What We Like
Bold new design
Cabin layout is cleaner and more plush
More powerful than the outgoing generation's xDrive35i
Handles and rides great
What We Dislike
Only one engine option is available for Singapore when the car arrives early next year
BMW's first ever SAV was the X5, which debuted nearly 20 years ago and has since sold well in excess of two million units globally. And this all new fourth generation model, brimming with BMW's latest features and technologies, aims to further that legacy in today's ever crowded premium SUV market.
Wait, it sort of looks the same as the old one
Design wise, its sheet metal design is more evolutionary than revolutionary with subtle but also fairly distinct differences to set it apart.
The X5 has grown 36mm longer, 66mm wider and 19mm taller with a 42mm more generous wheelbaseFor example, BMW has beefed up the X5's kidney grilles and fitted it with drag-reducing active shutters. It also has sleeker LED headlamps (BMW Laserlight will be optional for Singapore models) and a signature character line in its flanks, giving the new SUV a more authoritative and modern appearance.
More importantly, the X5 has grown longer, wider and taller than the model it replaces. Thus, its wheelbase also sees a significant growth of 42mm.
Its best bits are beyond skin deep
With the car's increased proportions, there's more head, shoulder and legroom for passengers, while the boot will swallow 650 litres of personal belongings, and up to as much as 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded. This five-seater model, however, will only be available on indent basis in Singapore as we will get the seven-seater variant as standard (available globally from December 2018, specifications to be confirmed).
As before, a two-section tailgate for ease of loading comes standard.
Centre console is less button-heavy than before, with materials and trims that are a step up from previous generationsAlso standard is the luxurious cabin that's welcomingly different in design. With the new X5, BMW has decluttered the centre console of the excessive amount of buttons it burdened past models with.
Also, our Phytonic Blue test car came fitted with optional anthracite-brown open-pored wood inlays, a crystal-finished gear knob and a knurled iDrive rotary controller.
However, the real star of the cabin is BMW's Live Cockpit Professional technology, which comprises two screens: A high-res 12.3-inch iDrive infotainment system with the latest generation operating system and a similarly sized digital instrument cluster that offers a clearer and larger display of information such as navigation.
Boot space begins at 650 litres, and can increase up to 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded flatManaged via the traditional dial selector with haptic and touch-sensitive controls and BMW's gesture-control technology, the new iDrive is designed to display as much useful information, as intuitively as possible. It also integrates BMW's latest suite of ConnectedDrive services, such as using your Samsung mobile phone as a smart key but the exact features that Singapore models will have are yet to be confirmed.
Elsewhere, there's a new panoramic roof that can be optioned to include integrated LED light graphics that create colourful, illuminated graphic surfaces on the glass.
Wait, it sort of looks the same as the old one
Design wise, its sheet metal design is more evolutionary than revolutionary with subtle but also fairly distinct differences to set it apart.
More importantly, the X5 has grown longer, wider and taller than the model it replaces. Thus, its wheelbase also sees a significant growth of 42mm.
Its best bits are beyond skin deep
With the car's increased proportions, there's more head, shoulder and legroom for passengers, while the boot will swallow 650 litres of personal belongings, and up to as much as 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded. This five-seater model, however, will only be available on indent basis in Singapore as we will get the seven-seater variant as standard (available globally from December 2018, specifications to be confirmed).
As before, a two-section tailgate for ease of loading comes standard.
Also, our Phytonic Blue test car came fitted with optional anthracite-brown open-pored wood inlays, a crystal-finished gear knob and a knurled iDrive rotary controller.
However, the real star of the cabin is BMW's Live Cockpit Professional technology, which comprises two screens: A high-res 12.3-inch iDrive infotainment system with the latest generation operating system and a similarly sized digital instrument cluster that offers a clearer and larger display of information such as navigation.
Elsewhere, there's a new panoramic roof that can be optioned to include integrated LED light graphics that create colourful, illuminated graphic surfaces on the glass.
Is it any good on the road?
For a two-tonne family hauler, the X5 moves with graceful fluidity and tactful elegance. It is, in fact, poetry in motion.
Credit for this is owed to several factors, one of which is its powertrain - a turbocharged in-line six-cylinder 3.0-litre paired to an eight-speed automatic. It provides the X5 with 335bhp and 450Nm of torque (the only engine option headed for Singapore as of now).
BMW's crisp 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine produces 335bhp and 450Nm of torque0-100km/h takes a mere 5.5 seconds - a second faster than the xDrive35i model it replaces. At full bore, the engine produces a spunky soundtrack that's accompanied by upshifting 'farts' more commonly associated with BMW's more performance-oriented models.
The new X5 isn't just a one-trick pony either. Equipped with a pneumatic air suspension system (standard for Singapore models), the X5 is pliant for a sporty SUV, despite our tester riding on 21-inchers (Singapore models get 20-inchers as standard) and Atlanta's unevenly paved roads.
There's also a rear wheel 'Integral Active' steering system at play that turns the back wheels the opposite direction at low speeds to tighten the turning circle, and the same direction at higher speeds to improve stability.
Shifter knob can be optioned in this fancy crystal-glass finishCouple this with an accurate and well-weighted steering, the X5 is as easy to place on the road as any smaller car, while affording the sort of precision and assurance that rivals can only dream of.
But as most of the rain-beaten test routes consisted mostly of highways and a tight schedule prevented us from finding a properly twisty road, it feels like we were only experiencing a morsel of the X5's potential.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to conduct a more comprehensive road test as the new X5 is expected to arrive in Singapore in the first quarter of 2019, at an estimated price of $350,000 (inclusive of COE).
It's bigger than ever before but superb on-road dynamics make the X5 easy and comforting to driveSingapore buyers can look forward to getting a host of parking and safety systems as standard and also the option of an off-road package if they choose to take their X5 off the beaten track. Yes, the X5 is now also fully capable of tackling the rough stuff.
It's hard to fault the new X5, really, because it is more than just maintaining the standards of its predecessors. Instead, with this new Bimmer, it's about giving the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz all that they can handle in this ever crowded premium SUV market.
For a two-tonne family hauler, the X5 moves with graceful fluidity and tactful elegance. It is, in fact, poetry in motion.
Credit for this is owed to several factors, one of which is its powertrain - a turbocharged in-line six-cylinder 3.0-litre paired to an eight-speed automatic. It provides the X5 with 335bhp and 450Nm of torque (the only engine option headed for Singapore as of now).
The new X5 isn't just a one-trick pony either. Equipped with a pneumatic air suspension system (standard for Singapore models), the X5 is pliant for a sporty SUV, despite our tester riding on 21-inchers (Singapore models get 20-inchers as standard) and Atlanta's unevenly paved roads.
There's also a rear wheel 'Integral Active' steering system at play that turns the back wheels the opposite direction at low speeds to tighten the turning circle, and the same direction at higher speeds to improve stability.
But as most of the rain-beaten test routes consisted mostly of highways and a tight schedule prevented us from finding a properly twisty road, it feels like we were only experiencing a morsel of the X5's potential.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to conduct a more comprehensive road test as the new X5 is expected to arrive in Singapore in the first quarter of 2019, at an estimated price of $350,000 (inclusive of COE).
It's hard to fault the new X5, really, because it is more than just maintaining the standards of its predecessors. Instead, with this new Bimmer, it's about giving the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz all that they can handle in this ever crowded premium SUV market.
