But sooner or later they had to respond to the 4x4 market. It matters not that most off-roaders never see more action than Sainsbury's car park. Having sampled that market while they held the keys to Land Rover, it was inevitable that they would follow suit. And what a suit. The X5 has permanent four-wheel drive but the split, as you might expect, favours drive to the rear.
Old habits die hard.
I don't think so. Not unless you have doctorate in cyphers, a spare Enigma machine and a degree in mechanical engineering. But at 49,460, which was the asking price of the X5 Sport test car, you can probably afford to ignore all those trade terms and just get on with the job of letting all that gizmology turn you into the ultimate driving machine. Ironically, BMW tacitly admit that most of what you pay for has nothing to do with driving off road. The X5, by contrast, has been designed to retain the outstanding and rewarding manners of a BMW sporting car yet still offers respectable off-road capability.