Battery size: 141 kWh
WLTP range: 500 miles (est) 
Real-world range (est): 350 - 450 miles
Charging speed: 450kW
Introduction - 2026 BMW iX5 Neue Klasse
BMW’s refreshed ‘Neue Klasse’ models keep on coming - and this time it’s the turn of the X5, bringing with it five different drivetrains and rendering the electric BMW iX obsolete in the process, as the iX will be gone for good by 2028.
Instead we get the new, electric BMW iX5. Or to be more precise, in the UK we initially get the BMW iX5 60 xDrive; a 141kWh, 578hp all-wheel drive monster with 500+ miles of WLTP range. It’s not cheap, as we're expecting it to start at around £95,000, but it takes the fight to the electric Porsche Cayenne, Volvo EX90 and forthcoming Range Rover Electric.
It’s a chunky looking thing, too. BMW calls the styling ‘monolithic’, and the high bonnet line and flat, deep sides certainly make it imposing, but the illuminated, slim kidney grille and ‘X’ graphic headlights are either brilliant or awful depending on your mood. I'm not sure which side of that argument I fall on, to be honest, but at least BMW is succeeding in making its cars stand out from various more derivative big electric SUVs. After all, BMW is going to have competition from BYD, Denza and Xpeng in the big, premium electric SUV class soon, so it really needs to hold its own on the style front.
Suffice to say, it makes a statement - although that statement might also include swear words.
The good bits are very good, mind you: an 800-volt architecture and 450kW of DC charging. Enough cameras and sensors to enable Level 2 semi-autonomous driving, including address-to-address in those countries that allow such things. That means that the iX5 will be capable of hands-free driving on major artery roads, where legislation allows (which doesn't include the UK, yet), but you'll always have to have your eyes on the road and be ready to take over at any time.
While we're on the complicated tech stuff, the new BMW iX5 also gets BMW’s ‘Symbiotic Drive’, which means there’s a data centre’s-worth of Artificial Intelligence to help with everything from voice-control to sat-nav to auto-parking. And, presumably, to take over the world and kill us all eventually.
Range, battery and charging
Predicted WLTP range for the BMW iX5 60 xDrive is around the 500 - 520mile mark, and well it should be since that 141kWh usable (150kWh gross) NMC pack is ginormous, putting even the 120kWh pack in the electric Porsche Cayenne to shame. It’ll also be quite heavy, so we’ll be looking at an electric X5 that weighs more than three tonnes. But, the iX5 also gets powerful charging; an 800-volt architecture means a possible 450kW of DC power - future-proofing it against improvements in charging infrastructure.
Well, mostly future-proof, I should say. BYD is launching its 1,500kW Flash Charging stations in Europe now, but in the UK and many countries in Europe you'll still find mostly 350kW chargers in service stations, with 450kW units fairly rare - I reckon 450kW will be fast enough charging for most buyers. It means that you can get a 10-80% charge into the BMW iX5 in around 22 minutes despite the huge battery, or you'll be getting an additional 100 miles of range in as little as five minutes.
As you might expect, there’s a heat pump and the usual pre-conditioning abilities, as well as 22kW of AC charging ability. It should be efficient for the size - but that’s in context of a 578hp, three-tonne plus SUV.
Practicality and boot space
BMW calls the X5 a Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), and it doesn’t skimp on the practicality in favour of too much ‘sports’. The front seat room is generous, and although the rear seats aren’t as big as a car based on a pure electric platform, there’s plenty of room for knees behind sculpted front seatbacks, and big headroom. The boot is pretty enormous, too, with the electric BMW iX5 getting a 655-litre boot (which extends to 1,850 litres with the seats folded down). That's pretty enormous, and makes this one of the most practical luxury electric SUVs you can buy. But I should point out that there's no seven-seat version of the BMW iX5. If you want seven seats in this kind of car, you'll have to consider the Volvo EX90, Kia EV9 or Hyundai Ioniq 9.
Interior, styling and technology
Ok, so the interior gets all sorts of stuff - probably too much to go into fully here. There’s the panoramic iDrive with a 17.9-inch central display, supplemented by a driver’s display and 14-inch optional passenger screen, plus the pillar-to-pillar BMW Panoramic Vision customisable projector strip under the windscreen base. All HD and crisp to the touchscreen - they all feel very fast. Various stages of leather or vegan appliqué, various styles of front seat, from comfort to more supportive ‘M’ sports chairs. There’s a massive standard 2.0-metre glass roof, and even an option for real slate veneers on the centre console. Like, actual stone veneer, like you'd have in your kitchen. And glass buttons and switches. Very posh.
After that, it’s a raft of ADAS (advanced driver assist systems) that are all AI-enabled with BMW Symbiotic Drive for Level-2 semi-autonomous driving, including auto-park, exit-to-exit and address-to-address navigation without the use of your hands. Which is currently not on the cards for UK buyers. It’s also got the weirdest and most annoying steering wheel as an option - a wheel that never looks straight or normal. I'd definitely avoid it, but then - as with the BMW iX3 - you can have a 'normal' steering wheel if you choose.
One thing to note is that BMW makes a point of mentioning that the hardware for all functions is on-board as standard, but that customers can flexibly add stuff as digital upgrades. Whether this is a good or bad thing is up to personal preference.
Motors and performance
I haven't driven the new BMW iX5, yet - I just went for a good look around it in the studio, but we're driving it later this year so you'll just have to wait until after that to find out what it's like to drive. Be patient, alright?!
What I can tell you is that the new electric X5 seems to be very much in the same mould as its predecessors. After all, the good thing about an X5 has always been the fact that it covers a lot of bases for a family, with a bit of dynamism thrown in. The iX5 should be no different - although there’s a lot of electronic stuff going on to help manage the 2,900kg kerbweight.
The basics are a dual-motor set-up giving all-wheel drive, 578hp and 805Nm of torque, which gets you 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. Which is plenty. More modest versions of the electric BMW iX5 will appear as time goes on, of course, and there'll be plug-in hybrids as well as a hydrogen BMW X5 in the not too distant future, too.
Oh, and if you tow stuff then the new BMW iX5 could be a good option as it's got a braked towing capacity of 2,700kg, which makes this one of the most capable electric tow vehicles you can buy.
Pricing and on sale date
We should see right-hand drive BMW iX5s in the UK by March 2027, while left-hand drive models will likely arrive in key European markets a little earlier. With prices expected to be around £95,000 and up for the xDrive 60, it's not cheap. As for monthly costs, we’ll have to wait and see what the lease deals will look like, though something like an electric Porsche Cayenne S (£99,900) weighs in at around £1,440.00 per month on a lease, and the BMW iX5 xDrive 60 will likely be similar.
Verdict
Strong work from BMW as it introduces the ‘Neue Klasse’ models; the iX5 might feel like it’s coming from a compromise having a shared platform that has to encompass everything from combustion to hydrogen drivetrains, but the integration is on-point. With fabulous technology and AI baked in from the start, a lovely interior (steering wheel aside), good power and monster charging, it looks like it’ll cover a lot of bases. There’s enough space, and with BMW’s handling nouse, it's likely to drive very nicely indeed. But the looks are polarising, and the market for luxe-o-barge electric SUVs isn’t the barren place it once was, so we’ll have to wait until we've driven the BMW iX5 before we can make a final decision.
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