The BMW X5 is a large SUV that can come as a seven- or five-seater, depending on your needs. I do love a car you can customise – but so you should be able to at this price.

I was in the X5 xDrive25d which is the entry-level model.

This particular car is a five seater and competes in a category with cars like the Audi Q7, Mercedes GLA, and Volkswagen Touareg. I took it down to the south coast of NSW for a long weekend with the family. Here’s how it performed.

The BMW X5 xDrive25d costs $99,900 before on road costs and extras. With the options added on this particular test car, that number rose to $121,400 (before on road costs).

Fuel consumption is a claimed 6.2L/100km. Low because it’s diesel and has less power than the rest of the range. In real life on my test drive week it averaged 9.1L/100km.

It’s covered by BMW’s three year/unlimited km warranty which is not as good as some car companies who offer up to seven years but is on par with most in the luxury segment.

You can prepay your services for five years on the basic package for $1995 and schedule services every 12 month/24,000km.

The BMW X5 was a pleasure to drive, especially on our weekend road trip. It had plenty of interior space for my family of four and fit all of our holiday packing, including the bulky puppy crate. It drives beautifully, I felt confident on the road and it has important safety bases covered.

This base model was impressive but I’d be keen to drive the plug in hybrid, which costs a bit more but ticks the eco box for me. My kids like having lots of space in the back seat.

Via CarsGuide