| BMW X5 xDRIVE 3.0d $92,100 |
Driveline:
3.0L, 6cyl; 8spd auto; |
 |
Fuel economy:
7.4/100km; Diesel |
Safety Features:
DFSA, HAB, ABS, ESC, TCS, BA, EBD |
ANCAP:
5 stars |
GVG:
2.5 stars |
Since the Australia’s Best Car awards started more than a decade ago, the BMW X5 has grabbed half of the wins in this category, and in 2010 it is another win to the new BMW X5 diesel.
In a category dominated by European manufacturers, particularly the German car companies, a winner needs to be scoring well across the range. Although the X5 did not get the perfect score of 10 in any area, it scored consistently high in most criteria to give it the win. The competition is so tight in this class, a small difference can give them an award-winning edge that is hard to claw back.
Where X5 did dominate was the area of Design and Function, and because it is a successful recipe that BMW has been refining over the years it is a class leader in this area.
X5 has also rightly gained a very good reputation for on-road performance. Powered by an award-winning 3.0-litre turbo-diesel with the new eight-speed auto transmission, it seamlessly delivers prodigious torque of 540Nm in a well-behaved manner. This, coupled with the X5’s car-like handling, engendered the feeling of a very tight and tidy package, and only the much more expensive V8 Range Rover, which is designed as a sports model, had an edge over it on the bitumen.
Not many in this class will go everywhere that the dedicated all-terrain 4WDs will, but off road the BMW X5 did a lot of things well, helped by its good ground clearance and some electric assistance in the downhill sections, allowing it to do what most of us occasional off-roaders want.
With comfort levels that are class-leading , all occupants enjoy leather seating and climate-control air-conditioning, and they are protected by good levels of safety equipment, including dual front, side and curtain airbags.
The revised 3.0-litre straight-six common-rail turbo=diesel engine gave it a kick along with a better environment score.
So where did the BMW X5 win this against the two other finalists? In the area of Value for Money they were all within cooee of each other. But the BMW started to put daylight between it and the Audi Q5 in the way it performed on and off the road. And although the Range Rover kept pace with the X5 in the vehicle dynamics area, it was the design and functionality of the Range Rover that allowed the BMW X5 to eventually trump it.
BMW is to be congratulated on refreshing a tried and proven formula without changing the basic DNA of the vehicle that has kept the X5 at the front of the field many times before.