BMW X5 wagons adopt sporty airs with two powertrain choices
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- We're strapped to the bucket with one hand on the short stick shifter and the other grasping a sporty steering wheel as feet ply the pedals and eyes cock toward the next apex over a serpentine road.
It's a hair-raising romp through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in a sport-tuned vehicle of rigid structure rigged with a sophisticated suspension, crisp steering and big rubber rollers, along with a complex series of computer-guided controls to manage the brakes and channel traction to all wheels.
And we've got plenty of muscle to play, out of a husky straight-six that pumps up the power of 225 ponies.
That's more than enough juice to charge down the rare straight stretch, or in shorter gears etch some precise lines through the unending bends of wiggly pavement.
Running this twisty route turns into a playful exercise in a sporty machine that's downright fun to drive, but that's an expected attribute of any vehicle such as this that bears the badge of BMW, Germany's automaker renowned for a line of incomparable performance cars.
What's not expected, however, is to attribute BMW traits of sporty handling and keen performance to the high-rising hulk of a sport-utility wagon like the one we're tossing around the Blue Ridge roads.
Yet that's what happens when BMW's performance-oriented designers direct their attention to a sport-utility wagon.
The SUV for BMW goes by the alphanumeric tag of X5.
It's a broad and long four-door wagon that fits in the mid-size class of SUVs with a wheelbase stretching for more than nine feet and the wheel track over five feet wide. The boxy package measures about fifteen feet long by six feet wide and rises five and a half feet high. An engine fits in front of the four-door passenger compartment that comprises two rows of seats for five passengers and a cargo bay in back accessed through a clever clamshell tailgate.
That description could perhaps apply to dozens of sport-utility vehicles, but what makes BMW's SUV different from the lot concerns its structural design and the application of performance-oriented mechanical paraphernalia.
The typical SUV uses the chassis of a truck as its foundation, with a wagon structure bolting to the platform.
By contrast, the X5 begins with a unitized structure that's innately strong and rigid. It serves as a stable foundation to mount the mechanical devices for power, suspension, steering, brakes and traction control.
Also, all components fit in such a manner that weight is distributed ideally, with half loading on the front wheels and the other half on the rear ones. This balance makes the X5 extremely controllable in predictable patterns.
And the use of lightweight aluminum for independent suspension links pares the unsprung mass of the vehicle, which ultimately makes it stick better on pavement and glide more uniformly over road bumps.
Similar concepts and components apply to BMW's sedans and coupes to make them such sporty performers.
The pliable suspension consists of front struts with double-pivot lower arms and coil springs with twin-tube gas-pressured shocks and anti-roll bar, plus the rear aluminum integral link with lateral arms forward of the lower and rear upper lateral arms. Coil springs come on the base X5 with a six-cylinder engine, but the top version with a V8 has self-leveling air springs.
A rack and pinion steering system generates precise and quick control, with variable power assistance governed by the speed of the engine.
Large disc brakes mount at all four posts. Front ones are vented but the discs in back are solid.
Brakes tie to anti-lock and traction devices as well as a stability mechanism with electronic brake proportioning and dynamic brake control. These sophisticated controls check the vehicle's speed or lateral wiggle and help to hold it in linear progression without locking the wheels or skidding.
Another computerized electronic control distributes power to all wheels through a planetary center differential that splits the engine torque. Normally, 38 percent of the muscle is sent to the front wheels but the majority goes to the rear.
Slippage of a wheel can prompt the smart system to redirect torque to other wheels that still grip. It works like magic on pavement to maintain forward momentum, and also can pull the X5 through a sloppy stretch of mud or slick sand. Yet there's no transfer case in this system or low-range gears necessary for crawling over rocks on a rough off-road route.
The X5 presents a choice of powertrains.
Original issues that emerged in 2000 stocked only a whopper of a V8. The 4.4-liter plant, with dual cams and variable valve timing through Motronic engine management, charges with 282 hp at 6400 rpm and the massive torque of 324 lb-ft at 3600 rpm sent through a five-speed automatic that has BMW's Steptronic one-step shift control and sport mode.
For 2001 editions, the X5 splits with a second model stocking a 3.0-liter in-line six-cylinder engine. It nets 225 hp at 5900 rpm as directed through either the Steptronic automatic or a five-speed ZF Type C manual.
Nomenclature for the two versions indicates the engine displacement as expressed in liters. Thus, the top model with V8 aboard is called the X5 4.4i and the new one with a six-pack becomes the X5 3.0i.
Both wagons contain a long list of standard features, including the most extensive array of safety equipment for any sport-utility. Passive safety gear includes frontal and side-impact air bags for front seat riders plus inflatable tubular air bags mounted atop front pillars to cushion heads and shoulders during a lateral collision, while side air bags are also available for the rear seats.
The X5 looks remarkably like one of BMW's big sports sedans, only it's jacked in height and carries the backpack of a wagon's cargo bay in the rear.
The cabin is impressive in design, size and content.
Two sport bucket seats stand in front with a three-person bench in back, followed by the cargo area. Back seats split and fold to a flat floor that expands storage space.
Packages load additional equipment, such as a premium package on the X5 3.0i or sport package for either model with firm suspension settings and larger wheels and tires.
BMW's wagons deliver the most control and fun of any SUV but they're not designed for those challenged by budgetary constraints, as X5 price points run from $40,000 to $60,000 depending on model and equipment added.
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| 2001 BMW X5 VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Mid-size 4-door SUV wagon |
| Model Options: |
Mid-size 4-door SUV wagon |
| Wheelbase: |
111.0 inches |
| Overall Length: |
183.7 inches |
| Engine Size: |
DOHC 3.0-L I6, DOHC 4.4-L V8 |
| Transmission: |
I6: Manual/5/ZF Type C, Auto/5/Steptronic, V8: Auto/5/Steptronic |
| Drive: |
AWD |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS/AST/DSC-X |
| Airbags: |
2 (front) plus 2 (side), plus 2 (head) plus opt. 2 (rear) |
| Gross Weight: |
I6: 6005 pounds, V8: 6005 pounds |
| Towing Capacity: |
I6: 5000 pounds, V8: 6000 pounds |
| Gas Mileage: |
I6 M/5: 15/20 mpg, I6 A/5: 15/20 mpg, V8 A/5: 13/17 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 39,470 to $ 60,200 |
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