In the 1990s, when BMW owned Land Rover and SUV sales were skyrocketing, Munich’s engineers set out to blend the dynamics of its performance cars with the utility of their corporate SUV relatives. The result was BMW’s first SUV, the original 2000 model year BMW X5, and the recipe proved right on target. That first X5 helped usher in a new genre of family-friendly luxury SUVs with sports sedan moves. 

The X5 has been redesigned four times since then, most recently in 2019, and become one of BMW’s most important models. It was the company’s second-best seller in 2020, despite facing a more competitive field than ever. The first X5 competed mostly with the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class, today known as the GLE-Class, but in the 2000s both were joined by the now-familiar Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, and Volvo XC90. In 2020 a new rival appeared, the Genesis GV80.

 The 2021 BMW X5 comes in five varieties of sporty, from the regular 3.0-liter six-cylinder models all the way up to the screaming 617-horsepower X5 M Competition. Even without the M’s twin-turbo V8, however, the X5 is a fun drive.  BMW

Long a benchmark in its class, the X5’s sporting edge has waxed and waned over the years, but its handling got reinvigorated with its 2019 redesign. While not quite as sporty as the Cayenne or as pretty as the GLE-Class, the X5 offers plenty of power, agility and driving finesse while packing in the features, materials and style that luxury SUV buyers demand. 

BMW offers the X5 in five different trims, with four powertrain choices, from merely sporty to tire-smoking extreme. 

The base-model, rear-wheel drive sDrive40i starts at $60,395, including a $995 destination fee. For an additional $2,300, buyers can get the same basic package with all-wheel drive on the xDrive40i. Both 40i models are powered by a silky-smooth 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine delivering 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, assisted by a 48-volt mild hybrid system. 

All X5s use a smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, though they don’t seem very necessary. They also have a towing capacity of 7,200 pounds no matter which powertrain you select.

The X5’s interior is nicely detailed but relatively plain compared to the Mercedes-Benz GLE. It’s dominated by two huge 12.3-inch displays, one for driver info and one for infotainment. Its systems are intuitive and easy to use.  BMW

New for 2021 is the xDrive45e Plug-in hybrid, which starts at $66,395. We review the PHEV separately, but this new variation uses a 282-horsepower version of the same 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine while adding a 111-horsepower electric motor for 369 system horsepower and a stout 443 pound-feet of torque. 

Above that are the V8 X5s, all all-wheel drive, which turn up both the speed and the price. The $84,095 M50i uses a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 belting out 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. It also adds nicer seats, a limited slip differential, bigger brakes than the six-cylinder models, an adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels (40i models come with 19-inchers) and wireless charging.

The $106,095 X5 M uses a 4.4-liter V8 belting out 600 horsepower, or 617 if you opt for the $9,000 competition package. The latter is a genuine BMW M car and an exhilarating performer, with an exclusive track-ready drive mode, bigger wheels and brakes, nicer interior materials and even knee-bolsters to stop your leg from whacking into the center console under hard cornering. The X5 M will rocket to 60 mph in the high three-second range and feel at home on a track but the M50i will deliver much of the experience in daily use for less. 

With 33.9 cubic-feet of space behind the rear seats, the X5 is near the top of its class in useful load area with passengers. The seats fold down to reveal 72.3 cubic-feet in total, and the split tailgate makes loading easy.  BMW

You don’t need an M badge to appreciate this BMW, however. The lower-end 40i models are not lacking for speed, with zero to 60 times in the 5-second range. Unlike the previous generation, the 2021 X5’s handling lives up to the “ultimate driving machine” tagline. It’s linear and informative, not to mention perfectly tuned into the available engine power and reactions of the suspension.

The 40i models won’t fail on fuel mileage either, returning a respectable 23 mpg combined in rear- or all-wheel drive form, which is even with the most frugal GLE-Class and GV80 trims and ahead of the Q7. V8 X5s, however, guzzle. The M50i returns 18 mpg combined, and the X5 M a wallet-draining 15 mpg, worse than the AMG-Mercedes GLE63S.

It’s not quite as exciting to look at, although it’s handsomely muscular and thankfully has thus far been spared the massive grilles that have come to some recent BMWs. The X5’s interior is superbly designed for good ergonomics and nicely detailed, but a little on the plain side compared to the Q7 or especially the GLE-Class. BMW would say “understated.”

The less-expensive X5s get less dramatic front styling than the X5 M, and smaller wheels. All U.S.-market X5s are manufactured at BMW’s facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  BMW

The dashboard features two 12.3-inch displays. One is for the driver, and it’s a neatly designed affair except for the unusual counterclockwise tachometer. The other, mounted atop the center stack, is the infotainment display. It runs BMW’s user-friendly iDrive 7.0 software and it’s intuitive to use, including touch controls and a dial. There’s also a gesture control system, part of a $1,000 Premium package that also includes a head-up display, but the system doesn’t always interpret the gestures properly.

Front passengers have plenty of room to stretch and middle-row riders aren’t cramped either, though the X5 has a bit less rear leg room than the GLE-Class, Q7 or GV80. The 40i models offer a third-row seating option, but even little kids will find it cramped. It’s roomier in the BMW X7.

Sans third row, the X5 offers 33.9 cubic-feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, and 72.3 cubic-feet with the rear seats folded. That’s appreciably more than the Q7 or Cayenne and about even with the GLE-Class, but less overall than the GV80. 

The X5 is best known for its on-road performance, but with 8.7 inches of ground clearance and all-wheel drive on all but the base-model sDrive40i, it actually can venture off-road and performs light-duty gravel and dirt chores pretty well.  BMW

The X5 gets good ratings in almost all tests by IIHS, but no Top Safety Pick rating (the base headlamps are rated Poor). It also earns a four-star overall rating from NHTSA, though the rear-wheel drive and PHEV versions have not yet been rated.

BMW designed the X5 with lots of active-safety systems, but a significant number of them cost extra. Forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alerts and lane departure warnings are all standard, but features like adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist are part of a $1,700 driver assistance package. This package also includes some cutting-edge semi-autonomous functions, but at this price adaptive cruise control should be standard.