Cabin, Comfort and Features (Continued..)
Now that the touch pad has already made its way into the infotainment systems, we are quite certain that fingerprint recognition will wriggle its way in too, soon. Ever since BMW introduced the iDrive ages ago, they have managed to refine it over the years and make it intuitive enough to make our favorite. The X5 is also equipped with a 16 speaker 600w Harman Kardon sound system which happens to be amongst one of the best we have sampled. Along with BMW`s ConnectedDrive driver assistance, the infotainment system is a tablet on the go.
The X5 was never a cramped SUV; however with the F15 this 7 seater seems to have made the best use of its most available space. Even with 6 foot occupants in the front seats, the middle row won’t face any shortage of leg room by any means. The front seats themselves are big and well contoured; however for a SAV with such agile dynamics, we found them a bit short on sufficient side bolstering. Unless you are endowed with a big frame, it’s easy to slide around while driving enthusiastically. The central armrest can be flipped open to reveal USB port, charging socket and additional storage space apart from the twin cup holders ahead of the gear selector joystick. The front door pads also have twin bottle holders each, and can hold 1.5 liter bottles with ease.
The leather wrapped steering wheel repeats all the shortcuts to regularly used functions like volume control, telephony and rubberized scroll and select buttons. The 3 spoke steering wheel which is adjustable for rake and reach is a typical BMW affair and feels good to hold with the shift paddles positioned behind them. The twin sets of AirCon vents are a thoughtful addition in controlling the airflow, one is seldom left with chilled hands.
The middle row occupants are pampered with individual B pillar mounted AC vents apart from the central vents and climate control switches. The rear door pads get bottle holders as well as twin cup holders in the rear central armrests. The middle row itself is adjustable fore and aft (80mm) as well as 10 degree seatback adjustment liberating precious space for the 3rd row with twin space saver seats(May we call them) and can be folded down in 40:20:40 ratio of splits. The leg room and seating comfort on the middle row leaves hardly anything more to ask for. Sadly, the individual seat mounted displays have been omitted for India spec, the panoramic sunroof however adds to the airy-ness of the cabin.
While being fully folded position, it’s hard to imagine a set of seats under the flat luggage compartment – such is the neat packaging. Well, if that’s not all, there are twin cup holders between the seats as well! The third row of seats is the only region in the X5 where space and comfort seem alien terms let alone the ease of ingress and egress. As a personal opinion, this space could have been utilized for a space saver, or a simple storage bay (as on international models) instead of chasing max. number of occupants the car can seat. Completely folded down, the luggage area measure up to a massive 1870 liters.
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