I'm looking to buy a x5 (used). I hunt/fish and drive in all weather. I have owned many suv's and I would like a 1ST hand opinion of the x5. who has had it off the road, I don't mean mud bogs but ,actually gone thru the woods. fields etc.. ? hauled with it? loaded it with stuff, buddies and gone camping etc. how well does the awd perform. Have you run an all terain tire on it ( not all season). thanks for any help.:help

apparently not

X5's are not SUV's, they are SAV's being Sport Activity Vehicles.

word games.

well top gear had one that was a chase car for the F650 in the dakar rally. On the episode Tiff beats the shit out of it.

Personally, I would not consider it a "rugged" vehicle. I don't really consider any unibodied vehicle with leather, power everything, 4 wheel independent suspension, "rugged," espeacially one that doesn't come with anything more aggressive than M+S tires.

Personally, I would not consider it a "rugged" vehicle. I don't really consider any unibodied vehicle with leather, power everything, 4 wheel independent suspension, "rugged," espeacially one that doesn't come with anything more aggressive than M+S tires.

What he said. I don't really think the X5 is designed for what you want to use it for.

Wouldn't something like a Land Rover, which has more ground clearance be more what you're looking for?

Didn't the X5 win some big mud competition two years ago? It was eventually dethrowned by the VW Toureg.

He doesn't want to use it to play in the mud.

X5 and mud just don't seem to mix. The X5 has no differential traction aids, it has open diffs at both ends. The way the traction control works is by cutting engine power and applying brakes to the spining wheel force the diff. to sending power to the other wheel. This is not good for mudding at all.

traction aids can be disabled to help in situations such as long ice covered steep hills. You'd never get up them if you couldn't turn traction aids off (at least somewhat).

I've had our 4.6iS out on frozen lakes, it does well (with Blizzak LM-22s)

Wasn't worried about getting stuck, just disabled the DSC and floored it

Actually hit an ice bank once, and it went semi-airborne, came out unscathed lol

As long as you don't exceed its clearances, I don't see why it wouldn't work off-road. It certainly isn't a Jeep or Land Rover, but I think it would do great in mild conditions, certainly as well as any Subaru or Audi AWD

Mine has done double duty. I have just finished building a house in the country. The capacity is good, its lower height makes it easier to lift stuff onto the roof rack. I have the adjustible suspension so I can raise it for off road and lower it for loading and unloading. It kept up with the GM and Ford trucks that trades were using on the job site. I stored my 19 inch sport tires for winter and used 18 inch M&S tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2EqUzSCeuw

thanks guys