BMW X5 eDrive prototype first drive

The new BMW X5 eDrive, and it's a very significant car. Not only will it be BMW’s first regular production model to boast plug-in hybrid technology when it goes on sale in the UK in 2015, but it will also act as a rolling blueprint for an extended range of upcoming petrol-electric-powered BMW models that you’ll be able to plug into mains power as a means of extending performance and economy, among them a secret new 3-series eDrive saloon recently spotted testing for the first time.  

Revealed in concept car guise at last year’s Frankfurt motor show, the X5 eDrive draws heavily on the knowhow amassed during the development of BMW’s recently introduced BMW i3 city car and forthcoming i8 sports car.

Although based around an existing series production model, its advanced driveline has been developed alongside those of the initial i brand models with which it shares crucial components, such as its power electronic control unit – the system that controls the interface between its combustion engine, electric motor, gearbox, battery and four-wheel drive system.

The X5 eDrive uses a specially adapted version of BMW’s existing N20 direct-injection petrol engine, as used across the German car maker’s model range in recent years. Mounted longitudinally well back in the commodious engine bay, the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit kicks out 241bhp and 258lb ft.

The combustion engine is mated with a disc-shaped electric motor mounted within the housing of the gearbox. Produced by long-time BMW partner, ZF – the same company responsible for the new SUV’s standard eight-speed automatic transmission – it delivers 94bhp and the same 184lb ft as the unit employed in the upcoming i8 sports car.

BMW isn’t giving all the secrets to the X5 eDrive away just yet, but it suggests the combined system output will be more than 270bhp and 332lb ft. By comparison, the existing X5 xDrive35i’s turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol engine delivers 302bhp and 295lb ft.

Energy for the electric motor is provided by a battery sited beneath the floor of the boot, which has been raised by 20mm over that of other X5 models to accommodate it. The lithium ion unit consists of cells supplied by SB LiMotive, a joint venture operated by Samsung and Bosch, and is claimed to possess a capacity of more than 9.0kWh. It can be charged either via a 400 volt wall box or standard 240 mains through a socket hidden beneath a flap within the front driver’s side fender panel.

Very good. The ability of the high-tech driveline to overcome the additional weight brought on by the electric motor and battery pack is evident from the outset.

Provided there is sufficient charge in the battery, the initial movement from standstill is achieved on the electric motor alone. However, it doesn’t take too much of a nudge on the throttle before the petrol engine chimes in to strengthen the initial acceleration. Together, they provide the X5 eDrive with thoroughly convincing step off and in-gear performance.

Despite weighing in the region of 2300kg, it accelerates with all the enthusiasm of the 2145kg X5 xDrive35i on a pegged throttle, as evidenced by a claimed 0-62mph time that BMW puts at "under 7.0sec". With drive channelled permanently to all four wheels via an electro-mechanical multi-plate clutch and an electronically controlled torque vectoring system, traction was never in doubt in the early prototype we drove.