Double entendre

BMW X5 M50i xDRIVE STEPTRONIC & X5 M COMPETITION M xDRIVE M STEPTRONIC

Picture the scene: you’re at a concert of a musician you’ve long admired. There’s a palpable sense of expectation in the air. Then, the supporting act takes the stage and woos the crowd, to everyone’s surprise. It’ll be a tough act for the main entertainer to follow …

This aptly described our feelings when the X5 M50i arrived at the CAR’s offices for testing a few days ahead of the X5 M. We were instantly enamoured with the M Performance variant; so much so, it cast doubt on whether the X5 M’s additional R1 million-odd would be money well spent.

However, let’s not jump to conclusions quite yet; first, some background. When BMW South Africa initially launched the current X5 – remember, it’s CAR’s reigning champion in the Top 12 Best Buys Luxury SUV/Crossover category – it offered just the xDrive30d