BMW started to think of having its own sport-utility car in the mid-1990s, motivated by having purchased Land Rover. This idea was so bold at that time because there were much stronger “rules” regarding on which segments each brand participated: Audi or Mercedes-Benz, for instance, sticked to luxury sedans and station wagons; Fiat and Renault were dedicated to smaller city cars; Lamborghini and Porsche only produced sports vehicles; and Land Rover, in turn, has been specialized on the off-roads – the North-Americans used different marques for each operation, like Chrysler and Jeep. Such structure enabled these automakers to build very strong traditions in their respective areas, but those were the exact same reason why the first subversive attempts were released.
The first X5 arrived with several technologies borrowed from Range Rover but with particular settings, such as smaller off-road abilities and an AWD system which privileged the rear axle, in order to keep its handling as close as it was possible to BMW’s urban cars’. It took some time, but public and media gradually started to see this car only as an extension of that automaker’s worldwide-praised quality, this time focusing the SUVs (or SAVs, like BMW prefers to use). This was the moment when X5 truly started to prosper around the world and to be followed by other automakers.
Like most of the BMWs, X5 concentrates every external change on upgrading the original style, rather than taking the acceptance risks of deeper changes. This generation’s biggest difference, however, has conceptual character: this car dropped its original subversive trait to become closer to the other BMWs than ever. The typical SUV silhouette of two clearly-divided volumes is still there, just like the other external elements’ shapes, but at the same time it’s easy to see X5 as a sportier, enlarged X1 or X3. The front fascia combines X6’s style of horizontal elements with 3-Series-inspired headlights, for instance.
The sides received more fluid creases and smoother window corners, looking nimbler than the previous generations, but a bigger evolution was achieved at the rear. The overall styling wasn’t changed, but changing its elements made it look much more elegant. The tail lights still look like 5-Series and there’s still a thick line between the windshield and the license plate’s room, but BMW finally managed to make it discreet; looking the car from behind made this section look like the windshield was taken from other car. In other words, BMW’s sports-activity-vehicle is still what X5s have always been, but this time also looking classy enough to fight Audi Q7 or Mercedes GL – this time there are available seven seats here, too.
BMW announces this car has better aerodynamics and lighter weight than the outgoing model, which helps the typical chassis setting to please who wants more intense driving experiences. The internal design hasn’t changed much, nor its several options of colors and materials or the overall sophistication level. The infotainment system interacts with your iPhone and features a list of apps that includes navigation, office functions, social networks and, starting in December, the Traffic Jam Assistant: it can drive the car by itself on these situations. The trim levels will be xLine, Luxury Line and M Sport, same number as the options for the audio system: the basic set can be upgraded to a Hamman-Kardon’s or to a 1200-watt Bang & Olufsen’s unit, with sixteen speakers.
The new X5’s powertrain options include xDrive35i’s turbocharged six-cylinder 3.0L with 300 hp and 300 lb-ft (6s2 from 0 to 60 mph), xDrive50i’s twin-turbo V8 4.4L with 445 hp and 480 lb-ft (4s9) and xDrive30d with a 3.0L six-cylinder diesel unit with 255 hp and 413 lb-ft. All the engines will offer an eight-speed automatic transmission with four driving modes, from the efficient Eco Pro to the aggressive Sport+, but for the first time ever it’ll be possible to buy a rear-wheel-drive X5, once again just like every other BMW: the base trim will be sDrive35i, which comprehends that almost nobody drives this car even like what is seen in these official pictures.
Lançamento no Brasil (25/10/2013)
Junto com o Série 3 GT, as revendas brasileiras já oferecem o novo X5. Sempre na versão xDrive50i, ele seduz quem antes pensava em Land Rover Range Rover Sport ou Porsche Cayenne por dentro e por fora. Seu interior combina o revestimento em couro a detalhes em alumínio e madeira em várias opções de esquema de cores. Tal nível de requinte é respondido pelo extenso pacote de itens, como a central iDrive com acesso à Internet, GPS tridimensional, comandos de voz em português e o sistema de áudio Hamann-Kardon, além de duas telas de 9,2 polegadas em LCD para o banco traseiro. Também vêm ar-condicionado de quatro zonas, bancos dianteiros com regulagens elétricas e aquecimento e o sistema head-up display.
Quanto à segurança, os destaques são controles de estabilidade e tração, suspensão adaptativa, ajuste eletrônico dos amortecedores, a série de sistemas eletrônicos de alerta e prevenção e o Night Vision, que detecta pessoas e animais ao redor do carro por infravermelho. Tudo isso vem nas seguintes opções: Endurance e Experience custam R$ 399.950 e vão a R$ 404.950 com sete lugares, diferindo apenas em orientações de estilo. Já a M Sport sempre leva cinco pessoas, e justifica os R$ 429.950 que pede com o kit de acessórios aerodinâmicos, rodas de liga leve aro 20” e alguns dos itens mencionados acima exclusivos para si. A marca afirma que a única opção de motor ficou 17% mais econômica que o usado pelo X5 anterior.