New BMW X5 and X6 revealed

Yes the grilles are bigger, though they won’t be challenging the M3 and M4 any time soon. These are paired with slimmer, more slick-looking lights at the front and rear and gently-massaged surfacing all around. The X6 does get a decent amount of black panelling up front, to give the impression of the minger grille but closer inspection reveals it’s just black highlights, per the now-standard M-sport package for the SUV coupe.

The more dramatic change is on the inside, as the X5 and X6 get the new BMW Curve Display with integrated driver’s and infotainment displays, spanning 12.3 and 14.9 inches respectively. The button count is unfortunately reduced, with some functionality like climate control moving to icons within the screen. Thankfully, the circular iDrive click wheel remains for a more tactile way of navigating the UI.

The really big news however is under the skin, where the X5’s already impressive range of powertrains has received upgrades, with 48-volt 12PS mild hybrid electric power joining across the board.

The star of the show however, as in the pre-facelift, is the PHEV, which gets a bigger 25.7kWh battery for a WLTP-rated 68-mile range. That’s paired with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six petrol engine, and with both the electric motor and ICE getting a power bump, system output is now a very healthy 490PS (360kW). These will, if the previous iteration is anything to go by, be in extremely high demand, and ask a lot of questions of rival PHEVs like the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne.

If you’re not so eco-conscious and fancy some good old-fashioned V8 woofel, BMW has you covered. The updated X5 and X6 (the latter not coming in PHEV flavour) also get the monster 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 good for 530PS (390kW) in M60i xDrive form. Performance is predictably impressive with 0-62mph coming up in 4.3 seconds.

As per the hybrid, the six-cylinder engines get a bump, too, with the xDrive40i putting out 380PS (280KW), or 47PS more than before. It’s joined by a revised diesel six which now gets steel pistons. All X5s and X6s also now get the new eight-speed Steptronic Sport automatic transmission.

Prices will start from around £66,000 for the X5 and £72,000 for the X6, with six-figure cars almost a certainty in higher specs with option boxes ticked, with deliveries beginning from April this year. As ever, that X5 PHEV looks very handy indeed, but what about M versions? We expect facelifts for the X5 M and X6 M to be along in due course.