FUTURE MODELS
BMW on an evolutionary road with X5
The design might be evolutionary but BMW has packed the new X5 with comfort and technology, writes Michael Taylor
In a shock to nobody, BMW’s designers have taken a modest evolutionary path to deliver the next X5 SUV, which will arrive in SA in November. Luckily, the engineers didn’t. An all-new V8 engine will headline the upgrades for the fourth generation of BMW’s most consistent sales performer, and it will also be longer, wider and taller. It will be stuffed full of new suspension technology, with a huge upgrade to the Off-Road Package to enhance its bush-bashing abilities. It will be bigger inside, with an optional third row of seats and push-button folding for the second row. The engineers have added 42mm to its wheelbase, taking the space between the axles out to 2,975mm, while it has grown 19mm in height (to 1,745mm). Critically, BMW has grown the X5 just 36mm in overall length, keeping it at 4,922mm and just beneath the critical 5m barrier. With the all-new X7 already seen out and about, BMW could afford to keep its X5 beneath the 5m barrier, which is so critical in some markets. Just ...
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