BMW X5 Estate xDrive50e M Sport 5dr Auto

The BMW X5 is a large premium SUV that our customers have absolutely loved over the years and still do today. This particular version of the BMW X5 is the 50e M Sport which is a Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHEV) and as you can imagine, it’s very popular with company car drivers due to the lower CO2 Emissions which means lower company car tax.

It’s main competitors is the Audi Q7, Range Rover Sport and the Mercedes GLE, all very strong and all have their pro’s and con’s. Whereas the old PHEV BMW X5 had a 2.0 litre petrol engine, BMW has instead dropped in their amazing 3.0-litre straight-six engine and when combined with the electric motor, it offers 483bhp and 700Nm of torque.

We’re super impressed by the range from the battery, easily getting 50 miles out of a full charge sometimes pushing over 60 depending on the type of drive and the weather. A good example of how this car is used is a morning/afternoon commute which takes around 25 miles of range, costs around 90p to top up with Octopus Energy and over 5,000 miles, 4,000 miles of that has been done on pure EV power.

The swapping between electric and petrol engine isn’t the best, but no worse than other similar cars and when in EV mode you very rarely experience this jolting. If you use the onboard satellite navigation, the car will adapt the brake regen, etc to try and help with the range, it’s very clever.

The onboard technology is excellent, adopting BMW’s latest software. Our only gripe is the fiddly climate control settings which are controlled via the screens but you soon get used to this. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, there are also a few apps you can use for things like Spotify. Depending on the lvel of car will determine what extras you get, this is the Pro model.