During the recent first drive of the 2027 X5, I spent a good chunk of time with Michael Ahlers, BMW’s head of project. Ahlers has been an engineer at BMW for about 30 years, and in that time he’s touched nearly every model line BMW makes. Ahlers led all aspects of development for the fifth-generation X5, so who better to sit with to learn a little more about the car? Plus, just before the drive, Ahlers completed a drive from San Francisco to Newport Beach, California on Highway 1 in the iX5 60 without stopping to charge it, that’s a trip of more than 500 miles, and there was still about 50 miles in the bank. That said, it was done without the HVAC system turned on and at an average speed of 42 mpg, so it wasn’t the most exciting in the world.
We had a few wide-ranging conversations over dinner—the first one mostly about door handles—and together while sitting in and driving the X5, so there was a lot to parse. Here are five takeaways
The Split Tailgate
This might be one of the most controversial elements of the new X5, the death of the split tailgate. It was a place to sit and hang out, it kept items secure when the trunk was opened when the car was sitting at an angle, and it was something the company got from its ownership of Land Rover in the late Nineties. The loss of a feature like this created a lot of questions. Ahlers recognizes people still wanted to sit in the trunk, and makes it clear that is still possible, and there are advantage to the new setup.
As you can see above, Ahlers and I can sit in the trunk without our shoulders touching, and he references being able to make the opening wider with this new setup. The tailgate is perfectly level, so it’s easy to get items, or yourself, into the trunk. And this does effectively help shorter folks reach deeper into the trunk. So, there are reasons behind it, but I still missed the split, if I’m honest
No Four Cylinder
The B58 appears to be low-mounted, but in reality there’s a lot of car above it.
The X5 will not get the B48 turbo four-cylinder with or without a plug-in hybrid. I figured that it might make sense as a plug-in, especially in markets that levy a higher tax on cars that displace more than 2.0 liters. I Ahlers was adamant that while the B48 is a great engine, it isn’t at home in an X5. He doesn’t believe a four-cylinder provides the sound, power, or character X5 buyers want. Seems fair to me.
The V-8
When an M Sport variant arrives in the U.S., it will be ICE only, not a plug-in hybrid.
The M60e in Europe makes more than 600 hp from an inline-six and a plug-in, but that isn’t the right powertrain for the U.S. market. Ahlers says our M60 will be a V-8. He didn’t say how powerful, but it seems likely it’d be a similar tune to the S68 in the M760, which makes 573 hp. That also means that when there’s a full M variant, the adoption of the 717 hp plug-in powertrain from the M5 or the XM isn’t out of the question. And then that will raise questions about the future of the XM.
Slate
The only buttons on the center console, and they’re surrounded by slate. That’s right, stone. In a car.
I originally thought that the center console trim was some interesting new sort of recyclable material, so when Ahlers told me it was slate, I was very surprised. First, I cannot think of any automakers that puts actual stone in its cars, which makes this a bit of a wild choice. Ahlers says that when it was suggested, he was excited and wanted to explore it more. It took a while, but they figured it out and put it in the car. The pieces are made at a supplier and then shipped to Spartanburg for the final production.
Hydrogen
Right now, the hydrogen X5 isn’t guaranteed for the U.S. market, according to Ahlers. That makes sense, our hydrogen infrastructure is, essentially, non-existent. If anything, it’s gotten worse in the last few years as the EV infrastructure has grown and fewer hydrogen cars have sold. But this is a bet on the future, and what could happen with regulations.
In Europe, semi-trucks are going to move to hydrogen power. That’s the big one. If that creates wide-spread adoption, then the hydrogen X5 will be there to take advantage. The hope is the same happens in the U.S. You get the advantages of an EV in terms of emissions, but instead of a 20 minute or longer stop to charge, the hydrogen model will be able to fill up like the gas model. If our infrastructure improves, it makes a lot of sense.
