Powertrain and performance
Which is the quicker car here? The BMW X5. Which car has better brakes here? The BMW X5. So do we need to go further here? Yes and no. Well, the argument is simple. If you are looking for sheer performance, then you can spend the same amount of money on a sports sedan and be happy about the sterling rear-wheel drive performance that it would guarantee, right? Hidden beneath the SUV exterior of the X5 is a sportscar of immense ability. It is as if BMW has taken for granted that those who are buying a BMW – from mountain bicycles to SUVs that can shame mountain goats – expect their machines to straighten corners as if it is their birthright. The X5 delivers and how. By the end of a week with the X5, I was getting so familiar with it (and hence too fast for comfort) that I decided to park it for a day and take a more modest piece of transport to reach my office. The X5 shrinks around the driver and you drive it at insane speeds where no sane person would think of doing insane speeds. And it has got magical brakes that you don’t apply – you think about shedding speeds and you come to a halt. Sure, the last generation car did all this too – but it was more ponderous and offered less feedback while at it.
Remarkable as it may seem, the new ML tends to behave like the last generation X5 in more ways than one. It has got a potent motor and it refuses to misbehave at most speeds. But if you scrape some paint off the ML and inspect it under a microscope, you will find that its genes come from a luxury sedan rather than a sport sedan. That means you don’t ‘feel’ the urge to attack corners in it. Instead you soon end up cruising in it and that, it does extremely well.
The BMW inline-six and the Mercedes-Benz V6 displace close to 3000cc and develop 230 and 224 bhp each. Torque figures are similar too, at 53.5 kgm and 51 kgm at around 3800-4000 rpm. Both engines breathe through 24 valves and both engines have similar specific output. Even when you check the power-to-weight ratios, there is little that differentiates these gentle giants. The Mercedes lets its hair down through a seven-speed auto’box while BMW manages with a six-speed number. Alright then, what makes the BMW a better driver’s car than the ML? We will come to that soon.
The X5 dismisses the 60 kph run in 4.89 seconds while the ML takes 5.26 seconds. The BMW is a shade quicker to 100 kph too, with 10.43 seconds (stunning indeed for a diesel SUV, who would have thought...) while the ML is no slouch either at 10.82 seconds. Both cars achieved 230 kph before we decided that spending time in a jail or a hospital is not worth it and lifted off. The X5 is a clean second faster than the ML in passing speeds, thereby establishing the performance advantage without any doubt. But again, it is just a second or two that differentiates these machines. But we can tell you that it is the BMW that is more fun to drive. It is that inline-six that makes the sporty snarl that only these type of engines can make. Slot the gear selector in DS (Drive Sport) mode and the X5 comes alive in a way the ML cannot match in its Sport mode. Finish. End of the matter. Period.
X5: *****
ML: ****
Ride and handling
The Mercedes is a clear winner when it comes to ride quality, but the BMW is not too far behind. Remember, feedback is something you look for in a car with the performance intent of the X5 and you get truckloads of it. Call it bad ride, well so be it. But while at it, the X5 feels one with the driver and makes him tackle corners with the effortlessness of a Sukhoi-30 pilot entering a barrel roll. Both machines feature double wishbones up front (first for a BMW) while a four-link setup at the rear makes the ML look good, at least on paper. But somehow the ML feels a tad too top heavy as you pitch it into corners and there is a fair amount of body roll too. The BMW, on the other hand, is all about composure on tarmac – it refuses to behave like an SUV till you decide to challenge the basic fundamentals of physics with it. That said, it is the ML which handles broken roads and no-road situations better. We could increase the ride height and wade through some tough rocky terrain which we were not so comfortable letting the BMW through. On gravel, again, the composure of the BMW will ensure that the Mercedes is sitting in its dust.
X5: ****
ML: ****
Verdict
As you have seen, it is the BMW that has pipped the big Merc to the post in most of our parameters. And sure, if you ask me which one to buy – I will wag my tongue and go after the X5 – it offers a sinfully personal driving experience for me to even think twice. But going back to that argument of SUV over a car, the ML makes a compelling choice. It may not be as quick as the X5, but it is close, as safe and equally luxurious. Add to that a price difference of Rs 10 lakh on the ex-showroom price and you do have an unlikely winner here.
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