Don’t worry though, you’ll have plenty of interior options to choose from. BMW offers packages such as Pure Experience, Pure Excellence and M Sport, as well as others, depending on the market.
BMW claims the interior space has gone up, but we found the story to be a bit different. The previous X5 was abundant when it came to cabin space and so is this new one. Nonetheless, what it seems they’ve done is moved the rear bench a bit forward, probably to bring that luggage compartment boost - the boot offers 23 cubic feet (650 liters) with the second row of seats in place and up to 66 cubic feet (1,870 liters) when they’re folded. That’s a 30-liter boost in standard configuration.
While second row of seats now splits in a 40/20/40 configuration, a third row is offered as an option. By the way, a hint for the rear seats’ forward move is that the rear wheel arch stands in your way when entering/exiting the car.
Still, the interior abounds in stowage spaces - you and your loved ones can be water-drinking champions, as the front doors can hold 1.5-liter bottles, while 1-liter PETs fit in the rear doors.
We’ll be stuffing the doors with plastic bottles anytime now, as we are in the urban part of the test drive. The X5 gets by without requiring special effort from the driver. In fact, the overly-light steering of the new X5 is a benefit inside the city. And yes, as of this month, BMW is offering its latest-gen Parking Assistant. Aside from the surround view cameras, this allows the X5 to park itself.
The tri-turbo setup, matched with the eight-speed automatic bring an endless power experience that feels extremely reassuring in urban traffic. To put it shortly, the M50d is overpowered here. As for the fuel efficiency, our best effort, Eco Pro mode included, took the car to 22.4 mpg (10.5 l/100 km).
The X5’s soundproofing keeps one pretty far from the urban fuss, so it’s easy to enjoy the audio system, an area where the 2014 BMW M5 excels. Apart from the standard system, you can go for a Harman Kardon Surround experience, but this isn’t the icing on the cake. That title goes to the Bang & Olufsen system. The audio quality is more than pleasing in any of them, with B&O obviously taking the cake.