Originally Posted by Merc1

Another first test of the new X5:

http://www.luxurycarcanada.com/features/features_articles.php?fetch_feature_article=07_bmw _x5_pw_.php&pass_title=2007%20BMW%20X5

M

Originally Posted by LuxuryCarCanada.com

Hours spent negotiating the curves of Callahan Mountain Road and Mine Mountain road, all wet with rain, and dappled with fallen autumn leaves, enable you to revisit a time when you first discovered the sheer pleasure of driving.

Requests by the driver for ever-increasing levels of steering, braking and acceleration are almost instantly delivered by the X5, and without the slightest complaint. Does it have limits? I didn't find them: the chassis is that rigid; the electronics that sophisticated. With the vehicle's electronic stability systems operating, it may be impossible to put the X5 into a skid or slide, even on the very wet surfaces we encountered in rainy South Carolina. Of course, if you take a corner way too fast, you're going to off the road, but the overall impression when driving the X5 is of driving a thoroughbred European sports sedan.

But even though it handles like a European sedan, the X5 is very much tuned to the American market. True, the sports suspension is firm, but it's certainly not harsh. And the standard suspension gives a comfortable ride, without sacrificing sharp handling.

The BMW X5 is, after all, a technical treat that seemingly defies physics in some cases. Does a truck have any business driving this well?

"Don't think of it as a truck," suggests Tom Purves, BMW America's CEO, "Think of it as a performance machine."

It's that all right.