BMW X5 (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara

First Official Pictures

08 August 2006 01:20

The lowdown

This is the face of the all-new X5, a car that redefines the sports SUV claims BMW. More power and performance, a slippery shape, a new chassis honed for dynamic driving and gadgets galore make up the recipe. Seven seats are now optional, as BMW seeks to match the layouts of the Mercedes GL, Volvo XC90 and Land Rover Discovery. The new car is due on sale in the UK in April 2007, having hit the USA first before the end of 2006. Launch engines are 3.0-litre petrol and diesel sixes, and a 4.8-litre V8. Prices will start at £39,505, rising to £50k for the V8.

Armchair critics tend to laud the original X5 as the last great looking BMW, before the 2001 7-series controversially ushered in a new era of Munich designs. They tend to overlook the fact that design boss Chris Bangle led the teams that styled BOTH cars. And the X5 MkII looks to have successfully fused both eras. It retains the original's handsome simplicity and hewn from rock-robustness. But the details are funkier. Scalpel blade headlamps, supercar-style aero vents in the front valance, more crisply creased wheelarches leap out from the front. A word of warning, though. The X5 is the first SUV to be equipped with unyielding run-flat rubber, on those 18- to 20-inch rims. Run-flats may offer a 90-mile range with a puncture, but tend to have a negative impact on ride quality.

By Phil McNamara