2027 BMW iX5 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

It’s tempting to say that the iX5 copies the styling of the internal-combustion X5, since it’s the new addition to the lineup, but really, it’s the other way around. The BMW Neue Klasse (German for new class) EVs are the styling template going forward, so both the iX5 and X5 borrow heavily from the smaller iX3 that launched the Neue Klasse line.

That’s a good thing for those who want their car to be a conversation piece. The Neue Klasse look is a radical leap for BMW, even compared with the controversial iX that the iX5 replaces. Instead of a traditional SUV shape like previous generations of the X5, or the minivan-like form of the iX, the iX5 combines rippling sheet metal with a squat roofline for a streamlined yet muscular appearance.

Most people won’t notice that because the front end draws all of the attention. The new BMW twin-kidney grille is small and narrow, like the ones on the original Neue Klasse models of the 1960s. We’ve criticized the oversized grilles of recent BMWs, but we should have been careful of what we wished for, because this one looks awkwardly undersized. The visor-like headlight housing that surrounds it doesn’t help, especially when the X-shaped lighting arrangement is selected (although that can be turned off).

Like the gasoline X5, the iX5 comes standard with 21-inch wheels and can be equipped with 22-inch wheels. However, the EV skips the 23-inch wheel option that the X5 gets for 2027 to help preserve electric range. A full list of options wasn’t available at the time of writing, but we expect the iX5 to be available with the X5’s M Sport Package or M Sport Package Professional, which add sportier styling elements.

The interior is just as imaginative as the exterior, with novel materials such as buttons made from slate and toggles made from crystal, as well as fresh design touches such as a central screen that looks like a parallelogram. There’s a new two-spoke steering wheel as well, which looks a bit strange but it's very satisfying to use.

BMW is launching the iX5 in a single spec. The 2027 iX5 60 xDrive has a dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) powertrain producing 570 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The motors are powered by a 144-kilowatt-hour (usable capacity) battery pack. The pack uses cylindrical battery cells and a cell-to-pack design that eliminates modules, both of which maximize the amount of energy it can store.

BMW says the iX5 can do 0–60 mph in 4.4 seconds, while its top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph. That’s 0.1 seconds quicker than a base Porsche Cayenne Electric, but the S and Turbo versions of the Cayenne are much quicker. The Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is now a comparative slug thanks to the discontinuation of its AMG performance variant, but even the base dual-motor Rivian R1S Premium is a second quicker to 60 mph than the Bimmer.

Like the gasoline X5, the iX5 can be equipped with air suspension with load-levelling and adjustable ride heights. The suspension can be lowered at high speeds, when the Sport or Sport+ drive modes are selected, or when parked for easier ingress and egress. It can also be raised by 0.7 inches for driving on unpaved roads, although BMW doesn’t offer any other off-road features. An active anti-roll system and rear-axle steering are also available, and the iX5 is equipped with the same “Heart of Joy” chassis control unit as the Neue Klasse EVs.

The Heart of Joy is aptly named because it makes driving more engaging by allowing the electronic safety net to operate in the background. Instead of the harsh interventions associated with conventional stability control and traction control, the operation of any electronic aids is barely detectable. That gives the iX5 a polished character appropriate for a luxury SUV. We were able to hustle it through corners without any drama. Driving the iX5 back-to-back with a gasoline X5 40 xDrive, we were also impressed by how close the electric model felt in terms of agility, despite the extra weight of its battery pack.

That said, the iX5 isn’t the most engaging car to drive. Its electronic features may be seamless, but they still form a layer of artificiality. The iX5 is better suited to the role of family road tripper, with a comfortable ride and a quiet cabin that will be appreciated on highways and backroads alike. That’s more relevant for a midsize SUV, anyway.

The iX5 is longer, wider, and taller than the iX it replaces in BMW’s EV lineup, and its wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer. BMW didn’t have full specs for the iX5 available at the time of writing, but subjectively it feels like the engineers made the most of that enlarged footprint.

The front seats kept us comfortable during a long drive from the California desert town of Borrego Springs to the coastal locale of Newport Beach. As with the gasoline X5, we expect BMW to offer standard heated sport seats and optional multifunction seats that add ventilation and massage functions. The back seats are appropriately spacious for a midsize SUV, and BMW fits nifty magnetic phone mounts to the backs of the front seats. The iX5 can also be equipped with automatic doors that can open or close with a slight tap.

The 27.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and 62.7 cubic feet behind the front seats are less than in the discontinued iX. They are about the same as that of a Cadillac Lyriq though, and more than a Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV can hold. The Porsche Cayenne Electric has around the same amount of cargo space as the BMW behind its rear seats, but less when they’re folded. The Porsche’s front trunk also has nearly double the space of the BMW’s 1.8-cubic-foot offering. The Rivian R1S offers even more space both front and back, as well as a third row.

The iX5’s maximum towing capacity is a respectable 6,000 pounds, but that’s still less than the Cayenne Electric and the R1S.

Like its exterior and interior design features, the iX5 shares its infotainment system with the gasoline-powered X5. The headline is the Panoramic Vision display that sits at the base of the windshield. There’s a 17.9-inch touchscreen below it, and a 14.6-inch front-passenger touchscreen can be added as well. All of this is supported by BMW’s latest Operating System X, which still supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but changes the look and layout of everything.

It's a radical departure from previous BMWs, but the panoramic display works well. It sits at the driver’s eye level and helps to prioritize information. The most vital things—speed, navigation prompts, driver-assistance warnings, and estimated range—are directly in front of the driver, while everything else is off to the side. It’s easier to glance to the right to see secondary information such as the current temperature than it is to pick it out of a crowded instrument cluster.

Operating System X also makes some worthwhile changes to the traditional touchscreen. The graphics are a big improvement over BMW’s previous infotainment systems, and the new menu layout is more flexible, with fewer instances of one menu taking over the whole screen. That said, the sheer number of functions can make it easy to get lost in said menus. We had to rely on the voice recognition system to find what we needed, but thankfully it was able to help. The system did have some trouble understanding us and knowing when to stop listening after we’d made a query, but that might have been down to connectivity issues.

Voice recognition is now based on Amazon Alexa+ AI, so it can sync with your home Alexa device and answer general knowledge questions. Having the car effectively Google stuff isn’t as useful in real life as it might seem. As with human users, sometimes an answer just can’t be found quickly. Also of dubious utility is the front-passenger screen, but at least BMW didn’t build the dashboard around it as some rivals do.

AI also extends to the charge-port flap, which can automatically open if it detects that the car is parked at a spot where the owner usually charges. Digital key functionality is supported, too. BMW didn’t have a full options list available at the time of writing, but the iX5 will get the head-up display and 18-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system that are optional on the gasoline X5. The latter includes Dolby Atmos tech for the first time in a BMW.

The iX5’s standard driver-assistance features match those of the gasoline X5, and include expected equipment such as lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitors, cross-traffic alert, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, evasive-steering assist, adaptive cruise control, automated lane centering, and safe-exit assist that can prevent doors from opening when traffic or cyclists are approaching.

These features are supported by what BMW calls Symbiotic Drive, which analyzes the driver’s behavior to determine intention. This allows the driver to make control inputs without having to fight the driver aids or deactivate them completely. Its functionality is largely based on a camera and infrared sensors mounted in the rearview mirror, which had trouble tracking us while driving into harsh late-afternoon sunlight, causing the system to issue distraction warnings at random intervals.

The driver-attention monitoring system enables Highway Assistant, a hands-free driving system that works at speeds up to 85 mph on certain highways. Like other automakers’ hands-free systems, it can execute automated lane changes, but in BMW’s case, they can be activated by glancing at the mirror. In our experience, this only worked when prompted by the system due to a slower car in front or an approaching exit.

Also available are several park-assist features, ranging from a surround-view camera system (with curb, 3D, and carwash views) and sensors to a fully remote system that works through the My BMW app. Also available is Maneuver Assistant, which can automatically retrace a car’s path out of driveways or parking spots for up to 600 feet.

Because the iX5 is a new model, crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were not available at the time of writing.

Official EPA ratings weren’t available at the time of writing, but BMW expects the iX5 to get 435 miles of range in at least some configurations. That would top the 410-mile Rivian R1S Premium Long Range, and it’s in another league from the electric SUVs of other German automakers, none of which have yet reached 400 miles.

The iX5 also has an 800-volt electrical architecture that enables high-power charging. It can DC fast charge at an impressive 460 kilowatts, recovering 170 miles of range in 10 minutes or charging from 10% to 80% in 22 minutes, according to BMW. The iX5 can also charge at up to 15.4 kW on AC, which should make overnight recharges a nonissue. Bidirectional charging is standard, too, although at the time of writing BMW hadn’t detailed any hardware that would allow the iX5 to serve as a backup home power source during blackouts.

Pricing starts at $81,250 with the mandatory $1,450 destination charge. That’s $7,700 more than a gasoline X5 40 xDrive with AWD and $7,700 more than the X5 50e xDrive plug-in hybrid. BMW likes to say that it builds a single car and offers customers a choice of powertrains, rather than keeping EVs and internal-combustion cars separate. But in this case, the extra cost of the electric powertrain doesn’t make things so simple.

Even at that starting price, the iX5 costs a lot less than a base Porsche Cayenne Electric, while offering comparable acceleration and more range. But for just a few grand more, the Rivian R1S Premium offers nearly as much range, quicker acceleration, and much greater utility. The Cadillac Lyriq trails the iX5 in range, but the amount buyers do get is more than adequate, especially considering the Cadillac’s much lower price. So while the first-ever iX5 is an important technical and design statement for BMW, it’s not a home run in its target market segment.