2019 marks the 20th birthday of BMW’s very first SUV, the X5. Originally it was branded as a Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV) as a means to promote the car’s on road capabilities, but sits firmly within the SUV sector. Over its two decades, there have been 4 generations of the X5, with the latest arriving only a months ago. In this blog post, we take a look at the 3rd generation X5, built between 2013 – 2018 and why Cargiant thinks it’s a must have SUV.
Features
The BMW X5 is available in 2 trim levels, SE and M Sport. Standard features include satellite navigation, heated seats, parking sensors, heated mirrors, a DVD player, Isofix anchor points, cruise control and much more. The range topping M Sport trim level adds sports seats, body coloured bumpers and M Sport alloys to the long list of standard features.
Engine, Performance and Drive
The X5 is available with an automatic gearbox only and with a choice of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines. The engines we’d recommend are a 3.0-litre diesel in either 30d or 40d guise and a 2.0-litre petrol/electric hybrid, all of which come with BMW’s xDrive 4-wheel drive system.
Both 3.0-litre 258 bhp 30d and 313 bhp 40d engines can produce over 47mpg with £190 road tax for a pre-April 2017 model*. The 30d travels from 0-62mph and 6.8 seconds and the 40d 0.9 seconds quicker. The 2.0 xDrive40e engine generates 313 bhp, over 83mpg and £0 road tax*.
*if the car was registered on or after 1st April 2017, road tax is £140 plus £310 per year if the original list price was over £40,000.
Safety
In 2018, the BMW X5 scored a 5* Euro NCAP safety rating; the highest a vehicle can achieve.
Our Verdict
If you are looking for a powerful but economical and refined SUV, the X5 is a great choice. It’s attractive, brilliantly built, well equipped and fantastic value for money.
At Cargiant, we have a wide range of X5’s to choose from, so take a look at our current stock here and book yourself a test drive now! https://www.cargiant.co.uk/search/bmw/x5