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Driving the 2016 BMW X5 eDrive, the plugged-in SUV

Automakers worldwide have gradually (some would say grudgingly) attempted to make their high-profit and highly popular SUVs as efficient and clean-running as their lower weight passenger cars — namely through the grafting of a plug-in hybrid system.

For the past few years, BMW has been offering a mildly ambitious system called ActiveHybrid on several models in its car and truck range. Frankly, none of these heavy ActiveHybrid models have convinced a lot of people to plunk down the premium price tag because all felt precisely like placeholder models. And with BMW launching the electric-driven “I” range, the ActiveHybrid setup was never meant to be the basket holding all the green eggs in Munich.

And on paper, the 2016 BMW X5 eDrive plug-in hybrid takes a much bigger step. To help contain the weight, the gas-powered engine is the tried and true turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0-liter four-cylinder, tuned to 241 hp and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. The electric motor mounted between that engine and the transmission provides 94 more horses and 184 lb-ft of rotational force.

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The e-motor is fed by a 300+-pound lithium ion battery pack, storing a total of 9 kWh of energy tucked beneath the cargo floor. This is the same 96-cell pack used in the upcoming i8, only here in a different configuration for packaging reasons. The outlet for the plug-in cable for kWh “fill-ups” is up high on the left front quarter panel. Full of fuel and electrons, the X5 has a range of 1,390 miles, thus more or less 62 miles per gallon. These results depend on myriad user habits, sure, but pas mal for a 2.5-ton SUV, eh?

On a whole series of laps snaking through BMW’s French proving grounds, was made to try out all driving modes of the eDrive system. How you choose your eDrive mode is via the rheostat menu-search knob for the iDrive on-board interface, between Max eDrive, Auto eDrive and Save Battery.


Essentially, honestly I swear it, when it comes to ride and handling the X5 eDrive conducts itself along the road no differently from a current new X5 xDrive35i. There was some playing with shocks and springs, of course, but the aim was to make the eDrive X5 feel as one would expect any everyday X5 to feel. BMW experts on hand this day also enthusiastically ensured me that both towing rate and off-road capability are also in keeping with owner expectations.

And the eDrive powertrain actually betters the standard X5’s start-stop when you’re paused at an intersection or just using the gas-powered engine in any mode. It can feel rough each time the typical alternator and starter re-ignite the engine, right? Well, these two bits are not present here and it’s the smooth e-motor that starts the four-cylinder directly.

The gas engine is much lighter and smaller than the normal X5 powerplants, and its weight is pushed way back in the space under the hood, creating a better weight distribution for improved dynamics in certain driving situations. Acceleration to 60 mph of this engine working in full-boost 305-hp mode with the e-motor is well under 7.0 seconds, though BMW is not specifying yet just how much under. When I mash the pedal, it does sound like a strong direct-injected four-cylinder and BMW has done a good job with added noise isolation so as not to offend your pretty little German premium ears.

The real selling point of this plug-in hybrid strategy is that it satisfies a driver who needs an efficient in-town cruiser, but who also needs to head to the faraway hills on the weekends with cargo and people and dogs. Full electric mode is good here for a 19-mile range and is meant particularly for city use; you can drive at up to 75 mph in this setup without the gas engine ever engaging. A study commissioned by BMW to analyze X5 use habits worldwide shows that roughly 80 percent of all drives in an X5 cover a distance of less than 19 miles; the savings and environmental potential could be huge once more cars and trucks have these more ambitious hybrid powertrains.

Given that the all-new X5 has launched only recently and that the first products from BMW’s ultra-green i brand need a marketing and publicity window, the X5 eDrive PHEV will start deliveries in the first quarter of 2015. We’ll probably be looking at a price tag in the $60,000 range in the United States.


Full disclosure: The manufacturer provided meals, air transportation and lodging for this review