2015 BMW X5

The BMW X5 comes in two trim levels which are the 35i and 50i. The base-level 35i comes with 8 way powered leatherette seats up front, heated mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, an optional rear-seat entertainment package, and a center limiter slip differential. All this comes for $53,900 while the all-wheel-drive comes for $2,300 extra, the more expensive 50i trim only comes with an all-wheel-drive and further gets a hands-free entry, front ventilated seats, 14-way power-adjustable front seats, leather upholstery, and optional Bang and Olufsen sound system.

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The base sDrive30i makes the most sense to us in the luxury line trim as you can have nearly all the creature comfort features that you’ll ever want. Further adding a few items from the options list can complete your purchase. You also get some really cool features such as Harman Kardon's surround sound system and 8 -Way Power Leatherette Seats.

There is a lot of engine and drivetrain options available for the 2015 BMW X5. There is a base 3.0L turbocharged inline-6 that produces 300 hp at 5,800 rpm and 300 lb-ft at 1,200 rpm. This is among the most powerful engines in the class and because the X5 is quite light on its feet, it has the best power to weight ratio which gives it an advantage over others in terms of performance. This engine can be had with either rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configuration. 

The second available engine is a 4.4L V8 which spins off 445 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque, at speeds as low as 2,000 rpm. This is quite a powerful engine and because it is twin-turbocharged, it can make the car go real fast real quick so you need to be quite gentle with the accelerator pedal. Also, it is quite thirsty and drinks fuel pretty quickly. The last available is a 3.0L in-line six-cylinder diesel engine producing 255 hp and 413 lb-ft. BMW promises 0-60 mph times of 6.7 seconds, and it's believable. Though it is nowhere as smooth and refined as the gasoline motors, it is still quite a punchy motor and pulls very linearly and straight.

Turbocharging does help the BMW rake some numbers as it is pretty much the most powerful SUV here and the quickest as well in terms of 0-60mph timing. Audi though is the biggest surprise as being quite a heavy car, we expected it to be a bit slower than the others but it somehow managed to outshine the much lighter Mercedes and we think it is due to the brilliant Quattro all-wheel-drive system of Q7.

So the 2015 BMW X5 comes in a lot of different engine options and power efficiency figures for all of them differ. The base sDrive35i is rated for 19/27/22 mpg for city/highway/combined driving respectively and these are quite impressive figures. The all-wheel-drive variant is just one unit shy in the figures. The V-8-powered xDrive50i model doesn't move forward as briskly in gas mileage. It's rated at 15 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for 17 mpg combined.

The Q7 here has pretty much the biggest fuel tank, but relatively lower fuel economy figures mean that the real-world range is not the best. BMW is the one here with the most balanced figures out of the bunch thus giving it an advantage in terms of range. The Japanese Acura MDX returns a fuel economy of 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway which is the segment-leading.

BMW cabins are among the best places in the world to be. The updated cabin has taken the word luxurious to an all-new level as it is simply miles ahead of what it used to be or what the competition offers. Just like its younger sibling X3, the 2015 X5 now has a stylish cockpit with swooping curves and two different interior palettes of coordinated interior colors and trim to go with the usual choices of aluminum or wood and leather. In the base trim, the upholstery is synthetic while the upper trims get genuine leather. A few of the switchgear buttons feel a bit flimsy but when you look at the dashboard as a whole and admire how well put together this whole cabin is.

 The front seats are tall and high and give a very commanding view out of the cabin. They are quite large and accommodate people of all body shapes and sizes and they of course come with powered adjustments and lumbar support with heated and ventilated functionality. Behind the front row seats, the second row is among the most spacious ones in the class and gets ample legroom. The seats are also slidable to open extra space. Though they can seat three adults, we would recommend you to keep the journeys small with three people abroad on the back seat.

Among the competition, Front row seats are the most spacious and best in the 2015 BMW X5 as expected and the second-row seats in the Benz have the most space and feel. In either case, the difference is of a few decimals among all and you won’t get wrong for picking any of these. Let’s have a look at some of the standout interior features:

• 10-way power-adjustable front seats with 4-way lumbar support
• Heated Front Bucket Seats
• 40-20-40 Folding Split-Bench Rear Seat
• Sensatec Leatherette Upholstery
• Power Tilt/Telescoping Steering Column with Sport Leather Steering Wheel
• Dual Zone Front Automatic Air Conditioning
• Poplar Wood Trim and Leatherette Door Trim Insert
• Memory Settings for driver's seat, steering wheel, and outside mirrors and Head Restraints

How intuitive is the 2015 BMW X5’s infotainment unit?

BMW designs some of the best infotainment systems in the business. The 2015 X5 also gets BMW’’s iDrive infotainment controller which operates the available navigation system and other ancillary functions, and displays on a new freestanding 10.2-inch screen. The iDrive controller also has a touch-sensitive surface on its controller for text entry. This has got to be among the best integration of an infotainment system display as it is quite easy to navigate through and even the options and icons are marked quite well. The display is of high resolution and is easy to read even under direct sunlight. 

There is a tonne of smartphone connectivity options like BMW Apps are now standard, with a little help from Apple’s iTunes. Voice commands go deeper into the X5's audio and navigation than before: the combination of options of voice controls, dial entry or scratchpad writing, and steering-wheel controls can be overwhelming until you've spent hours upon hours at the controls. Buyers can choose between two premium audio systems which are the Harman Kardon or Bang & Olufsen, the latter of which has 1,200 watts of power and 16 speakers. There's also a rear-seat DVD entertainment system with twin screens roughly the size of an iPad Mini, attached to the headrests of the front seats. Standout infotainment features:

• A 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Apple iTunes
• Optional 1,200 watts Bang &Olufsen surround Sound system
• In-built navigation
• Voice commands.

Just a few years back BMW gave the X5 a generation 3 makeover and made it look a lot softer and sophisticated both inside and outside. The car now looks more like a wagon on stilts than an SUV and we won’t say we are truly a fan of this new design language. Though it hasn’t lost its characteristic silhouette of an SUV and it still has the overall cues from the past generations. The front of the 2015 X5 houses the very iconic BMW kidney grille along with a pair of all-LED headlamps. The fog lamps are housed just below the headlamps in a rather absurd way as it feels like they are the last-minute addition to the design and they didn’t have enough time to tuck them in somewhere nicely. 

 The lower part of the bumper houses large air intakes which have grown in size. The side profile is maybe the most familiar with not a lot of changes here. It has that stance of a sports wagon just like the smaller X3 and at the back, the roof tapers down a bit. One thing though the new X5 seems to carry a lot less bulk on its shoulder than the previous one and that makes it look a bit more athletic from the sides.

When we talk about the numbers, the BMW X5 is among the lightest in the competition and though it is quite a big car, it still certainly does not feel like one. It is the longest if we talk just about the 5 seater cars from the competitions. It also happens to be the second tallest, just after the ML350 which is nearly an inch taller than the X5. Standout exterior features:

• Fully Automatic Projector Beam with Cornering Lights and Perimeter/Approach Lights
• LED Brakelights
• Power Liftgate/Tailgate
• Lip Spoiler
• Power Heated Auto Dimming Side Mirrors with Power Folding and Turn Signal Indicator
• Powered sunroof
• 19-inch Multi-Spoke Alloy Wheels

BMW cars are some of the safest cars in the world. The people in Germany really know how to build a safe and solid car and the X5 is no exception. Mostly the ratings for the BMW X5 are up and it has scored quite well in all the tests. Starting with the NHTSA which has rated the car an overall “5-star” safety rating with “5 stars” for front and side crash tests and “4 stars” for rollover tests. IIHS though hasn’t done a complete series of tests but the few they have done, the car has received a “good” rating in all of those. IIHS has also rated the car’s front crash prevention system to be superior in functionality. The car comes with a lot of active and passive safety features like a

• blind-spot monitoring
• lane-departure warning
• 8 Dual-stage Airbags with Airbag Occupancy Sensor
• adaptive cruise control
• BMW Assist eCall Emergency SOS
• stability control
• ABS with EBD

The BMW X5 has always been one of the best SUVs around the block and in this new avatar, it is even better than it used to be. Though the majority of its competitor cars are now a generation older and are due for an update in a few coming years, the 2015 X5 still makes a strong statement for itself and if you are in a market to buy a luxury family SUV, then it just could be the right car for you if you don’t need third-row seats.