 degree camera system with configuration projects high-quality images on the central screen. I already said it last year when I tried the X3 and I say it again in the X5: for me, the best camera system on the market , or at least as many as I've tried.

I do not want to forget an extra that has caught my attention, and it's the Parking Assistant Plus (we show it more clearly in the video). By activating it, it allows the car to move in reverse by moving the steering wheel by itself and causing it to perform exactly the same route that we did forward for a maximum of 80 meters. This is quite interesting in garages, complicated parking lots or in very narrow places. The only downside is that it only works in reverse , that is, if we make several maneuvers to park or to reach a point (changing between forward and reverse gear), it does not work. If so, it would be much more useful.

Leaving the city and the narrow streets, in tacked roads , the BMW X5 is not at all comfortable either. It weighs 2.2 tons and measures 5 meters long by 2 wide, so we can not expect great agility. The M adaptive suspension - which is not pneumatic - absorbs bumps quite well and does not allow large inclinations of the body at a high rate; but due to the high center of gravity and the weight does not convey a confidence to the driver as, for example, that of a BMW 5 Series.

As is logical, the BMW X5 likes to be in the fast roads . It is a car designed for highways and highways. A car designed to devour kilometers without problems and without fatigue.Its rolling quality is very high , so much that, despite being an SUV, we have the sensation of going slower than the speedometer tells us.

This is due to the low loudness of the engine even at high speed and the good isolation of the noise produced by the wheels, and remember that it fits some giant 21-inch wheels with runflat tires 275 mm wide in the front and 315 in the rear. I already tell you that they make noise, but it is totally filtered inside. In terms of aerodynamics, it is better isolated than the vast majority of cars, but if you look closely, we can appreciate some noise coming from the outside mirrors. In any case, nothing of great importance.

Finally, talk about the behavior of your engine . As I said in the technical description, this six-cylinder diesel 3-liter gives 265 hp and 620 Nm. I am one of those who always says that better than horses and Newton Metro are missing. In this case, I do not consider the M50d version advisable unless you want very, very high benefits; something a bit counterproductive in an SUV.

The xDrive30d engine is enough to move the BMW X5 quite easily at all times . Accelerates very strong from below, recovers well to deal with a lot of guarantees overtaking and also in highway to legal maximums has a very acceptable consumption -for the type of car- of between 8 and 9 liters Also, despite being diesel, I was surprised by its sound, it is a nice tone even accelerating very strong.

This propeller is associated with a Steptronic automatic gearbox with 8 pre-set marches. This box behaves smoothly at the time of starting and maneuvering at very low speed, and then it is fast enough to change when we play with it in sequential mode, although it is true that in reducciones it is thought more than at the time of Jump to a higher speed.

Conclusions

It is time to recap and take a brief conclusions as a summary . It is difficult to fault a car that exceeds 100,000 euros like this BMW X5; but you can always improve and there are things that, to my taste, do not end up convincing me; and I speak beyond the aesthetics or the fact of opting for an all-terrain body style for a car that will hardly tread the earth, with the excess of expense that this entails and the worst dynamics compared to a saloon of similar space. p>

The three main "sticks" I can get the X5 is that the sound when closing the doors should convey a higher quality, because that touch is always very important when you want to show that we speak of a luxurious car. On the other hand, the absence of adjustment of the second row of seats, neither in length nor in inclination of the backrest, has seemed to me a failure recorded in such a large car. Finally, the feeling is that the height in the boot from the floor to the roller blind could be higher to take advantage of it even better. They are not "buts" of vital importance, but it is convenient to mention them.

On the opposite side, I liked it a lot perceived general quality inside, with very well chosen materials and assembled together. It's nice in that sense. It is also remarkable the operation of its 30d diesel engine and its fabulous response, as well as the combination with the automatic change.The BMW X5 part of the 72,800 euros in the 40i version; starting at 76,000 on the 30d that we test today. The fact is that, as a series, many systems, equipment or technologies that should be included in these more than 70,000 euros are missing. To give you an idea, our unit, with much equipment but without becoming "full", exceeds 100,000 euros according to the configurator ... Really what we like least about this car is that, its price.

BMW X5 equipment

• Automatic gearbox
• Leather-wrapped sports steering wheel
• Alarm
• Longitudinal aluminum roof bars
• Front sport seats
• Ambient interior light
• Front and rear parking sensors (PDC)
• Parking aid
• Fog lights LED
• Automatic emergency call
• Connected Package Profe ssional
• BMW Live Cockpit Professional
• 18-inch light-alloy wheels
• Extended warranty 3 years/200,000 kilometers
• Cueron de cueron Vernasca
• Gesture control
• HiFi audio system

BMW X5 prices

Regarding prices, the BMW X5 starts, for the moment, in the 72,800 euros of its version xDrive40i.