The new BMW X5 is here, and the electric iX5 goes 845 km on a charge
The teaser is over: BMW's most important SUV shows its full hand
Yesterday we showed you the teaser; now here is the real thing. BMW has fully revealed the new-generation X5, codenamed G65, and it delivers on the promise of those X-shaped lights with a cleaner design, a heavily reworked interior and a five-strong powertrain line-up led by a punchy plug-in hybrid and a long-range electric iX5. It is the most significant X5 in years.
A cleaner, Neue Klasse face
As teased, the new X5 wears a double X motif in the headlights, which can be toggled on or off, plus a vertical kidney grille with illuminated strips and BMW's Winglets worked into the beltline. The historic split tailgate is gone, replaced by a single-piece unit and wide full-width tail lights, and automatic doors are offered on an SUV for the first time. M Performance models add 23-inch wheels, mirror stripes and quad exhausts. The car has grown, too, now 4.99 metres long on a 3.03-metre wheelbase, both up six centimetres.
Five ways to power it, up to 612 hp
The combustion range opens with a 400 hp turbo petrol straight-six and a 313 hp diesel, both with mild-hybrid assistance. Above them sit two plug-in hybrids: the 50e xDrive with 489 hp and the M60e xDrive with 612 hp, the latter the new performance flagship until an M model arrives. The all-electric iX5 60 xDrive uses a dual-motor setup for 578 hp and 0-100 km/h in around 4.6 seconds. A hydrogen fuel-cell iX5, co-developed with Toyota, follows later with a claimed 750 km range and sub-five-minute refuelling.
The iX5 is the headline: 845 km and 460 kW charging
The star of the range is the electric iX5. It packs a 141 kWh usable battery on an 800-volt architecture, good for up to 845 km of WLTP range, and can charge at up to 460 kW, taking 10 to 80 percent in just 22 minutes and adding around 274 km in ten. The flip side is mass: at roughly 2,825 kg in European spec it is the heaviest production BMW ever, edging close to heavy-vehicle territory. Boot space is 650 litres, dropping to 525 litres in the plug-in hybrids.
A radically different cabin
Inside, the change is dramatic. The old iDrive controller is gone, replaced by a 17.9-inch central touchscreen, an optional 14.6-inch passenger display and BMW's Panoramic Vision projection that runs pillar to pillar across the base of the windscreen. There are still physical buttons on the wheel and doors, but the climate vents are now digitally controlled. The biggest practical change is that the X5 is two-row only: the optional third row has been dropped entirely.
Prices and on-sale dates
In Germany the range opens at €94,800 for the 40d diesel and €98,800 for the 40 xDrive petrol, with the iX5 60 xDrive and 50e plug-in hybrid both at €102,800 and the M60e topping out at €125,000. The petrol and diesel models go on sale first, from 28 November 2026, with the plug-in hybrids and the electric iX5 following on 6 March 2027. Production starts in August 2026, and the hydrogen version arrives later, likely in 2028.
AutoNext Take
The X5 has always been the car BMW cannot afford to get wrong, and on paper this one looks strong. The calmer design is a relief after years of grille inflation, the cabin overhaul is bold, and offering everything from diesel to hydrogen in one body is exactly the hedge a cautious market wants. The iX5 is the headline act: 845 km and 460 kW charging genuinely move the game on. The catch is that 2,825 kg weight, which is a lot of SUV to haul around, and dropping the third row will frustrate big families. Even so, BMW looks to have nailed the brief, and we cannot wait to drive it.
We previewed the design in the X5 teaser, dug into the iX5's 141 kWh battery, and BMW has just had a strong week elsewhere, topping the J.D. Power 2026 quality awards.
