Premium diesel SUVs have already conquered Europe and are now confidently conquering our market. It is generally believed that wealthy owners of expensive cars are attracted not so much by fuel savings as by the opportunity to forget about refueling for a whole week, as well as by the reduced risk of minor breakdowns in the electronics that control the engine. At the same time, neither dynamics, nor top speed, nor comfort suffer. And since BMW was one of the first to start supplying the latest diesel engines to Russia in cars with a sporty character, then, as they say, it was simply meant to be. We got such a car for a test.
GLOBAL UPDATE
BMW X5 recently underwent a facelift, which in Europe was held under the motto "The Boss is Back," and in Russia — with a hint at a style icon. It seems our marketers more accurately captured the essence of the car. What's unclear here, unless this boss is a woman. By the way, the comparison is very accurate. A sort of thunder-woman with a commanding voice, in slightly baggy trousers and with restrained but noticeable makeup. With a hint of Eastern blood, judging by the eye shape and manner of dressing... However, let's leave socio-erotic fantasies aside and turn to the technical side. The X5 update turned out to be extensive, quite deserving the title of "new generation."
It's pleasant that the increased dimensions did not make the car unwieldy. In the cabin, apart from noticeable changes like the new automatic gear lever and console, everything looks the same. It hasn't become noticeably more comfortable or significantly more spacious. The rear is quite cramped, though not as much as in the previous generation. Behind the wheel, you feel like you're sitting in an airplane cockpit: the seat is narrow, the tunnel is high, the instruments are round, and the controls are confusing.
You can still figure out the new selector — it's just unclear why you need to pull it back to move forward, like on a boat. But with the infamous i-Drive, the situation has hardly changed. The interface, overloaded in the previous generation, has become a bit clearer, but there's still no talk of intuitiveness. However, if you've mastered a smartphone, you'll handle i-Drive too. But the head-up display, which projects speed and navigation instructions onto the windshield (our X5 had factory navigation!), deserves a standing ovation, with your head out of the huge two-section sunroof. Convenient and fun. The only thing missing is the ability to adjust the position of the projected symbols, at least by height. Navigation in Moscow and the region works quite accurately, though it doesn't know some traffic rules nuances, like the prohibition of U-turns across double solid lines or driving under a "no entry" sign (or is that a special version for the X5?).
SHOULDN'T, BUT CAN
The all-aluminum diesel engine increases the price of the X5 by 2500 euros. Its power is 235 hp, and peak torque reaches 520 Nm at 2000 rpm... For half the test, I was shouting that a three-liter diesel simply cannot drive like that, but over time I got used to it. True, the first minutes of acquaintance left an unpleasant aftertaste. It turned out that the car categorically cannot start smoothly from a standstill. Not at all. The jerks when moving cause nausea, and after releasing the gas pedal, the car also noticeably noses down. In addition, the steering wheel at low speeds is too sensitive and somehow light. It's equipped with a complex power steering with variable assist. Of course, this didn't add reliability to the unit, but that's not the point: on the highway it's precise, but in traffic it turns the ride into constant fidgeting. The miracle happened when the traffic jam cleared and I finally pressed the gas properly. That's when my first exclamation burst out: "A three-liter diesel can't drive like that!" The acceleration doesn't seem excessively fast until you remember the engine displacement... With all this, BMW's diesel is not the pinnacle of technology; it's just well-balanced, perfectly tuned, and also very environmentally friendly. It's equipped with a catalytic converter and a diesel particulate filter combined into a single unit. The six-speed transmission works perfectly in tandem with the diesel — smoothly and quickly. Shift delays are hard to notice, and the response to kick-down is light. During intense acceleration, the engine growls like an old American V8 running on A-76 gasoline. The modern interior seems to be slightly embarrassed by this roar and even creaks with leather in places. The effect intensifies off-road.
WITHOUT LIMITS, BUT WITHIN REASON
Regarding the off-road capability of the BMW X5, I'm ready to argue... I know of a case where an X5 in an amateur trophy kept pace with full-fledged SUVs — of course, unprepared ones. Still, a crossover is a crossover, and the laurels of a Defender shouldn't bother it. Nevertheless, we climbed onto conditional off-road to confirm with satisfaction the thesis: a modern car with a good traction control system, within reasonable limits and geometric off-road capability, is invincible. It creaks, squeaks, but climbs. The diesel and automatic allow precise dosing of movement. Visibility is poor but tolerable. The steering wheel doesn't tear from your hands, doesn't throw you around the cabin, although the short suspension travel makes itself known with noticeable impacts on the bump stops. I don't know if the automatic shock absorber stiffness adjustment system works off-road, but it seems yes, because fast driving on a dirt road turns into a real teeth-rattling affair. Moreover, the dynamic stability control system, which activates with a noticeable delay in the X5, goes slightly crazy and can sharply brake the car in the most vulgar counter-steer before a turn. This has a very bad effect on the vestibular apparatus. But the brakes are magnificent! You can throw the crossover into a short sideways slide with a precise stamp on the pedal, then with soft braking deceive the stability control and take the corner in some pseudo-fan manner under the squeal of ABS and the bewildered blinking of the traction control light. The wheels don't lock, but they slide, and there seems to be neither understeer nor oversteer, but the car goes somehow not by the rules. The system quickly recovers and pulls the nose into the turn, wagging its tail at the roadside bushes in farewell...
AND WHY ARE THEY DISLIKED?
And everything would be great if not for the price. You won't save money by buying the diesel, and the dynamics still aren't the same as the gasoline version for the same money. But on a long journey — it's excellent: fast, economical, and comfortable. And in the city, BMWs are already disliked, they squeeze them as much as they can, don't let them pass... It just seems to me that this is a reaction to the driving style of BMW drivers. And how else should they, poor things, drive — for such money!
GLOBAL UPDATE
BMW X5 recently underwent a facelift, which in Europe was held under the motto "The Boss is Back," and in Russia — with a hint at a style icon. It seems our marketers more accurately captured the essence of the car. What's unclear here, unless this boss is a woman. By the way, the comparison is very accurate. A sort of thunder-woman with a commanding voice, in slightly baggy trousers and with restrained but noticeable makeup. With a hint of Eastern blood, judging by the eye shape and manner of dressing... However, let's leave socio-erotic fantasies aside and turn to the technical side. The X5 update turned out to be extensive, quite deserving the title of "new generation."
It's pleasant that the increased dimensions did not make the car unwieldy. In the cabin, apart from noticeable changes like the new automatic gear lever and console, everything looks the same. It hasn't become noticeably more comfortable or significantly more spacious. The rear is quite cramped, though not as much as in the previous generation. Behind the wheel, you feel like you're sitting in an airplane cockpit: the seat is narrow, the tunnel is high, the instruments are round, and the controls are confusing.
You can still figure out the new selector — it's just unclear why you need to pull it back to move forward, like on a boat. But with the infamous i-Drive, the situation has hardly changed. The interface, overloaded in the previous generation, has become a bit clearer, but there's still no talk of intuitiveness. However, if you've mastered a smartphone, you'll handle i-Drive too. But the head-up display, which projects speed and navigation instructions onto the windshield (our X5 had factory navigation!), deserves a standing ovation, with your head out of the huge two-section sunroof. Convenient and fun. The only thing missing is the ability to adjust the position of the projected symbols, at least by height. Navigation in Moscow and the region works quite accurately, though it doesn't know some traffic rules nuances, like the prohibition of U-turns across double solid lines or driving under a "no entry" sign (or is that a special version for the X5?).
SPECS: BMW X5
SHOULDN'T, BUT CAN
The all-aluminum diesel engine increases the price of the X5 by 2500 euros. Its power is 235 hp, and peak torque reaches 520 Nm at 2000 rpm... For half the test, I was shouting that a three-liter diesel simply cannot drive like that, but over time I got used to it. True, the first minutes of acquaintance left an unpleasant aftertaste. It turned out that the car categorically cannot start smoothly from a standstill. Not at all. The jerks when moving cause nausea, and after releasing the gas pedal, the car also noticeably noses down. In addition, the steering wheel at low speeds is too sensitive and somehow light. It's equipped with a complex power steering with variable assist. Of course, this didn't add reliability to the unit, but that's not the point: on the highway it's precise, but in traffic it turns the ride into constant fidgeting. The miracle happened when the traffic jam cleared and I finally pressed the gas properly. That's when my first exclamation burst out: "A three-liter diesel can't drive like that!" The acceleration doesn't seem excessively fast until you remember the engine displacement... With all this, BMW's diesel is not the pinnacle of technology; it's just well-balanced, perfectly tuned, and also very environmentally friendly. It's equipped with a catalytic converter and a diesel particulate filter combined into a single unit. The six-speed transmission works perfectly in tandem with the diesel — smoothly and quickly. Shift delays are hard to notice, and the response to kick-down is light. During intense acceleration, the engine growls like an old American V8 running on A-76 gasoline. The modern interior seems to be slightly embarrassed by this roar and even creaks with leather in places. The effect intensifies off-road.
WITHOUT LIMITS, BUT WITHIN REASON
Regarding the off-road capability of the BMW X5, I'm ready to argue... I know of a case where an X5 in an amateur trophy kept pace with full-fledged SUVs — of course, unprepared ones. Still, a crossover is a crossover, and the laurels of a Defender shouldn't bother it. Nevertheless, we climbed onto conditional off-road to confirm with satisfaction the thesis: a modern car with a good traction control system, within reasonable limits and geometric off-road capability, is invincible. It creaks, squeaks, but climbs. The diesel and automatic allow precise dosing of movement. Visibility is poor but tolerable. The steering wheel doesn't tear from your hands, doesn't throw you around the cabin, although the short suspension travel makes itself known with noticeable impacts on the bump stops. I don't know if the automatic shock absorber stiffness adjustment system works off-road, but it seems yes, because fast driving on a dirt road turns into a real teeth-rattling affair. Moreover, the dynamic stability control system, which activates with a noticeable delay in the X5, goes slightly crazy and can sharply brake the car in the most vulgar counter-steer before a turn. This has a very bad effect on the vestibular apparatus. But the brakes are magnificent! You can throw the crossover into a short sideways slide with a precise stamp on the pedal, then with soft braking deceive the stability control and take the corner in some pseudo-fan manner under the squeal of ABS and the bewildered blinking of the traction control light. The wheels don't lock, but they slide, and there seems to be neither understeer nor oversteer, but the car goes somehow not by the rules. The system quickly recovers and pulls the nose into the turn, wagging its tail at the roadside bushes in farewell...
AND WHY ARE THEY DISLIKED?
And everything would be great if not for the price. You won't save money by buying the diesel, and the dynamics still aren't the same as the gasoline version for the same money. But on a long journey — it's excellent: fast, economical, and comfortable. And in the city, BMWs are already disliked, they squeeze them as much as they can, don't let them pass... It just seems to me that this is a reaction to the driving style of BMW drivers. And how else should they, poor things, drive — for such money!
BMW X5 3.0D