> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The New BMW X5 Gets a Sharper Face and a Lot More Screen - URL: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/new-bmw-x5-sharper-face-bigger-screen/ - Published: 2026-10-21T07:29:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-21T07:29:25.000Z - Description: Sharper lights, a giant screen and massaging seats: the fifth-generation BMW X5 looks like a very different family SUV, and early drives say its even better than the outgoing model - Author: Callum L - Tags: Cars Some cars become so familiar that you stop seeing them, and the [BMW X5](https://www.bmw.com.au/en/models/x-series/suv/bmw-x5.html?ref=blankidentity.com.au) has been one of those for a long time. School car parks, country showgrounds, the airport drop-off lane: for more than two decades it has been the default big, comfortable, quietly expensive family SUV. So it is a nice surprise to find that the new fifth-generation car looks like it actually wants to be noticed. The 2027 X5 borrows heavily from the Neue Klasse look that BMW has been rolling through its range, and it shows. It is still all-wheel drive, still a five-seater, still built for long trips with a full car, but the pictures alone make it clear this is a different era of X5. ## The look Start with the face. The headlights are slim, and each one carries a glowing double X. The grille lights up, the kidneys are taller and narrower than before, and the door handles sit flush with the body. It looks sharper and a bit more futuristic than the car it replaces, while still being unmistakably an X5. ![Close-up of the new BMW X5 headlight with its double X light signature](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/omajn8g5/production/c0930be015d5d8a233403b626a93991c8e93d615-8256x4644.jpg) BMW X5 headlight. Image: BMW That matters more than it sounds. The X5 has always been a car people recognise at a glance, and BMW has kept that familiar, planted shape while freshening up everything you notice on the way past. ## Stepping inside The real headline is the cabin. The main screen is far bigger than the old one, and a display now runs across the base of the windscreen too, so the driver gets the useful stuff right in their eyeline. A head-up display sits in front of that. The front passenger gets a screen of their own, which means whoever is in the front seat can watch something or fiddle with playlists without the driver being dragged into it. Peace in the car, basically. ![Cockpit of the new BMW X5 with the wide curved screen and pale interior](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/omajn8g5/production/e97691e712e2c937cd93efaf7cbec9f9d9633dc8-8256x4644.jpg) BMW X5 interior. Image: BMW The comfort list is generous too. Big wheels and a glass panoramic sunroof (the front half opens for fresh air) come standard, and the front seats are heated, ventilated and can massage you, with memory settings thrown in. On a long school-holiday drive, that last one is the kind of thing you stop noticing and then miss terribly when you are in anything else. There is a premium Bowers & Wilkins sound system as well. Soft-close doors come standard, and if you like the idea of doors that open themselves, automatic doors are an option. ## What stays the same The things families actually lean on have not moved. It is still all-wheel drive, still a five-seater with a boot that grows when you fold the seats, and it still tows a serious load, plenty for a decent caravan, a boat or a trailer full of weekend gear. ## How it drives Early drives of the global car, run on prototypes around Spartanburg in the United States, paint a consistent picture of how the X5 family feels on the road. ![Side view of the new BMW X5 driving along a road](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/omajn8g5/production/d4b39e0b5742a50ba63eeb1c0dfce8d02f5beac2-5493x3090.jpg) BMW X5\. Image: BMW On the road, the X5 is at its best when the surface is at its worst. It soaks up rough pavement well even on big 22-inch wheels, very little of it reaches the cabin, and it is the quietest X5 yet. Broken roads and expansion joints are handled neatly, body movement is better controlled at highway speed, and road and wind noise are down (early drives from [BMWBlog](https://www.bmwblog.com/2026/06/16/2027-bmw-x5-g65-first-drive-review/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) and [Wards Auto](https://www.wardsauto.com/news/2027-bmw-x5-review-powertrain-options-dont-compromise-consistency/823339/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)). Steering is where the car takes the clearest step forward. The vague patch around the straight-ahead position of the old car has gone, replaced by quick, accurate responses, though a little more feel from the road would not go astray. Steering and balance feel much the same whichever power source you choose, and the optional rear-steering suspension makes the big SUV feel nimbler at low speeds and steadier at high speed. The six-cylinder petrol wins friends too. It is smooth and responsive, with the mild-hybrid assistance filling in the gaps when the turbo is catching its breath, and the gearbox feels crisper. Of the three versions driven, the petrol X5 40 xDrive was the most rewarding. The plug-in swaps between electric power and the engine so quietly and seamlessly that only the display tells you it has happened. There are a few gripes. The wide front pillars can hide things at junctions, a lot of functions live on the screen instead of on buttons, and the electric iX5 carries some heft. ## The whole X5 family The easiest way to think about the new X5 is one car with several ways of powering it, and you choose by how you live. The diesel and petrol are the two arriving now. Both use a six-cylinder engine with a light electric assist that smooths things out, and both send power to all four wheels. Early in 2027 the X5 50e joins them. It is a plug-in hybrid, so it pairs a petrol six-cylinder with an electric motor and a battery big enough to handle a good chunk of everyday driving on electricity alone, with the engine there for long trips. The iX5 follows as the fully electric version, for anyone ready to skip petrol and diesel altogether. That they all feel closely related behind the wheel is a nice bonus: you are picking a power source, not a different personality. ![Front three-quarter view of the new BMW X5 40 xDrive in dark green on a dirt road](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/omajn8g5/production/cdd5cc00ad1511d7bbc57d31aa0cafe92a8b32da-5154x2899.jpg) BMW X5 40 xDrive. Image: BMW ## The models you can get In Australia the new X5 starts with two models, the X5 40d xDrive and the X5 40 xDrive. They share the same body, the same all-wheel drive and the same long list of standard extras, from the sporty M Sport styling and adaptive suspension to the big screens, massaging seats and glass roof, so the choice really comes down to the fuel. If you tow, or spend a lot of time on country highways, the diesel is the sensible one. It has the stronger pulling power of the two, which is what you feel when a loaded trailer is behind you on a hill. The petrol is the quicker car on paper, and it suits people who mostly do school runs and weekend trips. After that, the differences come from the options list. A sportier M Sport Pro package, a Comfort Package that adds heated armrests and rear seats plus rear sunblinds, adaptive air suspension with rear-wheel steering, larger wheels, a leather upgrade and a wide choice of paint colours let you shape the car to suit. ## Wait for the plug-in or the electric? This is the honest question. If your days are mostly short hops and you can charge at home, the plug-in could cover a lot of your driving on battery alone, and if you are ready to go fully electric, the iX5 is the one to hold out for. If you want a big luxury family SUV now, or you tow regularly, the diesel and petrol are ready to go and nothing about them feels like a stopgap. Waiting only makes sense if you already know a plug-in or an electric car suits your life better. **At a glance** - **X5 40d xDrive:** from $143,900 before on-road costs, 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel with 48V mild-hybrid assistance, 230kW and 670Nm, 0 to 100km/h in a claimed 6.1 seconds - **X5 40 xDrive:** from $145,900 before on-road costs, 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol with 48V mild-hybrid assistance, 294kW and 540Nm, 0 to 100km/h in a claimed 5.3 seconds - **Drive:** eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive, Adaptive M Suspension - **Towing:** 3,000kg braked, or 3,500kg with the $2,500 tow hitch preparation option - **Space:** five seats, boot from 655 litres up to 1,850 litres with the rear seats folded - **Warranty:** five years, unlimited kilometres - **Arrives:** X5 40d and 40 in showrooms in Q4 2026, X5 50e and iX5 in Q1 2027 - **X5 50e (plug-in):** petrol six-cylinder plus electric motor, 360kW combined, up to 102km of electric range (provisional WLTP figure) - **iX5 60 xDrive (electric):** dual-motor all-wheel drive, 425kW, up to 845km of range (provisional WLTP figure) - **More:** [BMW Australia X5 page](https://www.bmw.com.au/en/models/x-series/suv/bmw-x5.html?ref=blankidentity.com.au) and [BMW Australia iX5 page](https://www.bmw.com.au/en/models/x-series/suv/bmw-ix5.html?ref=blankidentity.com.au) **Verdict:** the new X5 is a sharper, more connected and more comfortable take on the family luxury SUV, and early drives suggest it is a calm and capable one. The diesel and petrol are easy to recommend if you need a car now, and the plug-in and electric versions are worth a look first if you can wait until early 2027.