2014 BMW X5 has power, grace and capability

Big, white SUVs float down the Dallas North Crawlway like ghosts from some distant woods.

They look like vapory blobs to me — a hard-core, low-slung, three-pedal car guy. And of course, few of these “adventurous” SUVs live up to their billing, rarely placing a tire solidly in mud or atop jagged rocks.

Most tend to be stylish apparitions that haunt sunny soccer fields in the spring and cold, gray parking lots at the mall in winter.

They lug kids and kitsch, I figure.

In fact, I would rather listen to St. Vincent’s dark, trippy music for an hour than drive a lumbering 5,500-pound SUV for the day.

(My age could be showing here, kids.)

But then I got to know a 2014 BMW X5 in hard-packed ice on Preston Road. None of the glaze even fazed the brawny BMW, which skated effortlessly along the icy ridges and ruts, never losing its balance or poise.

Technically, the all-wheel-drive X5 was a hefty 5,000-pound midsize crossover with the shape of an SUV. Built on a BMW 5-series platform, the X5 stands tall as the German manufacturer’s top-selling crossover.

For 2014, it got a “refreshed” body that looks similar to last year’s version, maintaining the same basic proportions. (Incidentally, I wonder which line you get in for a refreshed body.)

Coated in refrigerator white with smallish 18-inch wheels and 255/55 tires, the X5 seemed largely unremarkable, though certainly not unattractive.

Initially, I thought the ’14 model looked somewhat bigger than the ’13, but BMW set me straight — so to speak. It’s really not.

Like the previous two generations of the vehicle, my X5 had upright kidney-shaped grilles and a strong, slightly raised hood.

They bordered big, fierce-looking headlamps on fairly muscular fenders marked by a vertical “vent” behind the wheel openings.

Thanks to prominent character lines cutting hard through the door handles, the sides sported some interesting definition. Meanwhile, familiar BMW tail lamps rode high on a conventional hatch in back.

Although the new X5 didn’t attract much attention in BMW-intense Dallas, it probably should have.

The one I had for a week relied on BMW’s ubiquitous turbocharged three-liter six, an engine conservatively rated at 302 horsepower.

Coupled to a well-developed eight-speed automatic, the hot-rod six always felt torquey, shoving the X5 around as if it were a much lighter vehicle.

The deep-breathing motor packed a 4,000-rpm-plus power curve, feeling hard and long-legged from about 2,000 rpm to past 6,000, without noticeable turbo lag.

While it could zing to 60 in about six seconds, the turbo-six was also rated at a really impressive 18 miles per gallon in town and 27 on the highway.

Besides its competency on ice, the Bimmer — with independent suspension front and back — could conquer corners with surprising ease for a bulked-up crossover.

It stands nearly 70 inches tall, but the X5 sailed around moderate-speed corners with smooth composure before the ice hit.

It typically showed a bit of body lean but moved around very little once it had settled into a line.

The X5 even had a decent ride for a vehicle with all-wheel-drive, displaying no side-to-side yaw or harshness over bumps.

Like most BMWs, the steering felt vaguely off-center. But it was quick and weighted about right for a big crossover.

Maybe all that competence is what you get — and should expect — from something that costs $60,925.

Personally, I would rather have a BMW 535i sedan, but the X5 is pretty hard to argue against.

Impressive inside

BMW put much of its efforts — and more than a few dollars — into the interior of the X5, a place where owners of pricey SUVs and crossovers expect to be impressed.

They’ll find lots to like in the new X5. Mine had a black interior with a subdued dashboard that dropped gracefully down to a lower “shelf” above mid-dash.

Formed from what appeared to be high-quality plastic, the dashboard included a big hood over the instrument panel and a navigation/stereo screen that looked like an iPad set on the lower level of the dash.

Black graphite-looking trim added some low-key accent at mid-dash, and a decent electronic shifter sprouted from a broad black console.

Some of BMW’s previous shifters lacked intuition, going into “drive” when pushed forward for “reverse.”

But the one in the X5 felt pretty natural and worked well.

Smooth black seats provided good support, bolstered by excellent leg- and head-room in back.

One of my favorite features was a thin red line of light running along the edge of the upper dashboard and tops of the door panels.

Nanny issues

While the materials and execution inside felt flawless, I had nothing but contempt for BMW’s “park-distance” nanny, a safety system that supposedly warns drivers of approaching objects.

The one in my X5 sounded a shrill warning at every downtown intersection I drove through, showing some shadowy nonexistent object at the right front.

I turned it off more times than I could count.

But that was about the only real turn-off in the truck, and I am definitely not an SUV/crossover guy.

In fact, if I were as competent as the X5, I'd be publisher of The Daily Planet by now, and we would finally feature lots of front-page stories about cars.

I mean, which would you rather read about — the Dallas City Council or a Porsche 918 Spyder?

AT A GLANCE: 2014 BMW X5 xDrive35i

Type of vehicle: All-wheel-drive, seven-passenger crossover/SUV

Price as tested: $60,925

Fuel economy: 18 miles per gallon city, 27 highway

Weight: About 5,000 pounds

Engine: Turbocharged three-liter six with 302 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0 to 60 mph in about six seconds

SOURCES: BMW of North America Inc.; Motor Trend