The X5’s fuel economy wasn’t too badly affected by the heavy traffic it encountered in Kuala Lumpur.
DAY 2
The next day, he next day, seeing as how I still had plenty of fuel, I decided to let my hair down and do a few touristy things, like taking selfies with the X5 and the Petronas Twin Towers in the background. My buoyant mood also resulted in me making the decision to push the car hard when the opportunity presented itself.
And I was glad for it, as this vehicle pulled away from almost everything with gusto, displaying phenomenal in-gear acceleration. Even along twisty stretches, the X5 performed surprisingly competently, with pin-sharp steering, excellent body control and reassuringly capable brakes.
Here’s the other surprise: Even after numerous stints gunning the X5 on the way home, I still had a quarter tank of diesel left just after crossing back into Singapore. My new mission (“revenge” for being so frugal over the past two days), then, was to do my best to empty its tank.
Unfortunately, while my primary mission of getting to KL and back without refuelling was a resounding success, my new mission was an unmitigated failure. I returned the X5 with its trip computer registering a remaining range of 65km.By my reckoning, that would allow me to get the big Bimmer from Munich Automobiles’ showroom in Teban Gardens to Changi Village for some nasi lemak and back again.
This time around, tempting as it was (as was the prospect of the nasi lemak), I decided not to take up the challenge. Not that I was shying away from a fight or anything; it’s just that since the X5 so expertly and so recently handled a journey nearly 10 times longer, I expect it’d laugh in the face of this one.
But this also meant I’d go hungry. Oh, well… you win some, you lose some.
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Click here to read about our consulting ed driving an Audi Q7 in snowy Norway
