BMW X5 interior

The transformation certainly hasn’t made this car any easier to use. The temperature controls are permanently on screen, but the heated seats require more than one prod. The idea is that they are adaptive and know when to heat up and cool down, but the system doesn’t always get it right, prompting more fiddling.

The gauge cluster has similar style-over-substance problems, prioritising flashy graphics over presenting the information you want in an easily glanceable layout. There’s not much in the way of configurability, and even scrolling between different screens is more complicated than it needs to be. It also insists on showing you a power gauge rather than a tachometer unless you’re in Sport mode.

Space in the rear is competitive with rivals, but not overly generous when compared with similarly sized EVs. In our test car, rear passengers enjoyed most of the luxuries of those in front, with heated seats and more USB ports than we cared to count. There are only the two usual Isofix points, rather than three like in the Audi Q7. A seven-seat cabin layout is available on the diesel at extra cost (the extra two seats take up the same space the hybrid’s battery pack might otherwise occupy).

The diesel model has 650 litres of boot capacity – fairly big, but not quite as big as in some of its SUV rivals (the Land Rover Discovery, Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90 all offer more carrying space). In the case of the 50e, that shrinks to 500 litres due to the battery. It’s better integrated than on some Mercedes plug-in hybrids, however, retaining a flat floor and even a small underfloor compartment.

A split tailgate has been a feature on X5s since the beginning – a useful feature BMW borrowed from the Range Rover. It doesn’t just create a bench when down, but also makes it easier to open the boot in tight spots. We found that the hands-free opening function worked with unusual accuracy.

Multimedia system – 3.5 stars

BMWs used to get an almost automatic five stars here for their logical iDrive interface with both a touchscreen and a rotary controller. The iDrive 8 operating system that features on the facelifted X5, however, has been a source of frustration in several recent models such as the BMW i5. It looks great, but its interface no longer seems designed with the rotary selector in mind, and settings are divided between a number of different ‘apps’ that sit in a loosely organised ‘app drawer’ with every other function. There are too many submenus too, making specific information hard to find. Unlike the cheaper BMW X1, the X5 does retain the rotary controller and a few shortcuts for the map, media, home, etc. While they have a less central role than before, they are what keeps this system usable.