Introduced in 1999, the BMW X5 is the most road-oriented in its class. And it is a successful mix. When production started, the plant was barely turning out 80,000 a year. Now it is building more than 100,000 X5s and BMW is selling every one it can make.
New for this year is a revised X5 range - a mid-cycle facelift of the model that only BMW-spotters will really notice - a new grille, bonnet, headlights and front bumper. New alloy wheels, slight changes to the tail-light clusters and minor revisions inside cap off the cosmetics.
The real news is underneath the skin. A new, more powerful 4.4 litre engine borrowed from the new 5 Series, a new six-speed automatic and four-wheel-drive system make the X5 even smoother, quicker and more refined than before.
While not the fastest in its class, the X5 V8 is one of the most cohesive mechanically. It simply works very well. The X5's handling/ride compromise is the best in its class, with its monocoque frame and all-independent suspension. It may not grip the road as well as some on the limit, but overall its fluidity around corners and its pothole-blotting ability are very good.
Fortunately for the X5 owner in Hong Kong there is very little need or opportunity to go off-road. The X5 does not have a low- range transmission for off-road work, nor does it have sufficient ground clearance or underbody protection to perform well in rough terrain.
Its traction control system, however, is marvellous, permitting forward motion on a slippery track even when a wheel is well off the ground.
The X5 interior has all the hallmarks of German quality (even though it is US-built German quality) and there is plenty of room for five, despite the X5 being one of the more compact wagons in its class. Despite the rush of premium newcomers, none has yet reached the level of overall sophistication of this benchmark, the X5.
