The BMW X5 has a long history as one of the sportiest luxury SUVs on the market. But we've found that it's not hard to find yourself regretting big wheel options with a super firm ride to match its sporty looks. So, what happens when you are a little more restrained with your wheel choices? Paul Maric gets behind the wheel of the 2021 BMW X5 to see if it can be a little more civilised when it needs to be.
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More BMW content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw
More BMW X5 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw/x5
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 01:04
Interior 03:16
Infotainment 04:49
Safety Tech 06:51
Practicality 07:51
On the road 12:04
Verdict 17:42
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#bmw #review #x5
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More BMW content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw
More BMW X5 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/bmw/x5
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 01:04
Interior 03:16
Infotainment 04:49
Safety Tech 06:51
Practicality 07:51
On the road 12:04
Verdict 17:42
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#bmw #review #x5
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. So here's some fun information for you.
00:02 Did you know the BMW X5 came about after BMW bought Land Rover?
00:06 And a lot of the original parts in the original X5 were actually shared with the L322 Range Rover.
00:13 So it has evolved today to something a whole lot sportier and a lot more BMW instead of being a Land Rover product.
00:20 But anyway, this right here is the BMW X5 xDrive30d. It's a bit of a mouthful.
00:26 This is one up from the base model. It's priced at just under $122,000.
00:31 This is a bit much. The entire range starts at a little over $100,000 and goes all the way up to almost $215,000
00:38 with the beastly X5 M that's got a big V8 under it.
00:41 Now this competes with things like the Audi Q7 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE.
00:47 Today we're going to do a detailed review of this car.
00:50 If you do want to skip ahead to other parts of this review, you can use the time codes up on the screen there.
00:54 Or if you're on YouTube, just scroll down and use the chapters below.
00:57 And if you haven't done so already, make sure you subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon
01:00 so you can get another history lesson from me.
01:02 Let's talk exterior first. You've got nine exterior colours to pick from.
01:07 All but white is an additional $2,000, but you can even spend a whole lot more money with BMW individual colours
01:13 and other fancy paint jobs for your new X5.
01:16 Now the design hasn't really changed a great deal. Yes, it has progressed as this car gets updated,
01:22 but overall it looks pretty much the same and I think that's a good thing.
01:26 They have really hit the nail on the head here in terms of creating a sporty looking SUV.
01:30 It doesn't look too big or pompous.
01:32 I don't know, you look at something like a Q7 or a GLE and they look quite sort of, I don't know, SUV-like,
01:37 whereas this looks very sporty.
01:39 Down the front here you've got two big kidney grilles and they have these active vanes as well.
01:43 So as the car switches on, if it needs to get a bit more cooling through it,
01:48 they will open up and allow that to run through the engine.
01:50 And you've got little holes sort of all over the car here for additional cooling.
01:54 And that's also to accommodate the V8 in the X5M.
01:57 So you keep a similar fascia, but you still have all the cooling ducts that you need.
02:01 In terms of headlight technology, you have full LED adaptive headlights with an LED daytime running light.
02:07 If you want to see how well LED headlights work, you can click up here to watch a comparison that we shot between car headlights.
02:13 Round here you have 20-inch alloy wheels.
02:16 They come standard with run-flat tyres, but you do have a number of different wheel packages you can go for.
02:21 The design is pretty standard BMW, so you have that sort of brushed chrome on the outside
02:25 and then a darker kind of graphite colour on the inside.
02:28 Nice looking sort of wheel design.
02:31 And then you can see an M logo there because this car has the M Sport package.
02:34 So blue brakes and then more M badges.
02:37 No big wheel arch protectors.
02:39 It's all just fairly standard and conservative looking.
02:42 And that's where they've gone with that sporty look.
02:44 It sort of doesn't have that rugged off-roader look because it is not an off-roader.
02:48 Round here you have an indicator built into that wing mirror.
02:51 A camera there for the 360 camera, which we'll have a look at later on.
02:55 Roof rails.
02:56 And then join me around the back.
02:58 Here you'll find LED tail lights, rear exhaust pipes, the model designation.
03:03 So you can see there X-Drive, which is all-wheel drive, 30D, which is the six-cylinder diesel,
03:07 and then just an X5 badge as well.
03:09 So pretty classy looking car.
03:11 Let me know what you reckon in the comments section.
03:13 Do you think it's held up well in terms of the design?
03:15 Or do you think they could have done more with it?
03:16 Okay, we're inside the X5.
03:18 Let's start off with the key.
03:20 So you have unlock, lock, boot, and then the diamond there is for the lights to come on.
03:26 And because this has the M Sport package, you can see the M colours off to the side.
03:30 I quite like the key. It's pretty heavy.
03:31 It's got that metallic stuff on the outside.
03:33 It's a proximity sensing key as well.
03:35 So you leave that in your pocket.
03:37 Then once you're inside, you have a push-button start just here.
03:40 Now, what about the styling?
03:41 I think this looks really nice.
03:42 It looks classy.
03:43 It looks high-end.
03:44 And I think they've done a really good job in the finer details.
03:48 So you can see all the stitching along the dashboard there, along this section of the dashboard.
03:51 And then they break it up with this material that you can configure.
03:55 And then LED highlights around the top there and through the doors as well.
03:59 What I don't love though is that, I don't know, over the past few weeks,
04:03 I've been driving a few different cars.
04:04 And yes, I know that it looks awfully tacky when you have an infotainment system that sits up high.
04:09 It looks a bit like an iPad stuck to the dashboard.
04:11 But to be honest, that's quite low.
04:12 And then it's out of your field of vision.
04:14 So while you are driving, you have your head-up display and that sort of stuff.
04:17 You kind of have to look around and down to see that.
04:20 So yeah, I think maybe with the next gen of X5, hopefully they tilt that up a little bit higher.
04:25 And minimal use of piano black as well, which makes me very happy.
04:29 Now, what about your touch points?
04:30 So, good here, good there as well.
04:33 How good are they?
04:34 Well, we've tested them with our gyrometer.
04:36 If you want to see how this car compares to other cars that we've tested before,
04:40 have a look at the link in the description below.
04:42 Now, what about build quality?
04:45 This all feels really, really good.
04:47 It's all nice and solid and well put together.
04:49 Let's talk about infotainment.
04:51 And it all centers around this big 12.3-inch screen at the top of the dashboard.
04:56 It's called iDrive.
04:57 We have a detailed review of this if you want to click up here to watch that.
05:01 Today, I'll just give you a brief overview.
05:03 So it can be controlled either by touch, it's a touchscreen,
05:07 and you can also control it down the bottom here using the iDrive controller.
05:10 You then have a set of memory functions down the bottom.
05:12 You can just rest your finger on there and you'll see what the function is,
05:15 and then you can push it to actually activate the function as well.
05:18 In terms of radio, you have AM, FM, and DAB plus digital radio.
05:22 There's a 10-speaker sound system.
05:24 And then you can also use the inbuilt satellite navigation,
05:28 or alternatively, you have smartphone mirroring.
05:31 This is a really good infotainment system, by the way.
05:33 It is super sharp, super fast as well.
05:36 Apple CarPlay is entirely wireless, so I'll show you what that looks like.
05:39 Click on that here.
05:40 So again, full-screen integration, and you can see there it is super quick.
05:45 The thing I don't like about it, and we've had this in Mazdas as well,
05:48 for me to get from here to here, for example,
05:51 I can't just push the iDrive controller across, which would make perfect sense.
05:54 I have to literally scroll through all of the menus to get to the other side,
05:59 and then same thing to go back the other way.
06:01 So slightly inconvenient and a little bit annoying.
06:04 And let's have a look at Android Auto.
06:05 That is wireless as well.
06:07 So click on that.
06:09 So it basically takes up three quarters of the screen,
06:12 and then you can sign in and do other things on this side.
06:15 Unlike Apple CarPlay, where you need to scroll to get all the way across,
06:19 you can actually just use the iDrive controller here.
06:21 It allows you to jump between those different sections.
06:23 So it's a much smarter and intuitive system.
06:27 If you do want to see a video we shot that compares Apple CarPlay with Android Auto
06:31 and the pros and cons of each, click up here to watch that one.
06:34 There's also a 12.3-inch screen ahead of the driver.
06:37 So you can see on the left-hand side there, you have the speedometer,
06:39 you have a digital readout, you also have a tachometer on the right.
06:42 And using this button, you can actually change what appears on the right-hand side menu.
06:47 So you can select different things.
06:49 Then ahead of the driver is a head-up display.
06:51 Now, what about safety technology?
06:53 Well, good news is this is pretty much jam-packed with everything that you need.
06:56 So low and high speed autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection.
07:01 You have rear cross traffic alert, both front and rear parking sensors,
07:05 lane keeping assistant, lane departure warning.
07:08 You have a semi-autonomous steering function, blind spot monitor built into that wing mirror.
07:12 And by the way, if you want to see a better idea of how some of that parking technology works,
07:17 click up here to watch a video that we shot before.
07:20 In fact, we used an X5, so it's quite relevant to what we're doing here.
07:23 In terms of the actual parking cameras themselves, there's a 360-degree camera.
07:27 And I'll show you what that looks like.
07:28 There it is there.
07:29 So that's your reverse view.
07:31 It's actually quite a good resolution.
07:33 You can clearly see there.
07:34 And that's your 360 view, which is not too bad as well.
07:37 You can change your camera angles.
07:39 You can actually sort of zoom around the car as you like.
07:42 And then there's an auto mode that basically does everything else for you.
07:45 And this is where the reverse assistant is.
07:47 So you can see how that technology works in the video that we linked to just before.
07:51 Now, what about practicality?
07:52 We'll start with USB.
07:53 So you have one USB point up the front here and then a 12-volt outlet.
07:57 You've also got a charge mat there for your mobile phone.
08:01 In the center console here, you have another USB point.
08:04 But this is a USB-C point.
08:05 That one is USB-A.
08:07 And on the storage front, where will you put your phone when you need to store it?
08:12 So you can pop it on that charge mat down the front there,
08:15 or you've got a space off to the side, or it can live in the cup holders as well.
08:19 And then our coffee cup easily fits into there.
08:22 And no risk of spilling that.
08:24 It's deep enough to take even a small cup like that.
08:27 It's also got teeth off to the side.
08:29 Now, we've got our big bottle here.
08:32 That doesn't fit into there.
08:33 We'll see if it fits into the doors.
08:35 Yeah, no dramas at all fitting into the doors.
08:38 Center console, it is fairly deep.
08:40 I'll show you what it looks like with our bottle there.
08:42 It fits fine.
08:43 There is a glove box over here, which is decent-sized as well.
08:48 In fact, that's pretty good.
08:50 And then finally, you have another storage spot just next to the driver's knee.
08:54 OK, what about comfort?
08:55 So you have dual-zone automatic climate control.
08:58 You have headed seats for the front row.
09:01 Seats themselves are electrically adjustable.
09:04 And this particular one has a function that will suck you in from the sides as well.
09:09 Seats themselves are really quite comfortable.
09:11 And you can see here with the design, they're perforated too.
09:13 So while it doesn't have seat cooling, this will keep you, I guess, a little cooler in summer
09:18 and prevent you from getting stuck to the seat.
09:20 I love the steering wheel in these.
09:22 It just fills the hand really nicely.
09:24 You've got easy access to the paddle shifters.
09:26 And the rest of these controls are really easy to reach while you're driving as well.
09:30 So back seat of the X5.
09:32 Let's talk about the room first.
09:33 So I've got a decent amount of knee room.
09:35 Keep in mind that this seat is pretty far back.
09:38 So I'm impressed with that.
09:39 Toe room's good.
09:41 Headroom is really decent as well.
09:43 And that's despite the fact we have this pretty big panoramic sunroof above us as well.
09:48 In terms of the creature comforts, you've got mat pockets in the back of the seats.
09:51 Then you have storage here and then deeper storage here for your devices.
09:55 Air vents.
09:56 Now this is interesting.
09:58 I remember seeing this on old BMWs and Benz products.
10:01 It was basically a switch between hot and cold.
10:03 I don't actually understand the history of this.
10:05 So if you know more about this, let me know because obviously the climate is set up the front by the driver.
10:10 But I wonder how much influence this has on the air that comes out of here.
10:13 So I'll be interested to find out.
10:15 If your kids do have devices, they can plug them into these slots here.
10:19 Two USB-C ports for charging your devices and a 12-volt outlet down here.
10:24 You've got ISOFIX points on the two outboard seats.
10:26 Then you have a centre armrest there with a little cubby in the middle.
10:30 This centre armrest also comes down to give you access to the boot.
10:34 Up the front there, you have two cup holders.
10:36 So I'll show you how these work with our small bottle first.
10:39 Easily fits into there.
10:40 You've got those rubber teeth off to the side.
10:43 Let's see what happens with our whopper bottle.
10:47 Yeah, I've trusted in there.
10:50 But it does fit into the doors with a bit of a squeeze.
10:53 So that has you covered for all bases.
10:56 Let's talk cargo space.
10:57 One of the things I love about the X5 is this.
11:00 So it has a split tailgate.
11:02 So you can open this section and then you can also open the bottom section.
11:05 You can also sit on that as well.
11:07 So really versatile if you need to change a baby or something like that.
11:10 You've got plenty of options there.
11:11 And in terms of cargo volume, you have 650 litres available here
11:15 when you have the second row in place.
11:17 Underneath the cargo floor, which is hydraulically held in place,
11:21 you randomly have a space saver spare tyre, even though this has run-flat tyres.
11:25 Then you have your tool kits for towing and also an additional cover for the cargo blind.
11:31 Over to the left, you have a slot for the first aid kit,
11:35 the 12-volt outlet over here and then a cargo blind that you can get rid of as well.
11:38 Now, how does it fit with our bags?
11:40 Well, let's have a look.
11:41 You would expect to see a red suitcase here, but long story,
11:45 I got locked out of the office and couldn't bring it.
11:48 So instead we have this, which is around the size of a cabin bag for the plane.
11:52 That gives you an idea of how much room there is there.
11:54 And then if you do want to expand the space a little further,
11:57 you've got these two levers here that drop the second row.
12:00 And that increases the space to around 1900 litres.
12:06 So we have hit the road in the X5.
12:08 Let's talk about the engine.
12:10 3-litre turbocharged six-cylinder diesel.
12:13 And it is a meaty little thing.
12:15 195 kilowatts of power, 620 newton-metres of torque.
12:20 And that's all mated to an eight-speed torque converter automatic.
12:23 So no dual clutches here and it's permanent all-wheel drive as well.
12:27 To give you a feel for what this sort of feels like,
12:29 I'm just going to flatten that.
12:33 Just literally shoves you back into the seat.
12:35 It is a really good feeling and such a sensational engine.
12:41 It is virtually lag-free.
12:43 So when you do roll onto the throttle, it's ready to rumble.
12:45 And if you roll in harder, that's when the turbo really just comes in
12:49 and makes light work of the situation.
12:51 So very impressive setup.
12:53 Now in terms of fuel economy, 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres is the official claim.
12:59 If we flick through our little meter here,
13:01 we're currently averaging 9 litres per 100 k's.
13:04 So I think that's a more realistic figure given when you do a lot of city driving,
13:08 this is going to chew through just a little bit more fuel.
13:11 Let's talk drive modes.
13:11 You have a litany of them to pick from.
13:13 So comfort mode is just standard and we're currently in comfort mode.
13:17 That is just comfort suspension because it is adaptive damping
13:21 and everything's nice and relaxed.
13:23 The steering's easy and it's all just regular.
13:26 Eco Pro, that dulls down the air conditioning
13:28 and tries to conserve as much energy as possible.
13:32 Adaptive, that simply monitors how you're driving
13:34 and then will then adjust all the drive modes accordingly.
13:37 So if it sees you really hunting for the throttle, braking hard,
13:39 it will go straight into sport mode.
13:41 And then finally you have sport mode.
13:43 The thing I love here, it's going to be a little tricky to see,
13:45 but just down here you can see the little BMW M symbol.
13:49 I think that is really cool, that comes up when you flick it into sport mode.
13:52 When it is in sport mode, the steering becomes heavier
13:55 and, I don't know, it just feels really sporty.
13:58 So when you're punting it through corners, it has a rear bias feel.
14:02 The steering is nice and firm and that engine is just sensational.
14:06 I mean, you can see how you could get out of control here
14:09 and go all the way up to an X5 M with a twin-turbo V8,
14:12 but this really just does everything that you need.
14:14 It's providing you the performance you need
14:16 for overtaking and day-to-day driving,
14:18 but then if you want to get stuck into it,
14:20 it's still putting a big old smile on your face
14:22 because it has so much torque.
14:23 So, I don't know, if you just want the best of both worlds
14:26 with comfort and then sportiness, this kind of nails that brief.
14:30 Now, BMW claims a 0-100 time of 6.5 seconds.
14:35 We'll put it up against our stopwatch to see how it goes.
14:37 And I'll pop that back into comfort.
14:48 It is worth noting, though, that my biggest issue with BMWs
14:52 is often they're far too sporty.
14:54 This one, on the other hand, doesn't feel that way.
14:56 So even in comfort mode now, it's riding really nice and smoothly.
15:00 The 20-inch wheels aren't super low profile,
15:02 so it's not brittle over sort of corrugations,
15:05 and it doesn't hate being in and around the city.
15:08 This is right where it needs to be in terms of comfort and sportiness.
15:11 It can get out of control very quickly if you start optioning big wheels,
15:15 and I think that's where you need to be careful.
15:16 And, I don't know, I always try and say this,
15:18 but 24-hour test drive, if you are buying one of these,
15:22 don't just go and buy it.
15:23 Take it for a test drive for 24 hours.
15:24 Drive it over the roads that you normally drive on,
15:27 and you'll see whether it suits your lifestyle.
15:28 There's no point going in and ticking all the M Sport option boxes
15:32 to find that, you know, you're sick of the ride after one week.
15:35 So keep that in mind when you're buying one of these.
15:37 Even though I tell you the ride is pretty good here in the 30D,
15:41 it may not be to your liking, and it is worth double-checking for yourself.
15:44 Now, what about visibility?
15:45 It does look big on the outside,
15:47 but you actually sit in a high and commanding position,
15:50 but it feels quite sporty.
15:52 So even though I'm sitting on top of the seat here
15:53 and I have clear visibility down the front there,
15:56 it feels like an engaging driving position.
15:58 It's not like you're driving a bus.
16:00 I think the wing mirrors could be bigger.
16:01 They're really quite small,
16:03 and, yes, they sort of give you all the vision you need down the side,
16:06 and you have the blind spot monitor there,
16:08 but, I don't know, just a little bigger, I think, would have been nice.
16:11 And then, looking out the back, it's a pretty narrow envelope.
16:14 If you've got passengers there,
16:15 it's pretty sort of tricky to see out the back window.
16:18 Let's talk towing quickly.
16:19 3.5 tonnes of brake towing capacity is available with the upgraded tow package.
16:23 So that's where BMW fits a genuine tow bar to the car,
16:28 and then you're able to do your 3.5 tonnes without any dramas.
16:31 I think with this engine, 3.5 tonnes is going to be pretty comfortable behind the wheel.
16:35 Now, this is not a rock hopper.
16:37 You're not going to be driving off-road anytime soon,
16:39 but if you do, it actually has an off-road option.
16:43 So that's around an $8,000 to $10,000 package.
16:46 It adds a locking differential, a sump guard,
16:49 and it just gives you the ability to drive further off-road.
16:52 You have a standard ground clearance of 214 mm,
16:54 which is actually pretty impressive for an SUV like this.
16:58 So ticking that off-road box will simply improve your ability to drive off-road,
17:02 and will mean that if you do, I don't know,
17:05 camping and stuff like that,
17:06 where you're worried about getting stuck with these very road-oriented tyres,
17:09 that this will get you through it.
17:11 Now, what about road noise?
17:12 These are big tyres, so they do attract a little bit of road noise,
17:14 but for the most part, it's a pretty quiet place to be seated,
17:17 which is what you'd expect from a car that's $120,000.
17:20 It's not quite as quiet as something like a Mercedes-Benz GLE.
17:24 It is pretty impressive, nevertheless.
17:26 Finally, turning circle. 12.6 metres.
17:30 That is a whopping big turning circle,
17:32 and that is partially thanks to your super-wide tyres and the all-wheel-drive system.
17:36 You will probably need to do three-point turns every now and then,
17:39 if you're in and around the city.
17:41 So, BMW X5.
17:45 I reckon this is probably my pick of the bunch.
17:46 The 30d is such a good engine.
17:48 It has plenty of torque, it's incredibly efficient,
17:51 and it's still really fun to drive behind the wheel.
17:53 And if you don't go too crazy with wheel options,
17:55 these 20-inch wheels are just where they need to be with the run plates,
17:58 in terms of being on the sportier side of comfortable,
18:01 but still being good enough to take the family around
18:03 without shattering your teeth every time you go over a pothole,
18:07 which is what you can get with cars like the X5 M.
18:09 But is it a little bit too expensive?
18:11 About $120,000 now to get into this six-cylinder diesel,
18:14 and that's before you tick any options.
18:16 When you look at something like a Q7,
18:17 it is a much cheaper way to get into this big SUV segment.
18:20 So, keen for your feedback in the comments section,
18:23 would you be buying this or something like a Q7 or a GLE?
18:26 Let me know what you think.
18:27 Either way, this is a fun car to drive.
18:29 I just think it's probably a little bit expensive.
18:31 If you did enjoy this video, make sure you like it and also share it.
18:34 And if you haven't done so already, subscribe to our channel
18:36 and press the bell icon so you can find out every single time we publish something new.
18:40 But until next time, take it easy.