It's immediately clear that you're in a BMW.
Three-row crossovers present a dicey challenge for luxury brands, particularly those that have built their name on sporty sedans. Should they prioritize comfort over cachet, or do they stay true to their mission at the expense of practicality? BMW does the best job of any automaker offering crossover practicality while still meeting the brand's promise. The X5 may not be the most powerful or the quickest crossover you can by, but it does have the best powertrain. That's thanks to skillful calibration of the best hardware in the business: a responsive, energetic, turbocharged in-line six-cylinder and a snappy eight-speed automatic transmission. BMW's expertise in suspension tuning is obvious as well. The BMW's ride is comfortable and the handling is impressive even without air springs or adaptive dampers.
Photo Gallery: 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35i Premium - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine
Photo Gallery: 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35i Premium - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine