After a Chinese forum leaked official photos of the 2019 X5, BMW has released more information on the new model.
The BMW X5 has been around for nearly two decades now, first arriving in 1999. Since then, its gone through three generations, but even the newest model is still unmistakable from the old one. That’s the way of German design, though – evolution trumps starting over again with a clean sheet of paper. The X5 was one of the first to shift from truck-based body-on-frame SUVs to unibody crossovers, and since then BMW has kept working to tweak the formula. What all has changed in the new model?
BMW has sold 2.2 million X5s over the years, so it makes sense to slightly change the formula than radically redesign the car. To that end, the 2019 BMW X5 has grown slightly, but it’s not extremely different from the outgoing model. The new G05 generation is 1.1 inches longer, 2.6 inches wider and an inch taller than before. The exterior is unmistakably BMW at the front, while the rear taillights are a bit more of a departure than we’ve seen in the model after the past few years.
New tech on offer
The 2019 BMW X5 makes use of Adaptive LED headlights, while BMW’s Laserlights are available as an option. An optional 1,500 watt, 20-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo system will be available to customers from December 2018, as well the optional rear-seat entertainment system.
Driver assist tech in the 2019 BMW X5 includes Blind Spot Detection, Lane Departure Warning, Rear Collision Warning, Frontal Collision Warning and City Collision Mitigation, which detects pedestrians and cyclists. Not only that, but the 2019 BMW X5 also includes Personal CoPilot, which uses cameras and sensors around the car to help the driver. That’s all pretty standard fare. However, there is a new emergency feature worth mentioning: Emergency Stop Assistant.
This feature debuts on the 2019 BMW X5 and it helps in the event a driver is incapacitated. Should something happen to the driver, a passenger can pull the electric parking brake switch, at which time the car will actually stop the car and pull over onto the shoulder, if it can. From there, the car will put on the hazard lights and notify the BMW Assist call center to notify emergency services.
Heavily revised engines and a locking rear differential
Apart from the technology on offer, the 2019 BMW X5 also has revised powertrains. They’re the same size as before – a 3.0-liter inline-six and a 4.4-liter turbocharged V8, but each has gotten a thorough work-over.
In the xDrive50i version of the X5, BMW upgraded various components and positioned the turbochargers within the “V” of the engine. The result is 456 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque – 12 horsepower more than the outgoing xDrive50i model. BMW claims a 0-60 time in the V8-equipped X5 of 4.6 seconds.
The 3.0-liter straight-six engine in the new xDrive40i, on the other hand, makes 335 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque. That’s a healthy hike in power and torque over the previous 3.0-liter engine in the xDrive35i. In the last model, the engine makes 302 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. Despite the size and power difference, the six-cylinder 2019 BMW X5 hits 60 only 0.7 seconds slower than the V8 model, in 5.3 seconds.
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