For years, BMW denied it would ever build a sport utility vehicle, but the company grew weary of watching its customers migrate to Daimler, Lexus, Range Rover, Jeep and even Lincoln. After three years and reportedly $1 billion in development, the BMW X5, with its focus on drivability and handling, is arguably the only vehicle a company with BMW's hard-earned reputation for roadholding could have produced. The North American Car of the Year jury classifies most SUVs as trucks; the panel considers the X5 a car. BMW calls it a sport activity vehicle. Developed from the outset to make light work of nominal off-roading (only about four percent of luxury SUV owners brave the boondocks in their vehicles anyway), the X5 provides nearly all the road-gripping driving pleasure BMW buyers expect. Built in Spartanburg, South Carolina (where the company also produces its sporty Z3 roadster), resembling a 5-Series station wagon on stilts and packing a 282-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8 and full-time four-wheel-drive, the X5 is every inch a BMW. After spending a few hours easily navigating a mucky, deeply rutted off-road course, we hosed off our new X5 and stormed around the tricky Road Atlanta racetrack, lapping at speeds that would have landed a tip-prone, conventional SUV on its roof. Along with nearly neutral handling (the all-wheel-dive torque split is approximately one-third front, two-thirds rear) and precise rack-and-pinion steering, the X5 is equipped with BMW's Steptronic five-speed automatic (or you can shift it yourself), four-wheel ventilated-front and solid-rear ABS brakes with Hill Descent Control. You'll also get Dynamic Stability Control--a computer-controlled system that measures the X5's cornering speed, steering angle and driver input in nanoseconds, then automatically applies the right throttle and braking combination to keep the X5 on its intended path. In contrast to most truck-based rival SUVs, the X5 feels and drives like a BMW 540i--it's just a little shorter and wider and you sit a little higher. You have to hand it to BMW for successfully creating an occasional off-roader that will run with any sporty four-door--or perhaps we should say it's a quick, stylish four-door sedan that you can take nearly anywhere. However you put it, the X5 is the best all-round sport-utility we've ever driven. The base price of an X5 is $49,970. Options include an activity package with rain-sensing wipers, a headlight cleaning system, electrically adjustable heated front sport seats and a ski bag. There's also a sport package with upgraded suspension, plus 19-inch high-performance wheels and tires. BMW's sonar-based Park Distance Control, a heated steering wheel, a 12-speaker stereo and an onboard GPS-based navigation system head a long list of add-ons. Maintenance is free for the first three years or 36,000 miles. A six-cylinder version (it'll be just under $40,000, we're told by BMW) will follow, along with an even higher-performance M-version, just in time to battle Porsche's planned SUV in 2001. It should be quite a war.
