MotorWeek/ YouTube Add Jalopnik on Google: Google Discover Life works in mysterious ways, and one of the most poignant examples of that is how you never seem to realize just how good something is until it's gone. In the automotive world, this manifests itself in many forms, such as mourning the transition away from naturally aspirated powertrains and manual transmissions in favor of forced induction and automatics. Sure, the modern technology is hugely impressive, effective, and efficient, but it also adds layers of separation between the driver and the machine. And as many of us know, even one thin layer of separation can diminish some of that driving pleasure. To that end, MotorWeek's latest Retro Review has us busting with envy, since its team got to review a manual 2001 BMW X5 3.0i. Are performance SUVs as much fun as performance cars? Rarely, but finding a manual E53 BMW X5 in the year 2026 is about as likely as Trump acknowledging the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions — slim-to-none, a snowball's chance in hell, or a one-legged man's chance at winning an ass-kicking contest. So let us dream. The MotorWeek team said "it is the manual gearbox that gives the 3.0i six a true sporting character that differentiates it from the 4.4i-V8 and most other premium utes." All other X5s that followed this one were sold exclusively with automatic transmissions, so some could even argue that it was the sportiest X5 ever, though the X5 M would readily curb stomp this old coot. BMW's first SUV needed to be good, and it was In this first-generation model, the 4.4-liter V8 fitted to X5 4.4is came strictly bolted to an automatic transmission, but it produced 282 horsepower and 324 pound-feet of torque and was quicker than the manual-equipped X5 3.0i. The lesser model's 3.0-liter N54 inline-6 engine came straight out of BMW's 530i sedan and packed 225 hp and 214 lb-ft of torque, which in MotorWeek's track test was enough to launch the rolling rarity from 0 to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. That time was over a second slower than the 2000 BMW X5 4.4i, which clocked a 6.6-second 0-to-60 sprint in MotorWeek's test. The X5 was BMW's first SUV, though the Bavarian brand's marketing department prefers the title of SAV, or sports activity vehicle. The public was skeptical about the viability of a chunky off-roader coming from a company whose slogan was The Ultimate Driving Machine, but as we know now, BMW hit it out of the park with the X5, surpassing the driving dynamics of all other SUVs up until that point. Then the equally lamented Porsche Cayenne came around and really upped the performance SUV ante. With the gift of hindsight, we now look back at the first-generation of the BMW X5 with a newfound fondness, especially when equipped with the five-speed manual gearbox, even if only as an automotive rarity.
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