EXCLUSIVE!

BMW had taken the wraps off the India-bound, fourth-gen X5 in June this year and we can now reveal that the German brand will bring the premium luxury SUV to our market in mid-2019.

At launch, the new BMW X5 will come with two engine options for India. The X5 xDrive40i will be powered by a 3.0-litre, in-line six-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which makes 340hp and 500Nm of torque, while the X5 xDrive30d will get the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder turbo-diesel motor that makes 265hp and 620Nm of peak torque. Both engines will be mated to an 8-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox that sends power to all four wheels via BMW’s xDrive four-wheel-drive system.

The all-new X5 shares its platform not only with the new 5-series and 7-series sedans, but also with the new X6 and the yet-to-be-revealed X7 flagship SUV. Besides a 33 percent increase in torsional rigidity, thanks to a stiffer body shell and more use of aluminium, the new platform makes the new X5 larger in every vital dimension. Compared to the third-gen model currently on sale in India, it is 35mm longer (at 4,921mm), 32mm wider (at 1,970mm), and 11mm taller (at 1,737mm). The wheelbase has also increased by 42mm, at 2,975mm, which provides the new BMW with slightly shorter overhangs as well as larger door apertures at the front and rear. Despite being bigger overall, the new BMW X5 has the same 645-litre boot as the outgoing X5, which rises to 1,860 litres when the 60:40 split rear seats are folded.

While the previous-gen model got the option of air springs only at the rear, the new model gets it as an option for both, the front and the rear.

The insides of the new X5 are roomier than the older model and feature a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and a similar-sized infotainment screen (both with BMW’s new ID7 operating system), an optional head-up display, a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, conversational speech recognition control, gesture control and a touch-control rear-seat entertainment system.

The current X5 available in India only gets a diesel engine option and is priced between Rs 69.40 lakh and Rs 82.90 lakh. Expect the fourth-gen model to cost a marginal premium over the current X5, when it arrives to rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE and Audi’s Q7.

All prices, ex-showroom, India