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      10-08-2009, 12:39 AM   #1
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Thumbs up 2010 BMW X5 M Full Test and Video by Insideline

Because They Can


What Works:
Phenomenal propulsion; tenacious grip; stealthy appearance; supple ride quality. Everything!

What Needs Work:
Physics textbooks will need to be rewritten.

Bottom Line:
We thought Porsche had written the final word on high-performance sport-utility vehicles. We were so wrong.

Stats...
0-60: 4.5s
0-60 w/ rollout: 4.2s
1/4 mile: 12.8s @ 108.5mph
60-0: 116ft
Slalom: 63.5mph
Skidpad: 0.91g

(Track test video HERE: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...deoId=20310560)

After driving the 2010 BMW X5 M, there were numerous subtitles for this story bouncing around in our head. Because it was only a handful of years ago, when BMW introduced the 2004 X5 4.8is, that it said, "There will never be an M version of the X5," we were tempted to write, "Never Say Never."

One blast down the drag strip in this 555-horsepower breadbox in Monte Carlo Blue had us shouting, "12-second SUV!" If we believed the rumor (and we don't) that one of the primary reasons for the X5 M's existence is to satisfy the conspicuously well-funded market among the mobsters in Russia, then we could've run with "From Russia With Love."

Finally, one serene drive home on L.A.'s notoriously poorly constructed freeways where we discovered this X5 M's ride was far better than that of our long-term 2008 BMW X5 4.8i almost compelled us to put down, "Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde."


A New M
It's not an accident that the newly M-bedazzled X5 has the ability to be both a remarkable performance machine and a completely livable grocery getter. If you had no knowledge of the record-breaking performance potential contained within the X5 M, you'd never know it had a dual personality.

Dr. Kay Segler, who recently took on the role of president of BMW M GmbH, said recently during the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show that for a BMW vehicle to be an M, "It must be able to be two vehicles in one — on one hand a pure sporting machine with the highest levels of performance, and on the other, like any BMW it can be used for every daily need with the same comfort and capability of any vehicle in the range."


Pferdestärke War
While our domestic automakers are busy pummeling one another with muscle cars, the Germans seem to have a fascination with overpowered SUVs, and who are we to complain? What's not to like about a twin-turbo V8 propelling a 2.5-ton vehicle to feats it never ought to reach?

That's why the X5 M is so damned mesmerizing. It shouldn't be able to do the things it clearly does, and it shouldn't be this easy to drive at the same time. It simply shouldn't exist at all. In fact, unless you spot the M badge, subtle fender flares and intercoolers in the front bumper, you'd never suspect this was anything more than an ordinary X5 with factory 20-inch wheels. We love that.

So when the VBox reported a 5.1-second time to 60 mph and quarter-mile effort of 13.2 seconds at 107.7 mph (before we'd even had a chance to optimize our launch protocol), we knew the X5 M wasn't just a rule breaker, but also a record breaker.


Let's Light This Candle Already
Pressing the M button on the steering wheel (assuming you've already programmed your M-menu for total annihilation) and manually selecting 1st gear enables launch mode. Then pressing the brake pedal as hard as is humanly possible while introducing the back of the throttle pedal to the floor will raise the engine rpm, and a checkered flag appears on the instrument cluster. This is when things go a little blurry.

The checkered flag illuminates just as the vehicle begins to creep forward a fraction of an inch because the giant disc brakes can barely hold back the 501 pound-feet of torque generated by the two twin-scroll turbochargers force-feeding the direct-injected 4.4-liter V8. At this very moment, the X5 M's driveline is literally trying to twist itself to pieces.

Releasing the reins at this point causes the X5 M to nearly wad up four 10-inch-wide pieces of pavement beneath its tire contact patches. The all-wheel-drive X5 M literally leaps off the line and shifts up (and belches, actually) exactly twice at the 7,000-rpm redline before reaching 60 mph in 4.5 seconds (4.2 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) and then once more before it crosses the finish line in the quarter-mile at 12.8 seconds at 108.5 mph. Holy smokes, that's a new record.

There was a time, not long ago, when people like us were swooning over an 8.0-liter V10 Dodge Viper running in the 12s, but an SUV? You've got to be kidding.


Rivals
It's no accident that the 2010 BMW X5 M produces exactly 5 hp more than the 2009 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, 52 hp more than a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and 135 hp more than a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 . Depending on which stats you choose for bench racing, the ML63 and Cayenne Turbo S collectively share the title of fastest/quickest SUV on the planet.

But that's over now. Unless Koenigsegg starts building 1,000-hp SUVs (and it could happen), you've got a new record-holder now, because the X5 M is the world's quickest and fastest SUV.


So What?
We've heard those who say that owning the fastest SUV is like being the skinniest contestant on TV's Biggest Loser. For the record, we think that's a terrible thing to say, and not at all fair to the X5 M.

The brilliant part is that the $86,225 X5 M is $40,000 less expensive than a $125,775 Cayenne Turbo S. True, a properly kitted (and even more expensive) Cayenne with variable ride height, skid plates, low-range gearing and decoupling antiroll bars would be able to leave the pavement-bound X5 M at the trailhead, but, really, who would ever take a Cayenne Turbo off-road — besides us ?


Still Not a Convert?
But drag strip performance only accounts for a fraction of why the X5 M is so remarkable. BMW has developed a new power-steering system for the X5 M with variable mapping that adapts effectively to both sporting occasions and parking lots. Unlike typical heavy-effort BMW steering (which appears to be on the road to extinction), the X5 M delivers unfettered feel and precision without syrupy heft and resistance.

Like the steering, the computer-controlled suspension (self-leveling in the rear) goes about its business largely unnoticed — that is, until you notice that the X5 M is not beating your internal organs to a foamy froth. Working in concert with several systems, the X5 M's multimode dampers and active antiroll bars react to changing road conditions thanks to a new high-speed FlexRay data transmission protocol, first used fully on the 2008 BMW 7 Series. In other words, the X5 M can humiliate most sports cars on a canyon road, grip our skid pad with 0.91g and keep a case of champagne from erupting in the cargo bay. That's a neat trick, especially considering the tires it wears are run-flats with short sidewalls pumped up to 38 psi.

Luckily, the X5 M's tires and brakes are as monstrously sized as its appetite for premium fuel (we validated the EPA's 14 mpg combined figure). Up front, the tires are 10.8 inches wide and the brake discs are 15.6 inches in diameter and clamped by four-piston fixed calipers. In the rear, the tires are 12.4 inches wide with 15.2-inch discs and two-piston sliding calipers. Stopping from 60 mph requires just 116 feet, which is, again, remarkable considering our vehicle's 5,332-pound as-tested weight.

With a large frontal area of 11.7 square feet and an untidy 0.38 drag coefficient, the X5 M didn't really surprise us in the slalom when its air turbulence actually blew the cones over. We were a little more surprised that its stability control system can't be disengaged, and the combination of so much speed and so much weight really gave the system's algorithms a workout. The best we could manage while keeping cones in their painted boxes was 63.5 mph. There were a couple unofficial 65-mph runs, but the cones wouldn't stay put.


Cool Stuff
The long list of standard features on the X5 M is nearly as long as the options list on a Cayenne Turbo S, notably: iDrive (the new one), navigation system, bi-xenon adaptive headlights, panoramic sunroof, 16-speaker premium audio and premium leather, among others.

Unlike with a Porsche, even the few options on our X5 M seemed reasonably priced. We appreciate that a compact spare tire ($150) is even available because run-flats usually mean a can of goo and set of rosary beads are all you have to get you to a BMW service center.

For $600 you may opt for the Cold Weather package that includes a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats and a ski bag. The Driver Assistance package contains automatic high-beams, head-up windshield display and rearview camera plus several top-view cameras for $1,800. BMW's Comfort Access keyless entry/starting system is $1,000 as it is on all BMW vehicles. Finally, those black roof rails will run you $100 and the grand total for our X5 M was $89,875, or $2,050 under the base MSRP of a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.


The Complete Package
It's hard to imagine a more complete high-performance SUV package than the 2010 BMW X5 M. It set new records at the drag strip. It's as easy to drive as any normal X5, and steers and rides better than any previous example. Its 14 mpg average certainly will not earn you a medal for fuel efficiency, but it is the best figure in its immediate peer group. And while $86,000 is unquestionably a large sum of money, that price is at the very least "fair" when it's compared to those of its rivals — especially when you line up standard and optional equipment.

And if the X5 M is an example of what we can expect from Herr Dr. Segler and his cohorts, we can't wait to see the 2011 BMW M5 with the same twin-turbo V8. It's bound to be at least 1,000 pounds lighter, is said to be making close to 600 hp (possibly the result of a Formula One-derived KERS system and driven through a new eight-speed double-clutch automated manual transmission.

Why have they decided to make such a vehicle? Because they can.


http://www.insideline.com/bmw/x5-m/2...and-video.html
































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      10-08-2009, 03:09 AM   #2
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Nice find!! Great review !! I want one of these, but... no money!!
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      10-08-2009, 07:28 AM   #3
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I wonder why the X6-M is a little bit faster. Insideline clocked it 4.1 to 60mph and 68mph thru the slalom.

I would really take any one of these.
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      10-08-2009, 02:07 PM   #4
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108mph, trap.... would think it would do better.
But the AWD is killing that 0-60mph.
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      10-08-2009, 02:19 PM   #5
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Lubz it!
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      10-08-2009, 04:57 PM   #6
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An M5 with 1000LB less weight, more HP, will be a monster!
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      10-08-2009, 05:39 PM   #7
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How does it defy the laws of physics, when it can't beat others in the class in the slalom? Like EVO said it is big/heavy, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.


M-vehicles are supposed to handle better than the competition. 63.5 mph

Edmunds slalom #'s:

ML63 - 64.4 mph
Cayenne Turbo - 66.2 mph



Read of real review of the M-suv's. EVO mag's review of the X6M.

Post that article Bimmerpost, I dare you!!!!
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      10-08-2009, 08:43 PM   #8
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Hey now, CA doesn't cost $1000 on every BMW.
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      10-08-2009, 09:04 PM   #9
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Yawn!!!! Next one please!

I mean just listen to that heavy tank. Boring as f*ck! End of the era of M cars with sonorous, bone-chilling and wailing high-revving engines that sound like race cars.

Welcome to the most boring sounding M cars of all times. Considering the M5 will have the same engine, I can bet the new M5 will not sound much different than that. Take my word on that.
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      10-08-2009, 09:42 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 330CIZHP View Post
Yawn!!!! Next one please!

I mean just listen to that heavy tank. Boring as f*ck! End of the era of M cars with sonorous, bone-chilling and wailing high-revving engines that sound like race cars.

Welcome to the most boring sounding M cars of all times. Considering the M5 will have the same engine, I can bet the new M5 will not sound much different than that. Take my word on that.
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      10-08-2009, 10:51 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Summicron View Post
An M5 with 1000LB less weight, more HP, will be a monster!
+1, can't wait to see what they come up with for the new M5.

But this X5 M is insane. Love it.
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      10-08-2009, 11:20 PM   #12
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really impressive! at last, the Cayenne Turbo S has something to fear of.
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      10-09-2009, 07:38 AM   #13
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Thats was uninspiring. Yes its fast, but thats it.
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      10-09-2009, 09:03 AM   #14
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The front is so aggressive.. the rear is boring. X6 is thee best.
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      10-09-2009, 01:10 PM   #15
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Nice Color.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordon Murray View Post
Being a fan of Honda engines, I requested that they consider building for the F1 a 4.5 liter V10 or V12. I asked, I tried to persuade them, but in the end could not convince them to do it, and the McLaren F1 ended up with a BMW engine.
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      10-09-2009, 01:16 PM   #16
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Love the X6M, wouldn't mind having the X5M. Hope to order X6M soon.
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      10-09-2009, 05:56 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 330CIZHP View Post
Yawn!!!! Next one please!

I mean just listen to that heavy tank. Boring as f*ck! End of the era of M cars with sonorous, bone-chilling and wailing high-revving engines that sound like race cars.
I beg to differ. The M3 is as boring as f*ck to me. I test drove them several times, but just could not bring myself to go for it. The M5 certainly is a serious contender, but that transmission is just not acceptable.

The X5 M is definitely not boring.

All just a matter of opinion.

Still waiting for a "Real" M owner to stop me and challenge me to remove my "M" badge. You know what it reminds me of? When the Jeep Taliban got their knickers wadded after the Jeep went independent front suspension.... Times change, technologies change, get over it people. It's done. Quit whining.
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      10-09-2009, 07:36 PM   #18
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I see you own an X5 M. If you think this (after 1:05) is boring as f*ck, you either have serious hearing issues or are only resistant to the criticism.



http://www.youtube.com/user/PencilGe.../8/qji3i0rUzvE

I have driven an M3 sedan with 6 speed and M3 coupe with M-DCT and all I can say is the M3 sounds (and ofcourse handles) like the X5/X6 M could not even dream of.

Obviously, I am fine with X5 M being what it is since it is an SUV. My biggest issue is the next M5 becoming as boring sounding as that.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutal Groceries View Post
I beg to differ. The M3 is as boring as f*ck to me. I test drove them several times, but just could not bring myself to go for it. The M5 certainly is a serious contender, but that transmission is just not acceptable.

The X5 M is definitely not boring.

All just a matter of opinion.

Still waiting for a "Real" M owner to stop me and challenge me to remove my "M" badge. You know what it reminds me of? When the Jeep Taliban got their knickers wadded after the Jeep went independent front suspension.... Times change, technologies change, get over it people. It's done. Quit whining.
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Last edited by 330CIZHP; 10-09-2009 at 08:05 PM..
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      10-10-2009, 03:35 AM   #19
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It is impossible to argue with these X6/5 owners. They just become impossibly rude when you try to point out that what they believe isn't right.

I have decided to say good things and leave it at that before some of them turn militant, like that "dmglc" (or "dmlgc" whatever) from the other thread.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordon Murray View Post
Being a fan of Honda engines, I requested that they consider building for the F1 a 4.5 liter V10 or V12. I asked, I tried to persuade them, but in the end could not convince them to do it, and the McLaren F1 ended up with a BMW engine.

Last edited by blue2fire; 10-10-2009 at 04:13 AM..
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      10-10-2009, 05:10 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 330CIZHP View Post
I see you own an X5 M. If you think this (after 1:05) is boring as f*ck, you either have serious hearing issues or are only resistant to the criticism.



http://www.youtube.com/user/PencilGe.../8/qji3i0rUzvE

I have driven an M3 sedan with 6 speed and M3 coupe with M-DCT and all I can say is the M3 sounds (and ofcourse handles) like the X5/X6 M could not even dream of.

Obviously, I am fine with X5 M being what it is since it is an SUV. My biggest issue is the next M5 becoming as boring sounding as that.
Um...... sorry, I am going by actual experience and actual hearing memory of what it sounds like from the driver's seat, and not a compressed youtube clip! And personally, for me, the X5 M sounds better than the M3! but you know what, you are going to have to drive them and decide for yourself. You tube clips do not qualify.

The M3 is a wonderful vehicle, but as I was looking for something slightly more practical, the 4 door version of the M3 simply did not have what I was looking for. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of torque at low RPM. Yes, I know that a M car is supposed to deliver the goods at high RPM, but I find that tiring. I am not into Honda VTEC style revving to get into the powerband. Some people find that exciting, I do not. I find it tiring. And boring.

The X5 M is truly the most exciting vehicle I have owned for quite some time. And it holds five people and their groceries.... in absolute comfort.
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      10-10-2009, 05:12 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blue2fire View Post
It is impossible to argue with these X6/5 owners. They just become impossibly rude when you try to point out that what they believe isn't right..
Hey, last I looked, this is a X5 forum that you posted in. You don't agree with us.... and we don't agree with you. Now piss off.
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      10-10-2009, 05:57 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutal Groceries View Post
Hey, last I looked, this is a X5 forum that you posted in. You don't agree with us.... and we don't agree with you. Now piss off.
Dear Good Example,

This is only one section of the site.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordon Murray View Post
Being a fan of Honda engines, I requested that they consider building for the F1 a 4.5 liter V10 or V12. I asked, I tried to persuade them, but in the end could not convince them to do it, and the McLaren F1 ended up with a BMW engine.
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