When one thinks of towing something rather larger, the BMW X5 is not necessarily the first car to pop up in his head. Well, that doesn’t mean the premium SUV can’t be used for such purposes. But enthusiasts can rejoice. BMW just announced that nine of its models can now be fitted with 3,500 towing kits, just to make sure your needs are taken care of.
The news comes from Australia, where people actually put their SUVs to work. According to BMW Australia, the X5, X6 and X7 models will be offered with 3.5-ton towing capacity, as an optional extra. Up until now, the most you could get was 2.7 tons. Now, some 800 kilos can be added to that – braked – if customers down under tick a AUD3,200 box. This reinforces the car and adds plugs and electrics to the mix. Furthermore, the downball weight extends to as much as 280 kg.
“It was about four years ago that we started the planning on this,” said BMW Australia’s head of product and market planning, Brendan Michel about the topic. “Availability of this new BMW towing hitch is a significant development in further broadening the capability of our X models,” BMW Group Australia chief Vikram Pawah added. “Our owners also have the peace-of-mind that comes from a factory-fitted solution and the BMW after sales dealer support our network provides.”
The new hitch is seamlessly integrated and apparently easy to use. There’s a specific control unit included and Surround View offers an additional zoom function for the rear camera to allow you to better position the car. A trailer stabilization system is also included. With the new kit you can now have a bit more fun with BMW’s largest SUVs.
