New X5 Impresses and Befuddles Kelley Blue Book Reviewer
Fourth-gen X5 offers owners plenty of everything they could want out of the BMW SUV, with a few caveats.
Twenty years ago, BMW saw how hot SUVs and crossovers were going to be going into the first decade of the upcoming millennium and beyond. Thus, they dropped their first-ever SUV onto the marketplace, the X5. While Mercedes may have been the first of the Teutonic luxury brands to deliver an SUV to market, BMW’s X5 was the first of its kind to use a unibody structure — a feature most SUVs nowadays have — one it shares to this day with the 5 Series.
Twenty years later, BMW fans have a new generation of the X5 to consider for their garages, the fourth such generation thus far. Recently, Kelley Blue Book reviewer Micah Muzio got a hold of a white 2019 X5 to help such buyers decide if the midsizer is the right size for them.
“The BMW of midsize luxury SUVs is now in its fourth generation,” said Muzio, “offering more of everything: size, technology, power, confusion.”
The confusion begins immediately with the drive selector’s buttons of the X5’s eight-speed automatic transmission, which Muzio finds to be “too numerous and require the driver to identify them visually, rather than by feel, to operate.” That said, he does defend said selector’s buttons, noting “they do have a neat, sort of thumpy-click feel” when activated, along with dividers between each button. We’d recommend memorizing to avoid having to look down.
“The interior has all the trappings of a proper luxury SUV,” Muzio said. “It’s beautiful, modern, and bubbling over with premium materials. Drop $62,000 to more than $90,000 on the X5, and the interior won’t make you question your investment.”
Of course, Muzio is questioning some of BMW’s interior decisions, like the adjustable steering column not moving where he’d like it be positioned, and the 20-way seats hitting his body in all of the wrong places, which he recommends others to try before buying, since he learned a few owners actually feel right in them.
The rear row, meanwhile, gives Muzio plenty of leg and head room, though the seats “neither slide nor recline,” adding that “the BMW X5 is a lovely place to hang, provided that you’re happy with how the seats are oriented.”
“Peek rearward, and you’ll find a large hold that happily swallows bulky gear,” said Muzio. “Even larger loads can be accommodated by pulling these convenient seat releases. In maximum cargo mode, the X5 can lug 72.3 cubic feet of stuff.”
The cargo floor also has a neat, pneumatic system for the ultimate ease of access to the secret luggage area. All of that is protected behind a two-piece tailgate, whose lower section “keeps jars of Skippy from rolling on out,” and doubles as a seating area for the big game tailgate parties prior to kickoff. And, if desired, the cargo space can be occupied by an optional third row, though Muzio recommends opting for the X7 instead of forcing people to sit back there.
“From a visual standpoint, the gauge cluster is sharp and informative, but mercy, nothing tops the X5’s optional 360-degree camera system,” said Muzio. “Not only is the imagery vivid and supported by almost forcefield-like visualizations for object detection, but the angles that are available are true digital wizardry.”
On the other hand, Muzio says the X5’s iDrive 7 infotainment system leaves quite a bit to be desired. While its hardware is on-point, the software isn’t intuitive for those like him who prefer a simpler, easier way to access any given function. For its part, BMW included a help feature for its system, which Muzio notes he’s used a lot.
For those who prefer to let their smartphones handle the heavy lifting, BMW offers iPhone users the ability to use Apple CarPlay for an $80/year subscription after the free first year. Android users, alas, are still left out in the cold, as Android Auto is verboten from access to the X5’s iDrive 7 system.
Up front, the X5 xDrive40i comes with a standard 3.0-liter turbo-six, good for 335 horses and 330 lb-ft of torque. The optional twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 bumps the figures to 456 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque.
Either way, Muzio says the X5 can handle highways with plenty of aplomb, with the turbo-six boasting better fuel economy figures than the V8, though the eight-speed auto attached to either mill could use more consistency in its shifts. Finally, it can corner like its non-SUV siblings, a handy feat few can match in an SUV of its size, and still off-road like a champ, should the need arise.
“The BMW X5’s premium aura, eager road manners, and dazzling if somewhat impenetrable technology make it an intriguing midsizer,” said Muzio. “All told, the BMW X5 is a properly indulgent luxury SUV.”
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