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Configurator Challenge: 2019 BMW X5

How would you spec your big BMW crossover?


Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the CarAdvice team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal spec of a certain model.

For this edition of the Configurator Challenge, we’re designing our perfect BMW X5 using the company's configurator.

Let us know what you think in the comments, and which cars you’d like to see next!



Mike Costello, Senior Editor

I've just spent time in the quad-turbocharged M50d, but I'm not overly into diesel luxury cars. So I've opted for the X5 xDrive40i, with its 250kW six, eight-speed automatic and 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.5 seconds.

Mine's finished in Phytonic Blue paint, and rilling on 20-inch M light alloy wheels in Orbit Grey. I want as much tyre sidewall as possible, frankly. Inside I've got black seats with contrast stitching and mesh-effect aluminium trim finishers.

I've fitted a ton of optional extras, about $40,000 worth, because this is all make-believe anyway. As such my car goes from $115,990 to about $150k.

They include the awesome xOffroad package with all sorts of driving modes and cameras (I've used it), the M Sport pack, air suspension on both axles, the BMW Display Key, wireless phone charging, the LED-lit panoramic sky lounge sunroof, and crazy glass gear shifters.

Though I was done? It also has an M Sport diff, Integral Active Steering (rear-wheel steering), M Sport brakes with blue calipers, a head-up display, soft-close doors (so satisfying), seat massagers, rear seat tablet screens and the 16 -speaker harmon/kardon sound system.



Mandy Turner, Podcast Host and Road Tester

I like sleepers. Not people who like to sleep, or those wooden things you buy at Bunnings for your garden, but cars that look completely normal on the outside, but hold a beast of an engine on the inside. That was the theme I went with my X5.

I chose the xDrive40i in a very understated Sunstone Metallic paint, because when was the last time you saw an X5 in that colour? I also went with the least in-your-face wheels, choosing the 20-inch Ferric Grey alloys.

Black is boring, so the interior got a coffee colour, with fine-wood trim ash brown metallic in high gloss.

Options? Not a lot. xLine was ticked, along with a panoramic sunroof, heated seat comfort package, Bowers and Wilkins Diamond surround sound system, and DAB radio. To help hide that 250kW engine, that M badge is no more, as I opted for the model designation deletion on the rear and side.

Go on, mock me in my sandstone coffee SUV, but I may surprise you at the next red traffic light.



James Wong, Journalist

So I chose the X5 M50d (from $149,900) because who doesn't what all the torques and turbos in their family-hauling luxo-SUV?

Externally I've opted for the lovely Arctic Grey 'Brilliant Effect' metallic paint, accented by the 22-inch M light alloys in V-Spoke style finished in Cerium Grey for an imposing, expensive look.

Inside, the leather is Cognac-coloured with 'decorative' stitching while I've gone for the anthracite-brown open-pore wood trim for a subtle but luxurious touch.

As for optional equipment, I've added bits like Adaptive M Suspension 'Professional', and a panoramic glass sunroof, third-row seating – everything else is pretty much standard anyway!

I'd happily have this parked out the front of my two-story townhouse in Kew. Mmmyes!



Scott Collie, Journalist

I love my colleagues, but they've all missed the point completely. James's car is too chintzy, Mandy's is too bright to be a sleeper, and Mike's is petrol-powered. No, no and no.

Here's the lowdown on my ideal X5. It's the 30d, because effortless diesel torque is the name of the game, but the quad-turbo M50i is just too over-the-top. With 195kW of power and 620Nm of torque, along with a ZF eight-speed automatic, it's the ideal powertrain for tooling around town or long-distance highway cruising in Australia.

I've opted for a Black Sapphire exterior and 19-inch wheels, because more sidewall is better, while the bootlid is devoid of badging. Might as well be an M50i, for all people know.

The cabin is trimmed in Ivory White leather with a black headliner, and the sport seats have been subbed for wider, less body-hugging units.

I've hit the options list hard, adding the xOffroad package, roller sunblinds in the rear, tinted windows, the luggage compartment package, a panoramic glass sunroof, aluminium running boards, and the fancy crafted glass interior elements. Why not?

The resulting car is, as you can see, the perfect under-the-radar luxury cruiser comfortable in Kew, Falls Creek or Coober Pedy.



Benn Sykes, Commercial Director

Benn has gone for the base xDrive 30d with black-detailed wheels, sports seats, and then set aside some money for an aftermarket detailer to make EVERYTHING else black. Gangster spec, then.


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