The fifth-generation BMW X5 is just about to make its debut, and to drum up anticipation for the popular midsize luxury SUV, the automaker released a teaser today betraying some massive new design changes. As the next vehicle to adopt BMW’s Neue Klasse platform and technologies, the 2027 X5 will also receive some retro-inspired design cues to help it blend in with the likes of the i3 and iX3 EVs, as well as some interesting features that’ll distinguish it from its siblings at the same time, since it’s the first version of the new architecture not to be based around an electric powertrain.
Base Trim Engine
3.0-liter I6 MHEV
Base Trim Transmission
8-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
375 HP @5200 RPM
Base Trim Torque
383 lb.-ft. @ 1850 RPM
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
23/27/25 MPG
Base Trim Battery Type
Lead acid battery
Infotainment & Features
9 /10
X Marks The Spot, Apparently
As with the smaller members of the next-generation Bavarians, the 2027 BMW X5 features a slightly retro design aesthetic. Peering through the shadows in the front-end silhouette’s teaser image are a pair of narrow, vertical kidney grilles, which recall the popular 1600 and 2000 sedans, plus the legendary 2002, from the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning the width between the grilles and the headlights are two horizontal LED stripes, which lead directly to the X5’s most novel feature that we can see.
2027 BMW X5 Headlight TeaserBMW
Instead of the knife-slash daytime running lights found on the iX3, the 2027 X5 will receive, appropriately enough, X-shaped DRLs with an intricate, interlocking design. The jury is still out on whether the look is distinctive and modern or slightly tacky, and we’ll reserve final judgement until we see the SUV in full tomorrow. The headlight design does prove, however, that BMW is more than happy to give members of its family a defined identity, rather than reverting to the one-sausage, three-lengths formula used to great effect on the company’s 1980s and 1990s sedans.
Solving For X With New Tech
We anticipate the retro-modern styling to disguise thoroughly modern engineering, starting with the X5’s platform. The 2027 model should make the jump to the Neue Klasse platform, which means tomorrow’s debut will also include the first-ever iX5 electric SUV. We expect BMW to give the midsize electric crossover a version of its latest Gen6 battery, whose cylindrical cells can be packed more closely together than the preceding prismatic cells, giving the system greater energy density. Gen6 motors will join the battery with engineering that’s free of rare-earth minerals, and an 800-volt, electrically excited synchronous design that should be more efficient.
Related
Next-Gen BMW X5 Will Offer Five Different Powertrain Choices
Buyers will have everything from combustion to electric and even hydrogen to choose from.
Expect gas versions of the X5 to also receive some nice advancements, which could mirror those made to the recently revealed 2027 7 Series LCI. Think: expanded mild-hybrid operation and an available plug-in hybrid model that will bring more efficient electrical operation to the world of internal combustion. We’re not exactly sure how the X5 and iX5 will differ in terms of engineering, but we’re fairly certain BMW plans to make the Neue Klasse platform energy-agnostic.
BMW Gen6 EV electric motorBMW
We’ll know more tomorrow, which is when BMW plans to remove the sheets from its midsize luxury SUV. The X5 is one of the automaker’s best-selling cars worldwide (which is great news for its profitable manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina), and although its styling may prove divisive, we doubt BMW would do anything to endanger the midsize “sports activity vehicle” in terms of popularity.
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Revealed: BMW’s Most Important 3 Series In Years Is Finally Here
The 2027 BMW i3 gets retro-inspired Neue Klasse styling, but the 400-kilowatt charging and 440 miles of range are pure futurism.
Source: BMW
