Wait! Let me guess – a fast X5?
You’re very good. Yes, BMW’s X5 range has a new flagship model – the tough-looking 4.8i M Sport. The £53,440 SUV gets a not-so-subtle Motorsport upgrade including an M Sport body kit and steering wheel, lightweight 19-inch alloys, uprated suspension, grippier leather-wrapped sports seats, high-gloss roof rails and matt aluminium exterior trim. Bigger 20-inch alloys are a further option as is bamboo and poplar internal trim. The Sport model is a big seller in the UK – nine out of 10 buyers of the outgoing X5 opted for an M Sport model – but diesel fans, who account for 90 percent of X5 sales, will have to wait until October for the 3.0d M Sport model to arrive. Expect a £43,600 price tag. Read our first drive of the new BMW X5 here.
It looks the part…
And it goes some too. The M Sport is powered by BMW’s 4799cc V8. Fitted with Bi-Vanos and Valvetronic, the high-revving unit pushes out 355bhp at 6300rpm and a 350lb ft at 3500rpm – enough to rocket the 2245kg all-wheel-drive X5 to 60mph in 6.5 seconds and onto a 150mph top speed. The popularity of the M Sport line-up is central to BMW’s decision to create even more radical sports cross-overs like the recently announced SFC space functional concept to take on the Mercedes R-class and the upcoming Range Rover Sport rival, the X6 four-seater.