2027 BMW iX5 60 xDrive | PH Review
With the X5, BMW pioneered the modern SUV - can it repeat the trick with a battery-powered one?
An adult female African bush elephant weighs on average 2,700-3,500kg, which makes her the ideal metaphor for something in the room that we ought to talk about.
On the heels of the new Range Rover Electric comes another battery-powered SUV of nearly three tonnes, only without a 900mm wading depth, or bold claims to be an exceptionally capable off-roader. It’s the new BMW iX5, it’ll arrive in the UK next spring, be priced from £85,000, and it weighs 2,900kg (EU; or 2,825kg DIN).
How did we get up there, for what began - and you might say remains - just a lightly raised alternative to a 5-Series? It’s a set of straightforward decisions, some made by BMW, but as many by the company being a victim of circumstance. Asked to offer a zero tailpipe emissions alternative to the petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and eventually hydrogen fuel-cell X5 variants it will also make – being the “technology agnostic” it claims to be – there obviously has to be a battery-electric version of the new BMW.
Unlike some of its other models (i3/3 Series) it’s going to build them all on the same architecture, so it gets some flexibility in how many of each variant it makes. The full-electric iX5 is the only UK-specific variant we’ve been able to drive thus far.
Anyway, being an SUV (BMW, famously, prefers SAV, ‘sports activity vehicle’, having claimed to have invented the segment with the original X5 in 1999), that means the X5 has a bigger frontal area than (say) a 5 Series, of 2.98m, plus a drag coefficient of 0.28, which isn’t the slipperiest car in the world.
And given i5 and i7 models have routinely been criticised for an underwhelming range, BMW has decided to fit the iX5 with a battery that could keep a submarine underwater for 10-14 hours. Its 141kWh pack (usable, it’s 148kWh total) isn’t quite the size of a Ram or Hummer truck’s, but it’s a whopper as Euro-friendly SUVs go, even big ones.
How big? Five metres long give or take, 2.0 metres wide and 1.75 metres taller, making it, in the USA where it has always been made and which is its biggest market, a ‘midsize luxury crossover SUV’ [the BMW USA website clearly doesn’t want to miss any search terms]. In Europe, that makes it a sizeable car, albeit not more than its competitors. No seven-seat option, though. And no split tailgate this time around, either. It can tow 2.7 tonnes braked (750kg unbraked) and has a 655-1850 litre boot, plus cubby under the bonneet.
Unlike some of BMW’s other EVs, initially at least, there’s no line-up of electric X5s, just a ’60 xDrive’ model, which has two motors, rear biased, with a system total of 578hp and 594lb ft, from a 249hp/225lb ft front, and 329hp/369lb ft rear motor.
The battery pack is an 800v system that can charge, BMW says, at a peak of 460kW. In a demo at the launch venue, we saw it do it. Not that, with a range of 401-525 miles and, presumably, nearly all owners being able to charge at home, we’d expect to see an iX5 using a public charger terribly often. Assuming the right conditions, that’s basically Manchester to Paris on a tank. And even in the wrong conditions, surely a day’s driving.
It’s a day that would be soothed by an interior whose quality and finish are pretty top-drawer. Seats are plush and you don’t feel too much like you’re sitting on top of the car, as you can in some EVs. Widely adjustable too, via buttons on the door these days, with minor adjustments via a touchscreen which is generally overworked because there aren’t that many other buttons inside, and no old-fashioned iDrive controller, I think to the car’s deficit.
There are cues from the latest Neue Klasse BMWs too, most notably the big ‘panoramic vision’ part of the latest iDrive system, which is a wide projected screen at the base of the windscreen, for the key instrumentation and a bunch of other ‘widgets’, customisable of course. Optionally there’s a passenger screen too, giving them control of the entertainment system
But it does feel 'luxury' rather than 'sport' – and to think, there’s another SUV above this one. And to drive? It’s going that way, too. There are air springs for the double-wishbone front and five-link rear suspension, with BMW’s electric demo vehicles equipped with active rear steer and roll control. But there’s only so dynamic a 2.9-tonne (before options, of which BMW had fitted lots to its test cars) SUV can, or you’d want, to be.
Its ride, then, is smooth, even on 22-inch (optional) alloys and 275/40 (front) and 315/35 (rear) tyres. Albeit the Californian roads we drove on are better surfaced than the UK’s tend to be. The iX5 passes over highway concrete, maybe the noisiest under-wheel road surface you’ll find, commendably quietly and comfortably, with road imperfections dealt with efficiently and accompanied only a little echo from the big air chambers. And if there’s something to thank nearly three-quarters of a tonne of battery pack for, it’s that it’s situated low in the car, and central, which is arguably better than having big masses high or front and rear.
We don’t know what the iX5 is like without the fancy chassis control options, but with them it steers responsively, accurately and pretty predictably. Roll is well contained, it generates decent grip and there is loads of traction. The turning circle falls from 12.8m to 12.1m with the active rear steer, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find that it’s in cornering where it lends the bigger hand, making this hefty SUV turn with, well, not exactly the elan of an original X5 or a current 5 Series, but not so far removed that you wouldn’t know it’s a BMW. You can pick your chassis stiffness and steering weight too, plus motor response, and whether it makes a synthesised noise.
We found the most pleasing drive modes were the ones that made the iX5 the easiest, lightest and most compliant to tool around in. And for all the weight, there’s no denying that the battery size plays a pretty important part in adding to that ease. It has the chassis and interior that make it comfortable to spend a long time in - and with this size of battery, the car has the stamina for it too.
SPECIFICATION | 2027 BMW iX5 60 xDrive
Engine: synchronous front motor, electrically excited synchronous rear motor
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 578hp
Torque (lb ft): 594lb ft
0-62mph: 4.6 secs
Top speed: 130mph
Weight: 2,900kg (EU)
Battery: 800V, 141kWh (usable) capacity
Range: 401-525miles WLTP
Max DC charging: 460kW; 10-80% charge in 23mins
Price: £85,375 (starting)
Side profile is like a bland souffle and the rear and front ends are just gopping. They look so bottom heavy, narrow at the top, and chintzy it reminds me of the Stockport pyramid
That's probably the largest battery in an EV in the UK
Also seems a fair price for what you are getting : good range, very fast charging, lot's of power & space and the interior has quality too. Seven different wheel choices and ten interior colours/fabrics, with most of them no extra cost - nice
The rear seats could do with an electric reclining adjustment
On the design - looks like people need a few years to soak this one in.
That's probably the largest battery in an EV in the UK
Also seems a fair price for what you are getting : good range, lot's of power & space and the interior has quality too. Seven different wheel choices, with most of them no extra cost - nice
The rear seats could do with an electric reclining adjustment
On the design - looks like people need a few years to soak this one in.
That's top trolling - got to hand you that.
The boot looks a bit small for serious family use but assuming the indicated pricing is about right and with BMWs heavily discounted Evs it may almost be dare I say good ish value
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