Rough With The Smooth

The all-new, fourth-generation luxury sav gains more tech, safety systems and with improved off-road capabilities itll look forward to the rough stuff too. We put it to the test.

- Gautam Sharma

As a company, you know you’re on to a good thing when you can sell over two million examples of a product. This being so, it’s a fair bet BMW’s beancounters would be giving each other high-fives, based on the fact the German carmaker has been able to roll out in excess of 2.2m units of the X5 over three generations of the big SUV — or SAV (for Sports Activity Vehicle) in BMW-speak.

The first X5 broke free of BMW’s roots when it launched in 1999, as the marque had until then been a purveyor of solely saloons, coupes and wagons. The all-terrain diversification was clearly an inspired initiative though, as the X models (all the way from X1 to X6… with the new X7 flagship still to come) now account for a significant chunk of the Bavarian brand’s sales, just as the Macan and Cayenne do for Porsche.

The third-generation (F15) X5 that launched in 2013 is the most successful one to date, with 759,894 sales to its credit, yet BMW has just rolled out an all-new replacement (designated G05) after only five years, when the typical model lifespan is seven years. Why is this so? After all, the existing X5 doesn’t look overly dated, and its packaging/dynamics still stack up okay.

The answer is obviously because BMW is intent on sustaining the X5’s sales momentum, particularly as archrival Mercedes-Benz has just revealed its stylish, tech-laden new GLE, while Volvo and Audi also have capable and relatively fresh offerings in the form of the XC90 and Q7 respectively.