Celebrity wheels: BMW X5

Who's driving it?

Pick a footballer, basically. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has had two in his time; Cristiano Ronaldo's had one as well and although it managed to avoid the same fate as his unfortunate Ferrari 599 GTB, Wayne Rooney's wasn't so lucky - he crashed it.

Really, the BMW X5 is so ubiquitous among the full breadth of celebrities that it's probably easier to say who hasn't got one - and you can bet your life all the ones who don't have a Range Rover instead.

What's all the fuss about?

When the BMW X5 hit showrooms it was quite a revelation because it was the first SUV to stake a claim to decent on-road handling characteristics - as questionable as that claim was. And let's be honest, blokes liked it because it was a massive Beemer, with all the 'get out of my way' appeal you could possibly need - especially in 4.4- and 4.6-litre forms. In the celebrity world that quality appeals, especially if part of your daily routine is driving through packs of eager paparazzi; Gwyneth Paltrow likes to run away from the cameras in hers (though husband Chris Martin tends to takes a more 'hands on' approach to picture avoidance).

What will it cost me?

A new, second-generation model will set you back at least £40,000 for an xDrive30d SE, which is all the X5 you should ever need, though reserve a few grand for essentials like satnav and leather. Of course, if you want to do things properly you'll have your name down for the frankly outrageous 547bhp, £80,000 X5 M. Then you could take it to specialist BMW tuners Hartge, who'll make it look like a spaceship for tens of thousands more.

Or, if you're on a normal budget, early eight to ten-year old examples are going for well under £10,000 now. We found a few 2001 plate 3.0-litre diesels for the £9,000 mark, in decent condition too. That's a lot of BMW for the money there.

Is it A-list or Z-list?

Since the first one hit the market in 1999, the SUV landscape has changed quite a lot. The latest X5 is a much better, prettier car than its hard-riding, brashly styled forebear - but in some ways that has softened its original appeal. We've got no stats to back this up, but we'd confidently say more celebs were rocking X5s the first time around than they are now. (The M version might change that, though.)

But Bavaria shouldn't be too worried. The Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne may have turned up to the red carpet late and beat up the X5 in front of all its A-list friends, but the X6 now makes sure BMW still has something outrageously showy and machismo in its line-up. The X5 is hardly Z-list, but it's all a bit yesterday - and in the fickle world of celebrity, that makes it the equivalent of last year's Big Brother winner. Not cool.

Mark Nichol