Why we ran it: To discover out if this revised plug-in hybrid luxurious SUV may supply the most effective of each
Life with a BMW X5: Final report
Every time I see a jumbo jet take off I get a disconcerting sense that there’s some sort of fault within the cloth of the universe. Something that massive, that heavy, that lumbering on the bottom ought to by no means have the ability to get airborne, not to mention look so elegant as soon as it will get there.
You get the same sensation on a rustic lane on this X5. Laden with all its hybrid expertise, the BMW weighs 5kg shy of two and a half tonnes earlier than you’ve got even sat in it, but its willingness to go, cease and alter course comes as a shock each time, irrespective of how usually you’ve got already skilled it.
With Sport mode engaged, it sits decrease on its air suspension, the petrol engine is woke up to run in parallel with the electrical motor, and the efficiency is solely outrageous as a mixed 483bhp punches it from relaxation to 62mph in lower than 5sec, accompanied by an addictive growl as you flick via the eight speeds of the auto ‘field with the wheel-mounted paddles.
Yet it is within the mid-range when it is actually spectacular, dispatching slower vehicles on quick straights, then shedding velocity with its huge brakes (uprated M Sport objects with blue calipers on my automotive, a part of the £2100 M Sport Pro Pack) and diving in to the subsequent nook.
With huge grip, there is no understeer until you pitch it in far too shortly, the steering is fantastically weighted (if a contact low-geared), and should you get on the facility early on the way in which out, there may be even a bit twitch from the again finish because the 516lb ft of torque reveals its rearward bias.
In quick, the X5 drives like a correct BMW ought to, but a cross-country hoon is just scratching the floor of this automotive’s talents.
Editor Tisshaw made the legitimate level that if lengthy continental journeys are your stock-in-trade, then this plug-in hybrid drivetrain just isn’t excellent, but when, like me, your life is a mix of quick, slogging city commutes through the week and longer weekend journeys, it makes an enormous quantity of sense – albeit maybe not totally justifying the hefty premium over the very good diesel.
BMW claims 58-69 miles of pure-electric vary. I by no means managed to match even the decrease determine, however 45-plus miles is definitely achievable with out making an attempt to be frugal and that proved sufficient for many every day duties within the week, with an in a single day cost. And with the uprated 50e, efficiency stays peppy even in pure EV mode, with as much as 87mph potential earlier than the straight-six engine chimes in – with a break up second’s delay should you name for it through the throttle pedal.
