BMW has bulked up the powertrain in its X5 hybrid as Jack Evans reports

UNDER THE BONNET?

There’s some clever stuff going on underneath this X5 hybrid. Up front, you’ll find a bread-andbutter BMW powerplant in the form of a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six. A feature in BMW models for decades, the straightsix has the edge over the piddly four-cylinder 2.0-litre that was found in the old X5 hybrid.

This is then combined with an electric motor and batteries for a combined output of 389bhp and 600Nm. It makes the X5 genuinely brisk, with 0-60mph dispatched in 5.4 seconds. Of course, this isn’t being pitched as a performance model, which is why the efficiency figures are so strong, with BMW claiming 200mpg and emissions of 31g/ km CO2. Plus, because the car has been fitted with a largerthan-normal battery, it can go 54 miles on battery power alone.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

One of the greatest compliments you can pay this BMW is that it feels strikingly similar to a standard X5. The changeover from electric to petrol power is barely noticeable, and the engine is so well isolated from the cabin that you have to be quite harsh with the throttle to provoke it into making noise. Around town, it’s quiet and serene.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

The interior is superbly well made, with high-end materials used throughout. Of course, this is no cheap car - it starts from £64,475 without options - but the finish that you get in the cabin does go some way towards justifying this rather steep entry price. The BMW’s infotainment system is a huge screen, but it doesn’t seem as obviously large as in rival vehicles.