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economist 8turtfstoufivillettiburiefthdrsdfyfebi92boo o c i i a 13 bmw finally enters suv race with new x5 the new x5 has so much going for it where do you start the bmw x5 sport utility vehi cle suv has so much going for it its hard to decide where to start describing it bmw offered the all-wheel- drive 325dc more than 15 years ago but never made awd part of the marketing plan like audi bmw seemed content to stay positioned as a leader in premium sports sedans and wagons letting sport ing trucks remain a curiously to me anyway north american phe nomenon but the thundering rush to suvs could not be ignored forever sure bmw owns range rover the ne plus ultra in suvs but they lack the hereandjaow verve of the mercedesbenz ml series or even the clever subaru forester and while bmw may have come late to the party they came loaded with what must surely be a fitting addition to the ultimate driving machine heritage that retains the getupandgo bimmer reputation while being well a truck to try and remove the x5 from the siredfrompickup image bmw refers to the x5 as its sav or sports activity vehicle auto journalists have been writ ing for three decades about bmw sixcylinder inline engines in near mythological terms truth is the sixs deserve it but when the origi nal 40litre v8 came along the smoothness and potent power pent up under the fourcams was astounding the x5 as the bimmer suv is- known comes standard with a 44- litre v8 of 282 hp and 324 lbft of torque this engine is the real deal it is virtually silent during normal driving but when you put your foot down theres a real v8 rumble not unlike a muffled nascar stocker this engine is mated to a fivespeed automatic transmission with bmws steptronic manual selectionsystem on the right hand side of the gated shift pat tern the transmission functions like a normal autobox move the shift liver across to the m func tion slot and you can nudge the lever forward to go up the gear lathe and down to shift down if you have ever driven a bmw 5series with the big v8 youll know how much fun the five- speed can be the down side is that big getrag box is monstrously stout and hefty to shift the steptronic takes care of all that and the heavy clutch pedal as well ive never been fond of electronic shift ing but the x5 is starting to change my mind the suspension is all alu minum all around and beautiful it is too bmw is a leader in forged aluminum usage for moving part there is the saying beauty is as beauty does that applies to these pieces the front suspension is double aarms while the rear is also inde pendent with each carrying a hub for the allwheeldrive r system i could spend paragraphs explain ing how intricate modern electronr ic awd works in thex5 it is graced with dynamic brake control dynamic stability control called dscx in the awd application and of course it has current edge antilock braking during my week with the x5 i put it through what i think is the toughest test in the world highways 401 and 407 nowhere in the world including the santa monica freeway will you find more people unaware of what they are doing being able to see brake and most importantly accelerate away from trouble is vital being a bmw the above is almost a given but with the extra height the x5 is wonderful now i expected that extra height and the raised centre of gravity to play a part in body lean and subsequent handling in fact bodv lean was near nil and the dscx bmws take on pitch and yaw control soaked up everything but into the mix came the cold est temperatures of the year so far thank you bmw for the trilevel seat warmers but also for the swiftest demisting system i can recall i also used the truck for a busi ness visit to one of those trendified farm houses about 25 kms north of cobourg off the 401 and onto snowcovered twisting roads the x5 just dug in and kept going i was tempted to put the truck on cruise to see if it could handle rolling country flatop but let discretion rule bmw lists the x5 at 68800 with 975 in options that were a headlight cleaning sys tem and a rain sensor system the latter is neat because a bit of wet on the windshield and it swabs the water away with a set of huge wipers bmw doesnt even bother to list some of its standard equipment like dual climate con trol cruise control and 18inch alloy wheels with humongeous p25555 r18 all season tires standard equip ment bmw does list sounds almost deca dent there are six airbags besides the usual front bags there is a head protection system that drops down and front door mounted side impact bags the x5 has a crash sensor that in the event of the unthinkable does the thinking for you and unlocks the doors and turns on the hazard warning lights the lights are those bluewhite xenon units that really work the montana leather seats are heated as per above there is poplar wood trim and an in- dash cd player price as tested was 69775 the x5 was also equipped with the first navigation system ive tried in this part of the world roughly the gta that has worked leaving my home north of toronto for a surprise birthday party in mississauga was as simple is enter ing the city and exact address the nav system with voice prompts of when to turn took me to the door and announced you have arrived as my wife and i pulled into the driveway the moving map display has things like malls con servation areas and main streets with names show ing on the screen this is the future while older folks like me can say we can live without new fan- gled items like nav sys tems thats what early motorists used to say when mr dunlop invented the pneumatic tire there is so much about this car worth noting like the limousine sized expanse of the rear seats not to mention cargo area for heading north that a week spent driving this vehicle was simply not enough yes im going to try and book one this summer what stands out the most is the x5 has lost none of the verve and surefootedness of bmwsin the rush to get a sport truck into the premium market bmw has the reputation it has today because of what its cars could do not how much its pickup trucks could haul that could explain why some com panies that make their millions on trucks cant get it right when it comes to building a real european sports sedan no question the x5 is the bimmerofsuvs immediately identifiable as a bmw the 441 x5 suv has the pedigree of bmw and the hustle of a 44litre v8 jack frost nipping hi i wuti inllrlrci winter maintenance package includes a fully reflective highway help sign at no charge 6 lube oil and filler rotate tires o inspect brakes o 15 point inspection llf- si top up fluids o check wipers check coolant check battery cables i4sh o plus in case of emergency receive a fully reflective highway help sign at no charge while quantities last j valid at participating dealers lof includes up to 5l of gm premium motor oil on most gm vehicles see service advisor for details or call 1800gmdrive limited time only we support 3 o o 1 o ontabios 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