X5 Drive.

The last time I woke up at five in the morning was to catch an early flight to the beach. Other than that, dragging my lazy bum for a work-related activity at that time of day is close to impossible. But when the invite came for the agency to test drive the new BMW X5 one Saturday morning, I didn’t think twice about saying ‘yes’ (but I did enjoy whining about the ungodly call time with the boys).

After the product briefing, we were asked to evaluate the X5 and compare it with a Mercedes M-Class. Hands down, the X5 was a much better SAV - design, features, engineering. I was sorely disappointed that it didn’t come with an iPod dock. Yes, there was an audio jack provided, but who would want to have all those cables snaking about and ruining the sleek interiors? But since I can’t afford the X5 (at least not yet, haha), this little criticism is irrelevant.

Driving the X5 is a dream. Going through the Ramirez brothers’ exercises with it was exhilarating. It was just nice pushing a machine that’s as responsive as a BMW.

I’ve always been told that I drive like a guy – aggressive, arrogant, and careless. Whilst the years have mellowed me considerably, just getting behind the wheel of the X5 and be allowed to push it hard put the maniac back on the seat.

Jason, one of our art directors and my buddy for the day, and I decided to document the experience. Using his digital camera as a camcorder, we shot a crude footage of our ride. It’s probably the worst-edited video of a BMW drive (haha, loko lang Jason!) but the campy rock track and cheesy video effects make it a fun memento of how we spent a day with the new BMW X5.