In recent years, BMW Southern District will organize a trip for some media from the Southern District at the end of each year. Harbin in Heilongjiang in 2018 and Altay in Xinjiang in 2019 were all ice and snow trips. I wonder if we are worried that we will get tired of playing in the snow every year, so this year we went in the opposite direction and chose to go to the tropical climate of Xishuangbanna in order to change the "flavor" and stimulate a different sense of freshness. Of course, no matter where the destination is, the X-series SAV will still accompany us along the way, and this time the protagonist is a new generation? BMW X5! ?

When mentioning Yunnan, the first thing that comes to mind is rice noodles. Regarding every trip to Yunnan, no matter whether I go to Lijiang, Dali, Tengchong, or the provincial capital Kunming, as a picky eater, rice noodles are my favorite choice in the morning, noon and evening. In fact, there are many delicacies in Yunnan. For example, during this trip to Xishuangbanna, I went out for a supper with a group of media colleagues and ate local grilled Dai chicken and grilled fish. It tasted really good. Just like BMW makes a car, although the car also consists of the basic structure of four wheels and a box, the character given is different. BMW has its own understanding of the car, and then derives the matching powertrain, chassis suspension and steering. Performance, over time, it naturally develops a strong personality, and X5 is one of its masterpieces. ?

X5 has emphasized its road performance since its birth, which was a risky attempt in the late 1990s. Now, after several generations of changes, the decision made back then has resulted in the X5 still having the best driving and control feeling in its class. Let everyone see that BMW builds superior-handling cars, not just at the sedan level, but also on SAVs. Now this is the core of all BMW car series. Without it, it is equivalent to losing its soul and not being a BMW. Just like me, who has been eating the "taste" of Guangzhou for decades, Yunnan has many delicacies, but the taste of "home" is always unique. ?

Of course, in addition to trying out Yunnan’s different delicacies, friends who like to drink tea will definitely come here to taste a pot of good tea every time. Therefore, on this trip we went to a tea garden in Pu'er City to see how tea is made. I don’t drink much tea myself. The reason is that when I was young, my father who loved tea drank cheap black tea when he was poor. The taste was as dark and bitter as Guangzhou’s 24-flavor herbal tea. Besides, I don’t like hot drinks. Over time, drink cold or ice water to make it a habit. However, I definitely don’t drink all tea. I also like to drink black tea with ice, syrup, and a few slices of lemon. You guessed it right, it’s frozen lemon tea. ?

When going to a tea garden, in addition to witnessing the tea-making process, tasting some good tea is also key. Moreover, we drove a winding mountain road before arriving at the tea garden. I couldn’t help but feel that I was very excited that day, so I “should” drink tea to relieve myself. Driving this mountain road to the tea plantation is different from driving the BMW X Series SAV in September. First of all, the road conditions are much better than in Nankunshan. The road surface is good and wide and there are fewer cars. Secondly, although the 3.0T engine equipped in the new X5 is not as good as the 3.0T X3M, the corners are mostly "high-speed" corners. It does not amplify the role of torque like Nankunshan, but instead strengthens the comprehensive adjustment of the powertrain. In terms of performance, especially on the straight roads with many curves on the mountain, the importance of horsepower is even more important than in Nankun Mountain. ?

At the same time, the response of the 8AT transmission in upshifting and downshifting in and out of each corner is really wonderful, even if it is to obtain stronger torque, and downshift two gears in a row, the impact of the gear switching action is The feel is also better than many transmissions. Moreover, for a mid-to-large SAV such as the new X5, the suspension's support in corners and return speed are the closest to those of a sedan among the cars of the same class that I have tested. So much so that when driving fast, the front of the car responds very positively and quickly enters corners according to the angle you twist the steering wheel, almost as obedient as your golden retriever. ?

In addition, the entire mountain road went up and down and experienced large and small corners. The braking force of the new X5 was always online. The braking force not only easily controlled the size of the new X5, but also had extremely low attenuation, making it easy to hold in the hand. The driver behind the wheel experienced an extremely exciting and enjoyable ride on the mountain road. On the other hand, in order to make us feel the superiority of the xDrive intelligent four-wheel drive system, the BMW trainer also suggested that we turn off DTC during driving in exchange for a higher degree of driving freedom. By the way, speaking of the new xDrive intelligent four-wheel drive system, the day before I went to Chashan, I specially found a jungle crossing route near Jinuo Mountain to show the performance of the xDrive intelligent four-wheel drive system on the new X5. To be honest, the process of crossing is very beautiful, and when it comes to difficult road conditions, many driving behaviors can be handed over to the assistance system, which greatly reduces the driver's burden. Of course, I think there are very few actual buyers who take the X5 to go through the jungle, so I won’t say much about the off-road performance of the new X5. Anyway, the new xDrive intelligent four-wheel drive system is very powerful on the road and can handle some I think this is enough for low-intensity off-road roads! ?

After the test drive of the new X5, my first reaction was which car will I drive next year and where will I go for a swim? Because two consecutive years of ice and snow test drives made people feel the powerful control of the BMW X1/2/3, this year's jungle crossing and mountain road driving have fully demonstrated the superb comprehensive strength of the new X5, and even directly transplanted the control of the car I was amazed by such a medium to large SAV.

Okay, all the good things to say, Sophiebee, will we go to the border next year?

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.