Test drive BMW X5 E53 2003 - 2007 SUV

Again Ix five ...

The assembly plant in Spartanburg works on time on time. All details are submitted to the conveyor at the very moment when they are needed there. The head office in Munich also followed this principle, timely updating the BMW X5.
The appearance in 1999 of the first serial X five caused a splash. Firstly, BMW performed in the SUV sector, which caused an ambiguous reaction of the public. Secondly, it is at that moment that the market is expensive car of this class only developed and the world, holding his breath, followed the struggle of Stuttgart and Munich - they had no competitors for that period. And then it went, people are used to paying $ 100 thousand per jeep, and today most producers of prestigious cars have their own classmate BMW X5. The time has come to remind the world who was among the first and that there is still gunpowder in powder.
The main thing is not to spoil. The appearance of the X5 was so successful that other car manufacturers do not consider it shameful to imitate him. And journalists love to look for familiar features from competitors. Therefore, the exterior of the new X-five decided not to radically change. The shape of the headlight block has changed slightly, higher and wide nostrils of the air intakes appeared. If you look closely, you can see a light update of the hood lines - but only the gaze of the expert. The rear lights have changed quite noticeably, but this is perhaps all regarding the design of the body.
  The new crown engine is 4.4 liters, familiar by seven, more powerful than the 4.4 motor of the previous version X5. To be honest, we did not feel much difference in accelerated dynamics: where 286 horses are already grazing, there is a place and twenty -five. They will not affect the breed in such a herd. .
 
More carefully, we reacted to the emergence of a new XDRive all -wheel drive control system. In theory, it works much faster than similar electronic lotions of competitors. This is achieved through the use of data on the behavior of the car read by sensors of the system of dynamic movement stabilization - DSC in the BMW language. The system constantly controls the road conditions and, if you want, predicts the moment of loss of clutch with the road. That is, the car does not respond to slipping, but prevents it.
Reading the description of the device is quite boring, but working with this system driving is fun. On the first day of our test, wet snow was walking, and an insidious polished roll was formed on the roads. But this did not stop us from calmly switching between sport modes and drives on a new six -speed automatic checkpoint. Imagine such escapades on any other car with a machine gun and you will understand what we are talking about. And we calmly and smoothly went to the point at a traffic light in a sporting mode. Not an anti-submarine zigzag, frantically correcting the trajectory with a steering wheel, but literally along the thread.
The strength of the habit. Without going into the intricacies of marketing, we will undertake to judge what the average Russian owner X5 differs from the European one. The fact that our life is greater in life. Well, we could not help but try X-five on off-road. Reasoned like this: there are few drivers sUVs who at least once in a life will not try their car in a quality that is different from other cars. Moreover, the manufacturer promises that nothing will happen to him. In our case, it was reported that the same XDRive system will help on off -road. When moving, the system will direct the torque to that axis, the wheels of which have the best clutch with the surface. But at the same time, the engine will not strangle and do not slow down the skid wheels, as is the case on many SUVs, where electronics controls all -wheel drive. The main thing is not to forget to turn off the DSC system with the button. The fact that it is not advisable to do this on the asphalt resembles a luminous icon - on it, under a yellow -drunk machine, an explanatory green inscription 4x4 is located.
  To begin with, we did not turn off anything: as we drove and drove straight through the snow mess into an impromptu sandy quarry. They overcame loose snow easily, but in the mud rolled up by trucks, the electronic brains began, quietly clicking, to go crazy. They simply did not have time to track the situation and act ahead of the situation. The off -road experience told us that here it would be necessary to give the gas so as not to sit down, and the electronics stubbornly dropped. We realized that the intervention of DSC in this case only interferes.
Handles, legs. After the electronics was taken out of the game, X5 went noticeably more fun, especially since we decided to switch to the manual operating mode of the automatic box. In the second gear, in order to confidently move along the rut to a rather steep descent, it was enough to work with gas. But then, under the wheels, liquid dirt went in half with snow, and we realized that if you overdo it with acceleration, the car could simply be demolished. Therefore, from the foot regime switched to manual. This is possible in the new BMW X5 at connecting the system control system from the mountain - HDC. Electronics independently reduces speed to 8 km/h, but allows the driver to regulate a fall within 5-25 km/h, using the keys + and-on the steering wheel. So we rode that until we returned to a horizontal position. The gas pedal joyfully trampled and ... fell into almost uncontrollable side sliding. The bottom of the career was even, covered with a thin layer of thawed sand, and under it was a layer of permafrost. And we forgot to turn on the DSC back, for which we paid a few seconds of fear. A little later, they tried to disrupt the BMW in the skid in the same place with the working system - we failed.
Well, here ... Two days of continuous pleasure were overshadowed by two trifles. More precisely, two annoying design disadvantages, which, frankly, are annoying. Firstly, this is the location of the power control keys. By the way, there are more of them - both front seats now have seven different adjustments in different positions. But it is almost impossible to stick your hand into the gap between the seat and the closed door. So I had to stop, open the door and only after that adjust your landing by millimeters. You can, of course, use three memory buttons and score three different provisions into it. Relatively speaking, the city, the track and the lane. But remember yourself, how often on your back your back is getting tired and you want to lower it for a couple of millimeters or raise the back of the driver’s chair, strengthen lumbar support? Well, do not stop for this every time.
 
The driver who will need to urgently get something from the trunk on a spring or autumn road will look equally awkward. It is almost impossible to do this without staining a cloak or coat. The rear bumper interfere (if the desired thing lies close) or the lower side of the trunk thrown on it (if you need to reach the trunk).
Against the general background, these are trifles, but the little things are very offensive, as they cause inconvenience to the owner of a car worth more than $ 100 thousand.
Text Nikolay Kachurin, photo Alexey Ilyin

BMW X5 4.4i
Gasoline engine V8
Working volume (cubic cub) 4398
Power (L.S. at rpm) 320 at 6100
Moment (nm at rpm) 440 at 3700
The permanent drive is complete
Gearbox 6-speed automatic sectral type
Length/width/height (mm) 4667/1872/1707
Wheel base (mm) 2820
The volume of the fuel tank (l)
 
Equipped mass (kg) 2195
Maximum speed (km/h) 240
Acceleration to 100 km/h (c) 7.0
Fuel consumption (city/highway, l/100 km) 11.2/8.1
The price in Moscow from $ 108.8 thousand.

 

Source: "Autopilot"