The large door openings also make it easy to lift a child seat into place but the Isofix anchor points are hidden behind the back seat padding. Its large back doors mean you don’t have to be an olympic gymnast to squeeze into the rearmost seats but leg and knee room are a little too tight for tall adults to get comfortable – a Volvo XC90 will be a better bet if you often carry seven people. You can get the BMW with a third row of seats for an extra £990 or £1,410 – depending on which model you pick. There’s no annoying lump in the X5’s floor to get in the way of your passengers’ feet (unlike in most SUVs) and there’s more room for carrying three adults abreast than you’ll find in a Mercedes GLE or Lexus RX. There’s still loads of leg room, however, and plenty of space to tuck your feet under the seats in front. Jump in the back seats and you’ll be treated to loads of head and knee room but you can’t recline the rear seats like you can in a Lexus RX. Even entry-level SE models come with electric seat-height adjustment as standard but adjustable lumbar support (to help prevent back ache on long drives) is a £275 option on all X5s. The X5’s tall body and raised ride height mean it’s easy to climb into and there’s plenty of seat adjustment to help very tall drivers get comfortable in the front. You can read more in-depth info on the BMW X5 in the interior, practicality, driving and specifications sections of our review over the following pages. It feels posh, but isn’t the comfiest and is quite old – so make sure to use carwow to grab a cracking deal on one. It’s grips well in corners and doesn’t lean that much either, but it lacks some of the latest safety kit that you can get in the Audi.ĭespite these shortcomings, the X5 is still a very good large SUV. It does smooth out at motorway speeds, but then you’ll notice the road and wind noise, which is louder than in the likes of the GLE and Q7. Whichever you pick, the X5 easy to drive around town thanks to few blind spots, but it is surprisingly bumpy at lower speeds, even if you spend £2,000 on the optional adaptive suspension. There’s also a 2.0-litre diesel that’s worth considering if you’ll don’t plan on towing or travelling fully loaded most of the time, and it’s a far better choice than the expensive and surprisingly thirsty petrol-electric hybrid option. It’s reasonably economical on longer trips, quiet and gives the X5 impressive acceleration for such a big car. Your best bet is the smooth six-cylinder 3.0-litre diesel. The X5 can still hold its own against newer cars with its smooth standard-fit automatic gearbox and choice of powerful engines. The X5 is a bit like Sean Connery – it’s getting on a bit, but is still impressively handsome It’s very big, and can hold a bike with both wheels attached if you flip the rear three seats down – but if outright carrying capacity is high on your list of priorities then the Audi Q7’s vast space is even bigger. You can pay extra to add a third row of seats to turn it into a seven seater, but they are only big enough for small kids, and you’re better off with the roomier back seats in the Land Rover Discovery if you want to carry seven people regularly. There’s acres of room, three adults fit abreast more comfortably than in a Mercedes GLE and the doors open nice and wide so it’s easy for elderly relatives to step in. You can’t argue with the X5’s rear passenger space though. It also doesn’t get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone mirroring systems, nor the swanky digital driver’s display that you’ll find in the Audi and Volvo – another sign that the X5 is getting old. Those whippersnappers can’t quite compete with the X5’s infotainment system though – the iDrive control wheel on the centre console makes it easier to use without taking your eyes off the road than the Volvo’s touchscreen, and naturally the big BMW gets satellite navigation as standard. It’s alright, but BMW hasn’t updated the X5 since it was introduced in 2014, and if you step into an Audi Q7 or Volvo XC90 you’ll realise that newer cars’ cabins have much more of a wow factor than the ageing BMW. What isn’t so good is the actual dashboard design. It’s largely the same story inside, where the cabin is constructed out of lovely feeling materials that you sense are put together so well they’ll last a lifetime. You simply can’t miss the BMW X5 whether it’s in a car park or your rear-view mirror – it’s a big, imposing SUV that looks and feels expensive from every angle. Find out more about the BMW X5 (2013-2017)
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