Comfy BMW X5 takes you wherever you want

Comfy BMW X5 takes you wherever you want

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was about 9 a.m. on a calm Tuesday morning when I hopped into
the new BMW X5 3.0i sports utility vehicle (SUV). Traffic was
getting heavy as the city's workers converged on their offices.

I, however, was not thinking about office hours as I prepared
to test drive this beautiful car on the slopes of the twin Gede
and Pangrango mountains in West Java, with planned stops in
Puncak, Cianjur and Sukabumi.

As I slid into the vehicle, I could not miss the comfort one
expects from a BMW. My eyes were glued to the switches on both
the dashboard and the steering wheel. There was also an LCD
monitor on the dashboard. I wondered if I would really need all
of these gadgets.

The instructor from PT BMW Indonesia, Arthur, was in charge of
getting us out of Jakarta. He drove the car onto the toll road
heading south.

Sitting next to Arthur, I couldn't help barraging him with
questions about all those switches and what they did.

We all now what air bags and antilock braking systems (ABS)
are, but what about the HDC or the PDC? Have you heard of a DBC
or a DSC?

Well, HDC stands for hill descent control, which regulates the
speed of the vehicle while descending, allowing the driver to
take his or her foot off the brake pedal. PDC stands for park
distance control, which offers additional surveillance around
blind corners.

"The PDC senses any obstructions within a 100-meter range when
we are driving less than 30 kilometers per hour.

"Don't worry about all of these switches. They're just here
to make for easier driving. You'll learn them one at a time," he
said.

I took over the wheel after we filled up the tank and took us
onto the Jagorawi toll road, feeling the car's power.

I had to be very careful in navigating this Rp 847.5 million
(US$95,220) car around all the buses and trucks that drove like
they owned the road.

When I complained that the engine was not responsive enough to
overtake an overloaded truck or a stubborn bus, Arthur told me to
move the gearshift to the left into the "S" mode.

I did what he suggested and lo and behold, I had the power to
beat those road monsters. All I needed now was to reinforce my
nerves.

This machine can run as fast as 202 kilometers per hour,
thanks to a 2,979-cubic-centimeter, six-cylinder, four-valve
Double Vanos engine.

"If you move the shift further to the left you will be driving
the car in a manual mode, but with a different arrangement
compared to other cars," said Arthur.

Since the BMW X5 is equipped with an automatic Steptronic
transmission, I had to move the lever in a linear movement
instead of the clutched pattern in a car equipped with a real
manual transmission.

Being happy with "S" mode, I decided to leave the linear
manual transmission alone and just stepped on the accelerator.

It was such a relief when we reached our first checkpoint at
the Puncak Pass restaurant at about 11 a.m.

My colleague from The Jakarta Post, photographer R. Berto
Wedhatama, was staring at the entrance of the Gunung Sindur
telecommunications tower just across the street, saying it would
be a perfect site to test the X5's abilities, as well as a good
spot for some pictures.

The track's surface was rough asphalt flanked with beautiful
columns of pine trees, but it was not rough enough to test the
X5's real ability.

We continued our journey after lunch, heading toward Cianjur,
hoping to find another place to push the X5 to the limit.

Unfortunately, we couldn't find a suitable place in this
lovely town famous for its delicious rice, as well as the tembang
Cianjuran traditional Sundanese music.

Then we headed westward toward Sukabumi's rugged terrain,
hoping to get out of the traffic along the Puncak-Cianjur route.

I've been told that there is a waterfall inside a tea
plantation in Selabintana, just outside the town of Sukabumi. But
when we reached the Goal Para tea plantation, it turned out that
the waterfall could only be reached on foot, so we just hit the
tracks crisscrossing the tea plantation.

The tracks were narrow and it was impossible for two cars to
pass freely. So it was crucial to remember the wide spot passing
was possible.

The narrow tracks were also on the hilly side of the
plantation, so one wrong move could send the car into the valley
below.

You may argue that such conditions were not challenging enough
for a test drive, but then the X5 was not designed for extreme
driving. Indeed, BMW has its own concept of the SUV. It provides
its famous sedan-class comfort with a permanently engaged four-
wheel drive system instead of the other way around.

Satisfied with the test drive, we decided to get home early as
there were dark clouds hanging in the sky.

But the journey home was not so easy because of all the
traffic jams, especially when we passed the small town markets
along the way. This, however, demonstrated that driving the BMW
X5 in chaotic conditions is no ordeal at all.

On the last part of our trip, Mother Nature showered us with
pelting rain on the Jagorawi toll road, giving us the chance to
test the braking system in truly trying conditions. Needless to
say, it passed with flying colors.