– Detroit, Michigan

The 2017 BMW X5 xDrive35d is nice, very nice. It’s a luxurious family hauler built to eat up highway miles while transporting things and people in sumptuous comfort. Sure, there are many luxury SUVs on the market (Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Volvo XC90, to name a few), but few are ballsy enough to embrace the diesel engine. The only direct competitors to the 35d include the Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel and Land Rover Range Rover Sport Td6. And as far as I can tell, the BMW X5 35d is the smoothest operating SUV BMW offers.

Pros

Oodles of torque. At the heart of the X5 35d is a turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesel engine producing 255 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque – pay close attention to that torque figure. Outright speed is not where the X5 diesel will impress you. Nudge the throttle, get the engine spinning to at least 2,300 rpm, and the large SUV graciously gains speed for a smooth and effortless lane change. Sure, you can sprint from 0-60 slightly quicker (0.4 seconds) in the gas-powered I6, or have a more brawny soundtrack from the 4.4-liter V8 engine, but neither will reach peak torque as quickly. Not to mention, the diesel’s 29-mpg highway figure is more fuel efficient than both those engines (24 mpg and 21 mpg) and the hybridized X5 xDrive40e (25 mpg). Only the Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel beats the X5’s highway mpg figure, with an even 30 mpg.

Cool, calm, and collected. Cruising down the highway, the X5 feels planted. Throw it into a c...