Three - count them - turbos, huge performance with decent fuel economy
Playstation steering, no third row as standard
BMW likes to claim it invented the Sport Activity Vehicle niche and with the M50d, we're happy to believe them because this is one sporty activity vehicle. Whatever that might be.
BMW envisions families striking out into the desert/bush with kayaks and massive tents and even we'd be tempted to do that occasionally if we had one.
What we have here is a big, two tonne SUV with a three litre triple turbo straight six diesel engine and some seriously high-tech guts that make it almost-brilliant on-road and reasonably handy off it.
BMW X5 M50d Overview
The X5 is now in its third - and best looking - generation. Funny wheel arch spats aside, the BMW team has given the new car a less gawky, top heavy profile than the two previous and in the M50d version at least, nicely filled wheel arches.
This triple turbo M50d sits at the top of the X5 tree, eclipsing even the V8-powered M50i in the performance stakes. The engine produces 280kw and a stunning 740Nm of torque.
There's no X5 M - yet - so this is the quickest one available.
BMW X5 M50d Interior
The M50d is a five seater as standard. There's leather everywhere and a very commanding driving position. It's pure BMW in here, with the usual slippery leather, gadgets galore and the Bavarian company's curious take on the auto shift lever.
The M50d is loaded with stuff - Harmon Kardon stereo system, bluetooth, USB, 10.4 inch screen, the best voice activated sat-nav we've used and a heads-up display which can display nav directions as well as speed.
The central screen has some fun features as well as the useful stuff. You can call up a display of where the torque is going, how much power and torque is being produced and, of course, the old off-roader staple, the angle of attack.
Standard is a pair of cameras that help you peek out of T-junctions as well as behind you when you're in reverse. They all come together for an overhead view of the car and its surrounds for when you're parking in tight spaces, which is all of them when your car is this big.
The list of standard inclusions goes on. Optional (and fitted to this car) is the $3700 panoramic sunroof and $500 lane-change warning to go with the standard anti-collision braking.
There's plenty of storage scattered around, with cupholders in the front console and the rear armrest as well as a hefty-sized boot. Passengers have plenty of room too, with lofty head room and good legroom in the back.
BMW X5 M50d Exterior and Styling
Not many cars look quite right in white, especially big ones, but for some reason the X5 in M50d spec looks the business. Apart from the weird wheel-arch spats, the new car is by far the most convincing of the X5 family.
The M body kit ups the aggro, with big snarly vents in the front bumper and whopping twin exhuasts out the back.
It's lower and fatter than its predecessor, looking more like a slightly higher car than compromised SUV. The new look front end with its slimmer lights looks better too, widening the car's stance.
BMW X5 M50d On the Road
Our first go in an X5 M50d was back on the New Zealand launch and we came away mightily impressed. We had clear roads with fantastic hairpin bends into which we threw the M50d and powered back out on that massive wave of torque. The eight-speed automatic makes the very best of all that power and twist, rarely putting a foot wrong, shifting smoothly and swiftly.
The experience on urban roads didn't disappoint either. Again, because of the car's huge torque, you can float around the city with ease, fluttering your toe at the accelerator. The adaptive suspension in Comfort and ECO-PRO mode allows for a cushioning ride but without body roll getting out of hand.
At speed the X5 is quiet, with just a tiny bit of tyre roar from the massive dog-splattering 275/20 Michelin run-flats. These tyres are definitely road-biased, so if you want to do any serious off-roading, you'll have to consider this. And the low-ish ride-height.
The big car is quite at home on the twisty stuff, as we had discovered in New Zealand. A quick run confirmed our happy memories.
The rear drive bias in Sport mode is tremendous fun. A very complex combination of rear differential and both rear wheels getting their own set of planetary gears to apportion torque means that you can floor the throttle out of any corner and find the next one without even a chirp from the rear tyres.
The steering's slow gearing means that a very stern hand is required when pushing the car along at speed. The electric assistance is also a little light in all modes, robbing the driver of some involvement.
But you'll never tire of the epic mid-range wallop of the diesel - a floored throttle makes overtaking fabulously efficient and will pin you and your passengers to your seatbacks. The 0-100km/h time is impressive enough - around five seconds - but it's that in-the-gears performance that flattens mountains.
BMW X5 M50d Challenges
The steering is very remote and suffers from too many turns lock-to-lock, which means you have to hustle it a bit. This trait is to preserve off-road drivabilty and stability, but takes a little getting used to.
While the M50d will cheerfully go off-road (up to a point), we'd be willing to bet precisely three owners worldwide will actually do that. Those big vented front bumpers do fill with mud when you chuck the car down a grassy, muddy hill.
The steering problem is common to all X5s in the new range, so it's not that we're singling out the M50d.
For this money ($147,900) we'd also expect the third row of seats to be a standard inclusion.
BMW X5 M50d Verdict
The X5 M50d is a barrel of laughs. It'll move the family in plenty of comfort either around the corner or around the continent. The combination of massive shove and diesel economy makes this a contradictory performance SUV unheard of just a few years ago.
While it won't ever rival a proper sports car, it will keep the whole family happy - gadgets, performance, space and usability in all conditions make this quite a car.
BMW X5 M50d The Competition
1 Range Rover Sport SDV6 priced from $125,800, developeing 210kW
2 Audi Q7 TDI priced from $129,300, developing 250kW
3 Mercedes ML350 priced from $101,900, developing 190kW
