These systems tend to cook the brakes in prolonged low-traction slogging. There is no low-range gearing, and instead of a limited-slip or locking differential, the X5 has Automatic Differential Braking, a traction-control-type system that sends power to the wheels that have grip by individually braking the wheels that don't. The X5 has all-wheel drive, with power delivered through a transfer case that nominally sends 38 percent of the torque to the front, 62 percent to the rear, unless otherwise advised by the traction-control system. Although the X5 tracks straight and true with little correction required on the interstate, it did not have the linear, precise feel we've come to know and love from other BMWs. Not so with the variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering, which is tiresomely stiff at slow speeds. Once under way, though, throttle feel is fine. LOWS: Rough ride, stiff steering, traction compromised on anything but dry pavement, modest luggage space.Īs mentioned previously, throttle tip-in from a standing start demands a very light touch on the accelerator-any more pedal pressure and you lurch. If you want your cargo covered, capacity is reduced even more by a flimsy sliding plastic cover. With the 60/40 rear seats in place, luggage capacity is a modest 16 cubic feet-the same as in a Hyundai Accent. Move to the rear, though, and our complaints get a bit more severe. Perhaps the most serious complaint about the passenger compartment is a minor one: The console-mounted twin cup holders can handle two cans but could not take two medium-size cups that flared at the top without tipping one of them off to the side. Door-mounted rear side airbags are optional.
As you would expect, safety features abound, including dual front and front side airbags, as well as the inflatable, sausage-shaped Head Protection System. Nice, too, is a huge dead pedal for the driver's left foot. That the driver's seat remained comfortable after a 24-hour stint behind the wheel is a significant achievement on BMW's part. The driver's seat has an eight-way power adjustment the passenger seat is six-way adjustable. There's a useful, unobtrusive trip computer, an excellent 10-speaker stereo, and three memory settings that store seat, seatbelt-height, steering-wheel, and outside-mirror positions.Īlthough the rear seats are a bit upright and thinly padded, the twin front bucket sport seats are superb. The legible white-on-black instruments are properly framed through the top half of the steering wheel, which, incidentally, is fitted with buttons on the left side of the hub that control the stereo and ears on the right side that regulate the cruise control. The leather used on the seating surfaces, door panels, steering wheel, and shift knob is top quality. Wood trim is used liberally on the doors, dash, and console. Similarly, there's little to fault about the X5's interior.
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