When it comes to towing something heavy, such as a boat or a car, most American minds tend to drift toward American trucks. Trucks like the Ford F-250 and Chevy Silverado 2500 are the usual suspects. However, you don’t need a purely utilitarian vehicle to tow. You can have a luxury performance SUV and still take care of most, if not all, of your towing duties. Take this Car and Driver review, for example, in which a staffer was able to use the BMW X7 M50i to tow a car 4,600 miles round-trip, across the country and back.
What’s interesting is that C&D’s X7 M50i didn’t even have the optional towing package equipped. Oddly, BMW doesn’t offer it as an option after the fact, so C&D couldn’t have the tow package and accompanying tow hitch installed at the dealer. Which led to them going for an aftermarket tow hitch, which worked a treat.
After getting that sorted, they were able to strap up a trailer and tow a 2007 Aston Martin Vantage V8 (as I slam my keys in a jealous rage) that was purchases from the other side of the country. Towing that much weight, over 5,600 lbs, is a lot for most SUVs but the X7 M50i seemed to have handle it extremely well. Its tidal wave of power meant it had no trouble getting up to speed and its chassis was able to manage well on the entire cross-country trip.
If you’re interested in towing with your BMW SUV, be it an X7 or even an X5, then this is a great article from C&D that you should read. Especially if you don’t have the optional towing package already installed on your vehicle. This article will help you navigate the slightly tricky waters of getting the right hitch and making it work properly. Check it out.
[Source: Car and Driver]
