6-cyl

2001 March: A 3-litre 6-cylinder BMW X5 4x4.

2001 February: All is forgiven at the Victorian 4WD Show, the Land Rover Owners Club welcoming BMW X5 4x4s - BMW sold Land Rover to Ford last year.

Right: 4.4 litre V8, a similar BMW engine is promised for the next Range Rover. Above: The interior is all BMW sedan, with electric this that and the other. Right: suspension is all independent; the rear wishbones are relatively short. The obvious mechanical comparison is to the Merc' M-class

The four wheel drive BMW has been on sale in Australia since last year but expect a big presence at the Melbourne Motor Show next month.

- © L. A11ison

2001 January: BMW Australia launched a big advertising campaign for the (locally) new X5 4x4 (causing M.B. to run ad's for its competing M-class.) At Detroit, BMW also showed a 4.6L 255kw 480Nm X5 HP, v. the standard 4.4L 210kW 440N, and the X-coupe concept sports car.

2000: The BMW X5 four wheel drive, with a light duty four wheel drive system and all independent suspension. This one has the 4.4 litre petrol V8.

The X5 has a full time four wheel drive system, the torque-split being 40:60 front:rear. Once upon a time the lack of just one of a manual gearbox or a low-ratio transfer case was a severe handicap for a 4x4; the X5 has an automatic gearbox and a single speed transfer case. It is clearly aimed at use on the highway, gravel and snow covered roads, but automatics are good for going up-hill, and the Land Rover derived `hill descent control' (HDC) covers up most of the transmission's limitations on steep descents.

The X5 was developed during BMW's ownership of Land Rover and it was seen as a complement or was it a rival to the Range Rover; BMW sold Land Rover to Ford in 2000-
4wd.sofcom.com

BMW X5, station wagon, 5-seats, 4-doors, multiple airbags loa: 4667mm, width: 1872mm, height: 1707mm wheelbase: 2820mm, grnd clearance: 182mm turning radius: 6.2m weight: 2225kg (unladen)

• V8:
  • 4.4 litre V8 petrol (premium unleaded)
  • power: 210kW at 5400rpm, torque: 440Nm at 3600rpm
• 6-cylinder, 3 litre
• transmission: 5-speed automatic, full-time 4WD (no low-ratio), traction control, hill descent control
• suspension: indep/ indep, brakes: disc/ disc, electronic stability programme
• tyres: 255/55x18 18-inch wheels, or 17" wheels plus snow chains, fuel-tank: 93L
• fuel consumption: 14.8L/100km town, 10.2L/100km highway (claimed)
• standard: air conditioning, 6-CD player, central locking, cruise control
• price: V8 from $107,850 (11/2000), 3.0 6-cylinder from $79,750 ($au 3/2001)
• rivals: Land Rover Range Rover, Mercedes Benz ML430

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