The Sacramento Bee's view

BMW has been billing its new-for-2002 X5 4.6is as the ultimate “Sports Activity Vehicle” — or what most of us still call a sport-utility vehicle.

Whatever you call it, BMW’s claim is no idle boast. One look tells you this is no run-of-the-mill SUV — or SAV — or whatever.

The 4.6is sits atop 20-inch tires with wide tracks and wrapped around five-spoke wheels that look very much like those on a thoroughbred racing machine.

The performance tires are entirely necessary. Putting a right foot to the 4.6is accelerator delivers an instant growl from the 4.6-liter V-8, and you are firmly pressed deep into your seat with the accompanying launch.

The power plant produces what I call “unvarnished power” — not the steady move up the speedometer found in most vehicles, but the startling burst of a sport-tuned engine. And when the right foot is only halfway to the floor, a message is sent to the brain: There’s plenty more power where that came from.

BMW’s advertised numbers for the 32-valve V-8 are 340 horsepower at 5,700 revolutions per minute and 350 foot-pounds of torque at 3,700 rpm. It’s amazing how quickly nearly 5,000 pounds can be set in motion.

Zero to 60 mph in six seconds is the stated performance figure from BMW. Sounds about right.

From the driver’s seat, the interior appears uncluttered and fairly simple — until you start counting the number of buttons that are color-coded to the dash. There are a lot of them, and they do a lot of things.

They heat the seats, lock the doors, move things around inside and out, warn you when you are about to tag another car in the parking lot and trigger an assortment of high-tech driving/convenience functions. In the tested model, the addition of an optional navigation system ($1,800) meant that I was riding with instant mapping/direction-giving capability and an on-board computer capable of delivering instant data on eight different functions.

But wait, there’s more.

The rolling transporter/communicator/computer/SUV or SAV (take your pick) also was equipped with mirrors that automatically aim down when the vehicle is put in reverse (the better to help you see when you back up), hill-descent control (offering enhanced vehicle control when you decide to drive straight down a mountainside), side-impact air bags, auto-leveling xenon headlights, a primo sound system with 12 speakers and theft protection, a telescoping steering wheel with enough buttons on it to control Western civilization and heated outside mirrors.

To name just a few!

In fact, the vehicle has so many functions controlled by so many button pushes and coding guides that I became overwhelmed and broke into a cold sweat just reading the owner’s manual.

Gadget lovers and motorists who desire to be absolute masters of their mobile domains will love this new X5. But they might swallow hard at the price.

The vehicle starts at $66,200. With the navigation system and a $645 destination charge, the tested model came to $68,645.

That’s fairly steep fare for the rush delivered by the 4.6is, but it definitely stands to be a player in the luxury SUV niche, where more is better and buyers are typically financially secure enough not to have to ask about price. (Also, the gasoline bill probably will increase with the purchase of a 4.6is — fuel economy ratings are a thirsty 12 miles per gallon in city driving and 17 mpg on the highway.)

One additional word of caution: Someone contemplating the purchase of a nearly $70,000 vehicle — especially one with all-wheel drive, traction control, stability control and adaptive transmission control — might expect it to ride like butter.

Not so.

The ride in the tested model was more like that of a sports car with a stiff suspension. In other words, the BMW X5 4.6is will rip through a sweeping turn at 70 mph with nary a hiccup, but the uninitiated might be surprised at how many road bumps reach backside when the vehicle travels in a straight line.

Personally, I had no problem with it, understanding that robust performance means a few tradeoffs in the ride department.

The bottom line on the new Beemer is that it is packed with so much that it would be hard to find a motorist who does not love some aspect of it. And if price is no object, the world will probably understand if you treat yourself to a showy hot-rod SUV with enough high-tech goodies to melt the heart of a computer-chip maker.

BMW X5 4.6is at a Glance

Make/model: 2002 BMW X5 4.6is.

Vehicle type: Five-seat, four-door, all-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle.

Base price: $66,200 (as tested, $68,645).

Engine: 4.6-liter V-8 with 340 horsepower at 5,700 revolutions per minute and 350 foot-pounds of torque at 3,700 rpm.

EPA fuel economy: 12 miles per gallon city; 17 mpg highway.

Transmission: Five-speed automatic with overdrive and clutchless manual option.

Steering: Power rack and pinion with speed-sensitive feature.

Brakes: Four-wheel, ventilated power discs with anti-lock.

Suspension type: Double-pivot strut on front; four-link integral on rear.

Cargo volume: 69 cubic feet to front seat.

Fuel tank: 24.3 gallons.

Curb weight: 4,824 pounds.

Front track: 61.7 inches.

Rear track: 62.8 inches.

Height: 67.5 inches.

Length: 183.7 inches.

Wheelbase: 111 inches.

Width: 73.7 inches.

Ground clearance: 7.1 inches.

Tires:

P275/40R20 (front), P315/35R20 (rear) performance tires.

Maximum towing capacity: 6,000 pounds.

Final assembly site: Spartanburg, S.C.