THE great appeal for business users of this third-gen SUV from BMW will be a company car-friendly two-wheel drive version for lower emissions and better mpg.
The basic BMW X5 sDrive25d will feature a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine capable of more than 50mpg and emitting 149g/km of CO2. In contrast, the previous entry-level X5 returned just 37mpg and emitted 198g/km of CO2.
This means a 20% tax paying company car driver can run a new BMW X5 with a yearly tax bill of only £2035. Higher rate (40%) tax payers will fork out £4070 – impressive for a full-size SUV. (Click here for more on the 2WD version of the X5.)
In addition to the rear-wheel drive model, the 25d engine will also be offered with xDrive four-wheel drive. This should improve its off-road ability, but will also increase running costs – as well as your annual tax bill.
Also of interest to business car managers and company car buyers is the BMW X5 eDrive concept – announced at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Although it is still officially a concept car, the plug-in eDrive model will do 74.3mpg, emit less than 90g/km of CO2, and even travel 19 miles on electric power alone.
BMW says the X5 eDrive is the next logical step in the development of SUV efficiency, but wouldn’t confirm when we’d see the technology in a production car. That said, given the recent introduction of the BMW i3 city car and BMW i8 supercar, the BMW X5 eDrive could be available to buy as soon as 2015.
