2014 BMW X5 - The Best Luxury Sedan

If you put a Ranger Rover and a Range Rover Evoque into a blender, this is what you’d get.

We’re on the way from the floatplane dock on the harbor in downtown Vancouver to the craggy mountains on the other side of the bay. We cross the water on Lions Gate Bridge and head north on Highway 99. This is the sort of light-duty adventure for which sport-utility vehicles like the 2014 BMW X5 are made.

It’s the best BMW luxury sedan that we’ve ever driven

As this third-generation X5 winds up the highway along the shore of Horseshoe Bay, we notice its luxury, not its performance. Everyone is happy. We can all see the scenery, and the cool drinks at hand don’t spill over the bumps in the road. All other aspects of the new X5 – the convenience features, the powertrain performance, and the impressive safety technology – serve as background music to this central experience. If you put a Range Rover and a Range Rover Evoque into a blender, the BMW X5 is what you’d get. It’s the best BMW luxury sedan that we’ve ever driven.

This experience can be had in an almost bewildering number of equipment combinations. (Ready? Take a deep breath . . . ) There’s a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that makes 445 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque and a 3.0-liter turbocharged in-line six that makes 302 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. You can get the six-cylinder engine in the customary all-wheel-drive X5 xDrive35i or in the new, rear-wheel-drive sDrive35i. Plus, there’s a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel in-line six expected in the spring; it will make 255 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque.

All other aspects of the new X5 – the convenience features, the powertrain performance, and the impressive safety technology – serve as background music to this central experience

Your choices have only just begun, however. There are four treatments for the exterior: standard trim, modern-style xLine, traditional-style Luxury Line, and M Sport. There are two special interior treatments with a monochromatic theme, in ivory and mocha. You can move up to the optional Adaptive M suspension or the optional Dynamic Handling package. Then you’ve got the optional comfort seats (the rear ones slide and recline), top-class active safety features such as radar cruise control and commute-speed lane-keeping assist, and an all-singing, all-dancing chorus line of electronic features.

If you like, you can even get the X5’s tires dirty, just as we did on a little loop through the woods at the Whistler Mountain ski resort. The all-wheel-drive system’s electronic sensors will take care of the traction – even on the steep downhill parts that are scary – so you’ll be a hero to your kids when you show them a view of a mountain snowfield in mid-September. Of course, this 5150-pound vehicle is really meant only for mild roadside adventures, and it’s probably better appreciated on a snowy paved road in the dead of winter.

Certainly this X5 is a bit lighter and quicker on its feet than the model it replaces

So there you are at the end of the day after a nice drive into the mountains, and you appreciate the newest X5 for the miracle of mobility that it is. Certainly this X5 is a bit lighter and quicker on its feet than the model it replaces, but no matter what combination of attributes you dial in with powertrain choice or electronic chassis calibration, it’s not a sports car and it’s not a dune-busting Dakar adventure vehicle. Instead, it’s a useful luxury crossover that can make light, happy work out of a trip into the countryside with friends or family. And this is what you will think of at night when you close the garage door on the 2014 BMW X5.