The 350bhp 4.8 V8 petrol is great if you've got money to burn, but if you live in the real world, you'll want one of the two 3.0-litre diesels. The 232bhp 30d is our favourite – it's the cheapest version, it's plenty quick enough and running costs are reasonable. If you can afford to buy it, though, the 282bhp 35d is even lovelier, and it's affordable to run.

The X5 is brilliant on the road and reasonably competent off it, though you’d best not try anything too adventurous. On Tarmac, it feels so planted and sharp it’s easy to forget you’re in an 4x4. The ride can be firm on rough surfaces, but the optional Adaptive Drive set-up corrects that while making the car even more stable through corners.

Silky engines, a slick automatic gearbox and excellent cabin insulation make the X5 a quiet and calm car to travel in. There’s a bit of wind noise over the roof and around the big door mirrors at motorway speed, but that’s about the only disturbance to speak of.

Big, posh SUVs don't come cheap, so you won't pick up an X5 for peanuts. That's not to say that you can't get the price down at all, though, and because residual values are strong, it'll protect your investment well. Running costs are really good by class standards, too, thanks to impressive fuel economy and low emissions.

Quality materials beautifully assembled give the new X5 an air of limousine class, and BMWs are generally mechanically sound. Electrical glitches aren't unknown, however, although often it's no more than an over-keen sensor getting needlessly excited. Still, with so much to go wrong there’s an element of keeping one's fingers crossed.

It's shameful that if you order an X5 with seven seats the two people in the back aren’t protected by the side curtain airbags. Other than that, the new X5 gets a clean bill of health on the safety front, and BMWs are generally good at keeping thieves out, too.

First the good news: most people will have no trouble finding a suitable driving position, and visibility is reasonable in all directions. Now the not so good: the gearlever, electronic handbrake and BMW’s iDrive central control for the stereo, sat-nav, climate system and scores of other things all take some getting used to, although we have to admit the latest version of iDrive is much improved over the original.

BMW has accepted that some buyers use their 4x4s as MPVs so has at least offered a seven-seat layout as an option. However, the extra two seats are optional, and aren’t protected by the side curtain airbags. They’re roomy enough for small adults. Space for the front five occupants is excellent, and in five-seater mode there’s a vast boot.

All the on- and off-road traction and stability aids are standard along with all the other luxury gadgets you'd expect. Options include parking cameras at the front and rear and in the mirror housings, foglamps that shine around corners and a head-up display of speed and navigation information. The M Sport model is available with sports add-ons such as unique alloy wheels, tweaked suspension and special seats.