The outgoing bmw x5 was a perfectly well rounded SUV it was a nice SUV nice in
the way that someone tells you you're nice before you get dumped it wasn't
particularly exciting and it didn't have any real standout luxury features and
since 2016 Volvo has reset the benchmark for what this clash be simply being a
nice luxury SUV is no longer good enough entered this 2019 bmw x5 redesigned and
we're driving it at BMWs media introduction in the Atlanta area to see
if all the new goods BMW added with this new car take it to that next level the
2019 may not look very different than the 2018 but here some key
differentiators the front kidney grilles are longer wider much larger than before
and you have these optional free laser beam the headlights you can tell them
because they have the blue inserts and also it says BMW laser right there in
the back there's a much more noticeable change and it's with the tail lights
instead of short and stocky they are wide and long and have kind of a
three-dimensional shape and light to them and they also protrude a little
farther into the rear quarter panels but the outside is not what's significant
and what's changed the old x5 s interior was of high quality but kind of simple
there weren't a lot of standout luxury features or really nice materials that
would make you go wow that's changed for 2019 although some of it is optional
this x5 has the optional glass hardware not crystal volvo volvo it's glass it's
on the gear selector it's on the start/stop and it's on the volume
control as well as the center dial controller it's a nice little bit of
flash pizazz and then on the gear selector the X lights up there are
available heated and cooled cupholders which are not new we've seen these in
Chrysler products a few years and they work about the same there it's
a really steamy day today in this ginger beer not real beer is reasonably cool
and on our hour long commute today the coffee in a paper cup stayed relatively
warm not hot but drinkable some cars like the xc90 have switched to a
touchscreen to integrate a lot of controls in the x5 though there are
still a lot of physical knobs and dials and they're covered nicely in materials
and textures that add a lot of character to the interior that I don't think you
get when you go to a complete touchscreen system BMW is settling on a
very good multimedia system integration I call multimedia system but it's really
just a vehicle control interface it's a lot more than just changing the radio
station so you have your primary controller here to navigate the system
it's something you'll be used to if you've driven older BMWs or other luxury
cars but there's also a touchscreen so you know automakers can put everything
in the touchscreen and we don't like it or they put everything in a buttons and
we don't like it I feel like this is a good compromise if you don't like using
the controller you can use the touchscreen if you don't like using the
touchscreen you can use the controller and it gives you options you don't have
to use all of them but you have options like there are three ways to change your
radio station you can use the steering wheel to change radio station you can
use the track change button over here or you can use gesture control
one of the unique features in the center display is the 3d View function now more
than just a back up camera and even more than just a 360 degree top-down view
this is a ground-level view of the x5 that's viewed three dimensionally and
you can follow around the vehicle you can move it and see what's around the
car and it works really well this is not the only big screen in the car the gauge
cluster is also fully digital the display does everything pretty well but
I wish it was more customizable or it would change in the sport modes it'd be
nice to have a large tachometer for when you're a sport plus mode but overall it
has pretty well laid out digital display it's very sharp it's very easy to read
and just a little more customization especially because digitally you have
infinite customization we've been a nice little extra step an optional third-row
will be available in December 2018 but we tested the two row model and that
back seat is roomy with good legroom thigh support Headroom but there's no
adjustability so it doesn't slide fore-and-aft and it doesn't recline when
you do up for the third row model you will get that electric sliding second
row but in the two row you have this back seat that folds flat but doesn't
have any other adjustability the cargo area is flat it's wide it's deep and you
can fold the second row through release handles in the cargo area you can also
take advantage of the optional air suspension when you hit a button to
lower the rear for easier access the back end drops to the ground and you
have much lower load in height and you're gonna need that because the split
tailgate carries over for 2019 and an optional package includes power open and
closed for the top part of the tailgate and the lower part of the tailgate
there's also a hands-free option the lower tailgate does extend the cargo
area out a little farther but it does make digging for cargo items in the very
back near the back seat more difficult if you have an x5 this is no new
to you but if you don't this might be something to consider if you're used to
a typical tailgate without that bottom section folding the interior is much
snazzier than before but how does it drive well there are two engines
available in the x5 for 2019 in the US we get a 335 horsepower turbocharged
six-cylinder and we get a four hundred and sixty two horsepower twin
turbocharged v8 I'm driving the xDrive 40 which is the 335 horsepower
six-cylinder now BMW says this new model does 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds versus 6.1
seconds of the old part and I think some of that has to do with the launch
control launch control is kind of an odd feature to have on this car one it's not
the v8 - it's not even the M Sport Edition this is the X line which is the
more luxury oriented trim level and it has launch control
so launch control is Sport Plus mode stability in sport traction and the gear
selector in sport mode hold brake hold the gas let off the brake and go
our car is equipped with both the optional air suspension and 21 inch
wheels now cars I come owned 2016 Volvo xc90 for a year we put 22,000 miles on
it and spend a lot of time in that car it had an optional air suspension and
optional 21 inch wheels and this car rides so much cleaner Road isolation is
better there's not as much harshness over bumps the highway ride is fantastic
and it's overall just a much more sophisticated rioting car than that xc90
the x5 also outdoes the xc90 is far as engine noise so the xc90 has a
turbocharged and supercharged 2.0 liter 4-cylinder and it was grainy sounding
not the best luxury experience that just sounded more like an economy engine than
electric car engine well the x5 with its turbocharged six-cylinder has a nice hum
to it and of course it's augmented by electronic noise inside the cabin but
it's not that noticeable it has a very nice tone to it and on the highway it is
near silent accelerating you don't get that graininess you get a nice smooth
hum and that combined with the the better ride quality really makes the x5
the better driving the 40 i's engine maybe the entry-level engine but it's
delightful and a lot of that is because it pairs perfectly with that 8-speed
automatic transmission the transmission is not a dual clutch automatic
transmission but you could have fooled me if you told me it was it shifts
smooth fast and cleanly so the shifts in the more comfort oriented modes are
nearly seamless but when you get into the sport in the sport plus modes they
are crisp and they are tight and it feels like a much fancier transmission
than what it actually has the programming works really well too when
you're in that Sport Plus mode and you're driving these curvy roads you
step on the brakes and the transmission will rev-match downshift and put you in
that gear that you need to be in again it is the entry level engine in
transmission package and it's not even the MC
to get that kind of seamlessness just out of everyday volume seller engine is
mighty impressive while this is the base engine now I wouldn't be surprised to
see more engine options the 40 I and the 50 I are coming first there will be a
plug-in hybrid later and maybe you'll see a diesel at some point maybe you'll
see a four-cylinder at some point but when this car goes sale later in 2018
that 40 I will be the base engine BMWs driving assistance pro is their semi
autonomous driving feature that on the x5 is optional and keeps the car
centered in the lane in pairs with a bunch of other systems to you know give
you a more carefree driving experience in stop-and-go traffic it'll bring the
car all the way down to a stop and it will resume in speed up to highway
speeds keeping the car or at least the intended purpose to keep the car
centered in the lane with minimal steering interaction you know it could
be just the roads around Atlanta and it's how they're marked but the car
didn't say stay centered in the lane very well it bounced around it wandered
back and forth if a feature like this interests you it is optional on the x5
definitely try it before you buy it on the roads around you new for 2019 is an
off-road package that we previewed through the muddy hills of Western
Georgia the package includes an air suspension a new electronic locking rear
differential front and rear skid plates and an off-road driving mode with
selectable terrain settings the off-road package doesn't turn the x5 into a Jeep
Wrangler its street tires aren't especially grabby and like on the street
the steering isn't that communicative so made a challenging to find grooves with
traction when presented with a muddy trail like in our experience the
experience while it was capable wasn't confident
inspiring BMW has definitely added more wow factor to the x5 for 2019 but it
does come ahead of price the x5 we tested costs eighty one thousand dollars
our xc90 where I made a lot of comparisons between the driving
experience that was a sixty six thousand dollar car so you ask yourself is it
worth it that all depends on how much you value the driving experience which
is where the x5 gets top marks
you
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