It’s fairly safe to say that when the experimental Lohner-Porsche became the world’s first four-wheel-drive car in 1899 its designers did not anticipate that exactly a century later another prestigious German manufacturer would launch a rather more successful 4WD that was — in one respect — technologically less advanced. That earlier car was powered by an electric motor fitted to each wheel, which is the sort of technology that manufacturers such as BMW, makers of the X5, are now beginning to look at.
Meanwhile, we can all feel pretty content with the offspring of Herr Rudolph Diesel (d.1913, presumed lost overboard from the Antwerp–Harwich steamer) that powers the current X5. The 3-litre lump is lively, flexible and frugal, offering 38.2mpg combined, 0–60mph in 8.3 seconds, a top speed of 134mph and emissions of 231g/km.
But figures are for those who figure.
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