Right now I'm watching something interesting play out on the showroom floor: buyers are split almost exactly down the middle on the BMW X5.
Half are rushing to lock in a current 2026 X5 before it's gone — some for the end-of-generation deals, some because they're just not sure what to make of the radical new one coming. The other half can't wait to see the redesigned 2027 in person. Both camps have a point. Here's what's actually happening, and what it means if you're shopping for an X5 anywhere from Bethesda to McLean.
A ground-up redesign — not a refresh
Let's be clear what this is: a full ground-up redesign, internally coded G65, unveiled in late June 2026 — a whole new generation, not a mid-cycle facelift. It wears BMW's new Neue Klasse design language; Consumer Reports described it as looking much like a bulkier version of the electric iX3.
Two changes have longtime owners fired up. First, BMW will sell the X5 exclusively as a two-row SUV now — anyone needing six or seven seats has to step up to the X7. Second — and this one stings — BMW deleted the split tailgate that every X5 has had, in favor of a one-piece setup. After a quarter-century, that's a big deal for the faithful.
Five powertrains — a first since the X5 was born in 1999
Here's the headline. For the first time since the original E53 X5 arrived in 1999, BMW is offering the X5 with five distinct powertrains: gasoline, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, diesel, and hydrogen fuel cell (diesel stays out of the U.S.). The lineup:
- The gas X5 40 runs a 394-horsepower turbocharged inline-six with a mild-hybrid system.
- The M60e plug-in hybrid swaps the old V8 for a turbo inline-six making 603 horsepower.
- The all-electric iX5 leads the range with up to 435 miles of estimated range and a new 141-kWh battery.
- A V8 M Performance version follows in late 2027, and hydrogen comes around 2028.
Now my honest question: is that too many choices? The Neue Klasse styling is identical across all of them, so you're really just picking how it's powered. Does the American market — does the DMV driver — actually need five?
What I'd tell a DMV buyer
Here's my take, shaped by how we actually drive around here. For most people in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, three of those five cover it: gas, plug-in hybrid, or the electric iX5.
Think about it. So much of our driving — Potomac into Bethesda, Vienna over to Tysons Corner, the daily Montgomery County commute — is short-hop. The gas six gets genuinely good mileage on that kind of driving. The plug-in hybrid layers on real efficiency for anyone who can charge. And if you want to go fully electric, the iX5's 400-plus miles of range erases the anxiety that stops most people. Between those three, what else does a DMV driver really need? (Hydrogen's fascinating, but the refueling network isn't here yet.)
Built in America — the "Home of X"
If buying American-built matters to you, this one's worth knowing: the new X5 is made right here in the U.S., in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW just completed a $1.7 billion investment in its South Carolina operations and premiered the new X5 at the "Home of X" event marking it. Spartanburg has built BMW's X models since 1994, and it's now the first plant anywhere in BMW's network capable of building one model across five drivetrains on a single line. And the electric iX5 will be the first fully electric BMW assembled in the United States, starting late in 2026.
I've been lucky enough to tour that plant before this latest expansion, and it already floored me — it's less a factory than a small city, with its own campus, the BMW Zentrum museum, and infrastructure most people would never imagine. Knowing what they've added since, I can't wait to get back.
What it costs, and when you can get one
Pricing lands about where you'd expect: the X5 40 starts at $69,800, the 50e plug-in at $77,500, and the electric iX5 60 at $79,800. BMW plans to have the new X5 on dealer lots by the end of 2026, rolling into early 2027.
So — buy now, or wait?
Here's where I land. The Neue Klasse is getting genuinely mixed reviews from everyday buyers and enthusiasts alike, and my own clients prove it — a near 50/50 split between people who want a great deal on the current model before it's phased out, and people who can't wait for the new one.
Both are right. If you love the current X5 — the split tailgate, the third row, the styling you know — buying at the end of its run is often when the deals are best. If you want the future — the fresh design, your choice of powertrain, an American-built EV — the 2027 is worth the wait.
Me? I'll ride both waves as long as I can. The market always changes, and I've learned to stay flexible and adapt to whatever's on the horizon. My job isn't to push you onto one wave — it's to help you figure out which one is yours.
Before you decide, run it both ways — a current X5 today versus a 2027 — with your real DC, Maryland, or Virginia taxes and fees baked in.