Can A PHEV Be Efficient On The Highway? 2021 BMW X5 45e 70-MPH Highway MPG Test

[@borisdemelo]

Hauling around dead weight is a weird way to put it. It’s a working part part of the drivetrain that comes into use when needed. If you own a BEV and only use 20-30% of its battery for most of the year, you could make the same argument that 70% of the battery is excess weight you’re hauling around.

[@planetfabulous5833]

When he said "dead weight" I assumed he was talking about himself.

[@nater-u1n]

@@devn3813 Right...complicity

[@QuagmireHimself]

As current G05 Hybrid owner, I’m very satisfied this gen X5, I’ve driven the G05 Petrol only before, I have to fill up gas twice a week, it was loaner btw.

[@jntx9575]

About hauling the extra weight, my C-Max Energi runs the gasoline engine about 80% of the time at 70 MPH. Even with the battery at minimum charge, it changes to electric mode on every downhill run. Going up hills, it starts the engine and recharges the battery back to the minimum level. The large battery in the PHEV has enough capacity at minimum charge for the car to set the gas and electric modes of operation for best gas mileage. It isn't just dragging extra weight. The electrical part is improving the gas mileage even with the battery at minimum charge.

[@doppler3237]

I dont know about yours but my Honda clarity PHEV If you start with a full charge and you drive for a full day, about 12 hours I can see a easy 5 MPG increase at highway speeds AND have increased power for passing etc and i finish the day with maybe 8 miles left of electric. They are not driving these PHEV at the maximum efficiency. I really dont think they understand them

[@peterfessier9780]

Part of my amusement at watching Kyle’s videos is his constant sniping at the PHEV’s. The “hauling the extra weight” is not really unique to the PHEV. Most of the time, most people don’t need a battery that gives 250 plus miles of range so most of the time they are hauling around a big battery that is not necessary. But then sometimes it is very useful. My Rav4 prime gets MPG that is a little less than the MPG of a regular Hybrid Rav4 but still very good. I see the issue with the PHEV as being the complexity, but as long as my Rav4 is reliable I’m not worried about that. The MPGe for my Prime is slightly worse than the AWD Ioniq 5 so the way I see it I have a good EV around town and a good hybrid vehicle on long trips.

[@LeftTee-w3l]

Yeah I have the x5 40e and have a semi regular 180 mi drive I take. There is definitely a noticeable difference in economy if I start with a full battery vs empty. It seems like the electric kicks in with the gas in certain situations. So it takes around 100 highway miles to blow through the battery. I’ll try measuring like he does in the vid to see what kind of difference there is.

[@klinatoc]

26.5 from a x5 is pretty impressive actually. I remember our old e53 4.4 x5 getting 16/22 advertised, more like 12/18 with my driving 😂. My f15 3.5i gets 22combined if I’m lucky.

[@updlate4756]

26.7 mpg is better than the 25 mpg highway fuel economy of the 2022 X5 xDrive40i. It's also cheaper. The 40i has an MSRP of $62,900. The 45e has an MSRP of $63,700, but gets the full tax credit, so $56,200 total. Both vehicles seem to be optioned the same... so you're just flat out saving $6700 by buying the PHEV. 0-60 times are the same, although the PHEV needs to kick on the engine to do it. The electric range could save a person over $1000 a year on fuel. The car will likely require fewer oil changes, have less wear on the engine, and will have longer intervals between brake pad / rotor replacements. Tires may need to be replaced sooner though, presuming this vehicle weighs a bit more.

[@kubanskiloewe]

but its worse than my 12 year old LEXUS RX450H normal Hybrid !

[@dchen37562]

@@kubanskiloewe Different class though. The RX450H is a smaller SUV class than the X5 judging by the RX's 18ft3 of cargo space vs the 45e's 33ft3. Not to mention the 45e can run full electric for 30+ miles fully charged vs the RX's 0. Sourcing from the CarAndDriver road tests, the X5 45e 0-60 of 4.7secs, 156ft braking from 70, and 7200lb towing capacity are all superior vs the 450H's 7.1secs, 178ft braking, and 3500lb towing capacity. All in all, a case of you get what you pay for.

[@kubanskiloewe]

@@dchen37562 all in all the BMW end up in the dealershop much more often and will not last as long as a Lexus. I drove our brands over 20 years ;-)

[@AW-gj4ji]

@@kubanskiloewe in term of financial savings, it’s dumb to compare a 12 years old car to a new car. 100% the 12 years old car is going to be cheaper. Not to mention they aren’t even in the same class/segment of cars. Might as well say a civic is better than an x5 because it’s cheaper to run it.

[@kubanskiloewe]

@@AW-gj4ji take your Bimmer and Buy More Warranty 🤭. My next car will be another V6Hybrid from Lexus. But first the old have to give up but there are no signs it will do so 🤣🙃

[@tonywong9105]

Very good and unique review!!! I have a Sorento PHEV AWD, did a few road trips totaling 800 miles and got anywhere between 28-30 mpg with cold weather. I look forward to the warm spring/summer days where I can go to road trips again and see 34+ mpg hopefully. Anyway I bought the car knowing real well I can take advantage of the local driving around New York City/suburb areas and plug it in every night with the 110v outlet on my driveway. Lifetime mpg after 5000 miles is around 54 which I am happy with. A 240v outlet upgrade will certainly improve the mpg especially during weekends where I wish I can replenish the battery juice faster before running my next errand.

[@beb1527]

I ordered my 330e to replace a Honda Accord V6. My accord can already get 40 MPG on the highway at 65 mph. I don’t expect to beat that with the 330e. What I do expect is when I’m doing local or stop and go and city driving, I’ll get near 30 MPG in the 330e in hybrid mode where I get high teens in the accord. If the 330e experiment works out, we’ll replace our other car with this.

[@janetmitchell8445]

I have this car, it's freaking amazing. Only get the 45E version if your driving allows you to use the EV portion a fair amount of the miles and you're willing and able to charge it. We're running probably 70/30 gas/EV so I would like to increase the EV a bit, still it's amazing.

[@Mike-kr5dn]

I’m going to get the 50e, faster charging and increased range not by much but maybe 20-30%

[@andrew2066]

Are there any advantages of using X5 45E without charging the battery at all? I mean will it behave the same as toyota/honda hybrids?

[@mr.pawarinstalls2658]

How’s the maintenance cost ? Or any issue you have faced so far ?

[@jeffreywong6842]

I got mine last May. I would say most of the buyers for this will just be using it for city driving which it excels at. 5000+ miles, almost 4k done in EV mode.

[@scotts2286]

What made you chose not to go full electric?

[@jeffreywong6842]

@@scotts2286 I also have a Tesla Model 3 Long range for daily driving. X5 is sooo much more comfortable specially with the standard air suspension on the 45e model and the build quality is impeccable.

[@scotts2286]

@@jeffreywong6842 Hm, thanks for the info. Model 3's aren't very comfy. The Y's are way more comfortable.

[@Boltbacker83]

@@scotts2286 The Y's feel almost exactly the same dude lol, wife and I have both.

[@bpundit]

Kyle, you missed the point of BMW PHEV. BMW has a battery control button where you could charge up the battery while you are driving in gasoline mode. This works well especially when taking a road trip or driving on a highway. Once the battery is charged to 100%; you could switch back to electric only coasting on the highway or Eco mode where you might use both. This is how BMW PHEV intend it to be. Without using the battery, you are just hauling the dead battery weight around which drain the gas even more comparing to gasoline version. The point of buying a PHEV is to use the battery. What you should have done was to drain the battery first (like you did), but then set the battery control to 100%. Once it charged up to 100% then switch to electric mode until you ran out of battery. Then repeat the process until you drive back to the starting point. Then you could compare the gas price between the PHEV and the gasoline counterpart.

[@rickcasterline756]

That doesn’t help you though. You’re using gasoline to charge the battery. The energy for the battery doesn’t come out of nowhere and there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

[@smallmj2886]

I get between 4.0 and 4.5 L/100km at 110 km/h on my PHEV when the battery is dead. Though my PHEV is a Prius Prime, so it is a little more efficient than an X5.

[@TheClozerman]

This review is good if you spend your time driving cross country every day. But if your like most people in suburbia and drive sub 50 miles a day and plug in at night, your at more than 50 mpg. If your lucky and charge at work...you can run 95 percent hybrid...and the sky is the limit. It’s the daily incremental driving that makes this system a champ...if again your driving sub 50 miles. If your going long distances, your just hauling a battery with you.

[@arenaev]

In this particular test the battery is not an advantage, it's just taking space. On a mountain road or in stop and go traffic your hybrid system will give you some efficiency even if empty.

[@updlate4756]

True. Impressive then that this vehicle exceeded its highway mpg (EPA) . Not sure what this vehicle's highway mpg is since the EPA site doesn't show it anymore (only shows 20 mpg combined), but the xDrive40i (ICEV) is rated at 25 mpg on the highway, and typically the PHEV is worse due to the extra battery weight. This test is almost worst case scenario. Engine cold would have been worst case scenario.

[@tonyh1760]

I don’t understand. Why would you discharge a battery before testing a PHEV? I don’t think people are so stupid to not know the economy will be worse in this case than a standard 3 liter with no battery. Or are they?

[@CMCNestT]

I live in suburban Los Angeles. 98% of days I drive exclusively on city streets for less than 30 miles. 1% I will drive on the freeway in stop and go traffic. 1% I will drive on open highway. I can lug around an extra 80-100 kWh in batteries or an ICE system. Because I am not buying a 100 mile range BEV as my only car.

[@richardhale2117]

Most people, including virtually all auto reviewers, don't get that PHEV's are designed for people like you (and me) who do mostly short trips on pure electric but don't want the constraints of a BEV, or simply feel more "secure" with ICE as the long-range option. We have averaged over 70 mpg with our Volvo XC60 T8 in 6 months of ownership and have taken a number of trips into the hinterlands where even Level 2 charging is rare and fast charging is non-existent. Not interested in a BEV at this point.

[@RigiLiquid945]

I hope you can put a Hyundai Santa Cruz or Kia Sportage & a Santa Fe or Sorento AWD PHEV to the test as well. I'm not sure that there is zero benefit if properly done, it's acting like a hybrid because there's always a small amount of battery on reserve, and the motor can also provide extra torque for passing or steep grades. Also, when coasting downhill, braking, etc. the engine shuts off and the battery gets regen to improve efficiency.

[@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow]

Those 20-way seats are da'bomb! Must... have.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

People need to think of PHEVs as BEVs with a gas engine backup rather than an ICE vehicle with a battery backup to get the most value out of them. I think many people who have bought PHEVs either did not do their research before buying them to understand what they are and how they work, or the dealership where they bought it gave them incorrect/insufficient information.

[@reiniernn9071]

My answer is simply : NO. My experiences: Outlander PHEV. Usage on highway , day travel 1000+ km. 10 km / liter , sometimes 9 km/liter. Speed 140. 12 km/liter with a speed of 120 km/h. Both without any battery usage. (I kept the battery charged for using if I met a file) A PHEV is userfull for short distances ...driving all electric. And in town or file driving because braking energy will go back to the battery. Usage of that PHEV during usage. 18 km/liter plus close to 1 kwh electricity charged from the grid. Which is much better than those highway consumption.

[@sethwstingley7248]

2023 45e vs 2023 IX vs 2024 audi etron for mostly driving around flats 15 miles round trip and some weekend trips to the mountains in Colorado? Concers: 45e: power going up to the mountains when on the highway for 60 miles; IX and Etron: range for these same long mountain highway trips in the winter. I prefer the performance and simplicity of the EVs, but worried about winter EV range in the mountains.

[@MMM18092]

When the battery is dead, can you still preheat or precool the car 10-15 minutes before departure?

[@philetaerus]

I seriously considered getting this when it first came out, but I decided against it, at first because I realized I didn't need that much room because my kids were older, and second because I didn't want to have the maintenance expense of the gas engine. I looked at BEV crossovers, and ended getting a Tesla Model Y. Now that you point out the gas mileage hit on road trips, I'm even more convinced I went in the right direction. The main reason I thought I needed a PHEV, was because I like to go hiking up in the mountains, and I was thinking the gas would give me peace of mind when I went to remote trailheads. So far, though, I haven't felt limited by all-electric.

[@marcinw4660]

In the same situation here! Test drove the X5 and MY. Although I ordered MY, I am still thinking about how smooth the ride was in X5 (living in an area with bad roads). What is your experience regarding the stiff suspension in MY?

[@philetaerus]

@@marcinw4660 I'm happy with the ride quality of the MY, but I also opted for the Long Range version and kept the default 19" wheels, with the thicker sidewall tires--I've heard the Performance version with 21" wheels has a noticeably firmer ride that my setup. But every mile of range mattered to me, because of driving long distances to remote trailheads, and the tamer acceleration and smaller wheels squeeze a few more miles of range out of the MY.

[@J.Young808]

If you compare the efficiency of your Model Y to this BMW or other BEV’s you will see your MY isn’t very efficient. Tesla’s tend to use a lot of energy.

[@harbzsquadings2277]

​@@J.Young808bmws can be very efficient without the cruise control and stop start enabler

[@nc.detail]

I’m on board. Our 50i is getting 17mpg and isn’t fun to drive

[@alexandregouge6075]

I average 6,6L/100km since delivery with the 45e. Keep in mind I ve done 2/3 in electric only. On the highway at 130kph I average 9L/100Km with the B58 only

[@mountainman978]

I will be picking one up on moday im excited and nervous at yhe same time anything i should know before hand

[@icanmanifest]

I drive a c-max hybrid (not plug in) for ride share and looking for something like an X5. A good test would be 1 full battery charge, 1 tank of gas, mixed city freeway driving. I'm interested to see how the stopping in city recharges the battery and the overall mpg of driving like this as I don't have the ability to stop and recharge midday of course. Unless someone would have rapid charging on a plug in which would really be awesome.

[@kdubovenko]

That’s basically how I drive my X5 PHEV and my lifetime average is 45mpg.

[@fenceman53]

Jordan did a great job on his Kia EV 6 road trip with the newbie owner

[@marcolegault3564]

Disappointing highway MPG, guess I will keep my old 2008 3.2L XC70.

[@jtshergill2647]

I get 34 to 36mpg doing 75mph on 2016 X5 35D xdrive.

[@shelbyz88]

Great review. Do you have a similar test for the xDrive 40i?

[@kubanskiloewe]

26,5mpg is a little worse than my 12 year old Lexus V6Hybrid doing 70mph on highway. i got 28,5 mpg. But i is no PHEV and weighs 2,3tons. The BMW PHEV is perhaps heavier.

[@unreal6959]

driving 530e here and i did 719 km with 39.4 liters of fuel with 0 battery

[@benwillvv]

I have this car on order, excited to see what life is like with it. We anticipate mostly city driving, and hope to rarely use gas at all.

[@aaronryan9387]

We just got our’s about a month ago. We love it. We had one long road trip (350 miles) but aside from that have used basically no fuel. 90% of my wife’s driving is around town and bc of that the PHEV made the most sense. No regrets so far.

[@jeffs6090]

@Aaron Ryan - Now that you've had it for almost a year now, any updates on it? Do you still love it? Are you still driving mostly electric with minimal fill ups? When you do highway road trips, what's the efficiency in hybrid mode?

[@benwillvv]

Have had our 45e since April. I LOVE it. Aside from the plug in nature, it’s just the nicest car I’ve ever owned. So luxurious. So well made. I never want to let it go.

[@kdubovenko]

@@benwillvvI’ve have my x45e for a few months now and feel the same. It’s a kickass car. Also the nicest I’ve ever owned. Was between the 45e and model Y for a long time. Now I can’t believe I was even considering the model Y as an alternative.

[@doppler3237]

we have a Honda clarity and in my opinion it is the best plug in hybrid but no longer available new. It has a big battery for a PHEV 18 kw. When I go on a highway trip I start with a full charge and recently did 600 miles on highway getting 45 MPG +. unless we are going out of town 50 miles per charge takes care of most of our driving and when we come back home hook up the level 2. It has a much different system than the BMW being a series hybrid.. It does not have a trans just a single speed with only the electric motor driving you until about 65 when the engine cane be mechanically coupled but I belive it can go 87MPH on electric when in EV mode. If you are in the market for a used PHEV look into the clarity almost everyone loves them. I dont know why Honda did not advertise them. I am not a fan of the rear wheel covers but other than that love it

[@rbaillie99]

I don't see the point in testing a PHEV with the battery completely drained. I would prefer to see the test redone with the battery fully charged and see if it makes a difference. The point of a PHEV is to maximize the fuel efficiency. I get that it doesn't necessarily provide much benefit at 70 MPH but you stated you could run at 85 MPH in full electric. Also don't see much point in testing in electric only mode. Of course its not going to be a great EV

[@ctk4949]

When are you guys going to test the Volvo C40??

[@RidingWithGerdas]

Jez, we drive 70mph during winter and snowy roads in Europe, wonder how it performs on 80-85pmh

[@kubanskiloewe]

even worse :-)

[@jimhine]

Great vid! Question: if you were to drive @ 70 mph with an empty battery for say 3-4 tanks of petrol, would the system charge the battery while driving? Or does the battery only recharge with city power?

[@kdubovenko]

The battery will charge slowly, whenever the conditions allow (breaking, going downhill, etc) but that power will then get reused while driving so you won’t come home with a full battery or anything like that

[@danielmelendez9943]

i am curious. As I been explained previously by my mechanic, you should never overfill your car. I noticed you heard the click the first time while filling up and you decided to over fill the tank. Why would you do that? I hear you can damage important components of the fuel system. Please provide insight as to why you decided to overfill. Thanks.

[@alexsiniov]

I get over 40mpg on my 535 diesel on highway

[@tanmayw]

Hey there! Would love to see a similar test with the audi Q5e

[@Yomama29111]

Where is the other video on just the EV range and what color is that?

[@gatgolf]

Can you do the same testing on the new 50e?

[@mapicci]

With the battery completely dead some good amount of energy will go to the battery. What's the battery level after the run?

[@ДиХхх-т4я]

1 ml

[@johnnyv5995]

What capacity/distance can you get in battery only mode?

[@wolfgangstefanec7230]

City only: spring/autum without AC. 85-92 km. Summer with AC app. 70 - 75 km

[@gregpaige4430]

Do a test with the Lincoln Aviator plug-in hybrid

[@barryw9473]

Not surprising. PHEVs should qualify for 20% of per kWh tax credit, at most. I have a neighbor with Jeep 4xe that never gets plugged in and I bet many people buy PHEV to get tax credit and couldn’t care less about running in EV mode.

[@freddiecarr7602]

The exact review I was waiting for!

[@joshuatrexler9431]

Surprised the 2022 X545e didn't at least upgrade to a 7.2 kW on board charger to utilize the battery more with charging in EV mode and offer more usable battery capacity. Europe gives customers 21.6 kW of the 24 kW pack vs 17 of the 24 kW pack in the US presumably for US warranty reasons? That's a big miss, otherwise great SUV. Just use a faster on board charger from the i3 or ix parts bin. I'll wait for the 2023 Range Rover p440e with its 50+ mi EV range, rear steering, DC fast charging, better inline 6 mild hybrid powertrain w better hwy mpg, bettery off road dynamics and redesigned interior and exterior releasing later this year.

[@dchen37562]

Agreed, I have a 45e on order and my garage's 9.6kW evse is overkill for the onboard 45e's max 3.7hW charging. I read on bmw forums, the I3 is actually twin 3.6kW chargers, which isn't doable for the 45e for some reason, either packaging, maybe the smaller battery vs an BEV, or just for cost cutting. I read BMW limiting the USA 45e bat to only 17.1kw usable cap is due to the USA's 8year warranty and especially the USA carb states' PZEV 10 year battery warranty. Vs the EU 45e's 6 year battery warranty. Makes sense that less battery cycles = longer durability.

[@escargoux]

idk why i laughed so hard at. "into the ram...hauling a uhaul....not sure why they didnt just use their pick up bed.,"

[@wsurfer2147]

26.5 mpg sounds about right for X5 3.0xi at 70mph.

[@esmaeil1981]

26.5 mpg is 8.87 Liter/100km (I live in Europe). Is this consumption at 70 m/h (112.6 km/h) normal for a crossover SUV?

[@ShystikPushystik]

Toyota Rav4 XA30, about 7-7.5 L/100km with 105 km/h, 9.5 L/100km with 125 km/h Climate control is on

[@mariuso.7355]

Many Thanks for review! 👍🙂

[@mrmerm]

8.9 lt/100km

[@hdfly]

On the latest Volvo XC60 T6 2024 PHEV I had: 84mpg with the fully charged battery on the trip of 65 miles with the speed 60mph (due to limit).

[@eturnltube]

Can't seem to find clear or consistent information about how/when the X5 45e PHEV utilizes the elec batt or when it interchanges between ICE & Electric under highway use. If the battery was fully charged, wouldn't the X5 run fully electric until the battery is depleted? Regardless of whether it's city or highway driving? Ie. If I have a 25mi drive to work (mostly highway) wouldn't I make it to work without using the ICE? Charge it at work, then back home (also highway) and avoid using fuel/ICE? However, I'm finding many are saying this vehicle is mostly beneficial if you drive primarily in the city? This doesn't seem right, or perhaps I'm missing something....Can anyone confirm?

[@pachaaaspaisa]

The electric Motor HP/Torque numbers are limited, so essentially if you select max edrive mode, the car may kick in ICE engine over a certain speed/acceleration, but you have to select that option in the drive mode. If you choose "hybrid" or auto mode, it will still prioritize electricity but will quickly shift to ICE engine at highway speed of 60 to 65 mph. On Slow Traffic, coming on to a ramp, and mostly sub 50 mph+ rural/city driving it will use electric. UNfortunately, the BMW Plug in Hybrids don't use coupled combination drives like conventional hybrids, it's always 1 or the other during normal drives. The only time electric motor assist comes in is when you floor the pedal to give it the "eboost".

[@doppler3237]

you guys really do not understand how to drive a PHEV for best efficacy. Always start your full day of drive with a full battery and when you put it in hybrid it will help with mileage. In my clarity if a start a highway drive with full battery and do a 12 hour drive I will finish with mostly empty battery but will have picked up around 5 mpg. With my clarity on full highway drives I have got up to 45mpg by using a PHEV as intended. Then sometimes go months with out putting gas in If I dont drive on highway. These EV guys give PHEV's a bad rap because they dont understand them.

[@mikee2794]

You are basically repeating what he said...Watch towards the end of the video.

[@jcsdesign]

Do these plug in hybrids not charge the battery once it is depleted? It makes no sense that once the battery is depleted that you must use the gasoline engine as your only option until you find a charger again. My guess is that once the battery is dead and when you're driving around with all that extra weight that the MPG will be far worst than a regular Xdrive40i.

[@dchen37562]

There will still be regenerative braking to recharge the battery. But the best phev use case is charging overnight and doing majority or all of daily work commute and in town errands on electric power. On flat highways where there's no downhill or stop and go to regenerative brake, the phev gas mpg is going to be worse than the 40i because of the extra 600+ lbs of empty battery and electric motors it's gotta lug around still.

[@nyaladzanitshuma116]

This review was a waste of time. You have to start with a full battery.

[@oscarreynaable]

Will the engine charge the battery when activated like the Cayenne ehybrid does?

[@EricJones-zd3gz]

There is a mode called Battery Control where you can tell the car to charge the battery using the engine to a set % level. Mostly used if you want to make sure you have charge to precondition the car before your next leg of the journey.

[@salocin911]

Lots of wind noise inside .... surprised for BMW.

[@Thesaltyseafish]

That's an awful lot of messing around when a 2L diesel could've gotten 35mpg

[@J.Young808]

That less than what I average with mostly city driving. I have a BMW 328d and my pump calculation by hand usually averages 36.7 mpg. I am looking at getting an X5e, wish I could’ve gotten the X3e as I really don’t like the look of the iX.

[@wleacock76]

I have the 45e and got about 30 mpg on a dead battery. I may have been going at 65 mph instead of 70.

[@Chrisb8s]

I used to own a volt. Loved it around town. On the freeway it would get worse gas mileage than a Hyundai Sonata.

[@domg7359]

Not a great result. Ugh. I'm not impressed.

[@awesomebase]

I don't get the logic behind testing a plug-in hybrid on the highway without the benefit of the battery. There isn't some kind of "magical" engineering going on that is going to make it differ from its gas equivalent. The only item you're potentially isolating is limiting the use of the battery or recovering charge on the trip... something that you probably won't see much benefit from on the highway unless you are climbing/descending. So all this is really doing is testing the vehicle like its gas equivalent with the added weight of the electric drivetrain (electric motor, batteries and cabling). It should literally be what you would get with gas minus the added weight and perhaps a little variation based on any differences between transmissions, gearing, etc. The better test seems to be to test it with a full charge and see how maybe short, medium, and long drives (i.e. 25, 50 and 100 miles maybe) would benefit from electric integration and whether that benefit extends through all those scenarios or if there are limitations that can adversely affect efficiency (i.e. speed, distance between stops/charges, etc.). Would be interested to see if you would consider doing something similar to that in the future. Otherwise decent review.

[@jeffreyspencer4005]

Dude, I've noticed on your videos that dog fur is EVERYWHERE!! LOL!!

[@teds5247]

Not bad for a heavy ass suv

[@umeshchand6682]

Hi thanks for the video.I have a 2020 model X and have had front axels replaced twice.I heard there is a major design flaw with x and s . there is a service bulletin out too. Apparently there is no fix available from tesla.would you know anything about these. please let me know . Thanks

[@RemoteSpeed007]

There were was a time that I thought 26.5mpg was good, that was a long long time ago. With electric, the new standard is 100mpg+.

[@updlate4756]

This test is just when the battery is empty. In EV only mode, it gets closer to 50 mpge. The norm for BEV mid-size SUVs is closer to 80-90 mpge. Audi e-tron (78 mpge). BMW iX (86 mpge). The model X stands apart at 102 mpge, but then it also tends to slack a bit at highway speeds versus EPA.

[@RemoteSpeed007]

@@updlate4756"In EV only mode, it gets closer to 50 mpge." Only if you use it for very short shopping trips, not for a trip that is 100miles+ Etron and BM are not very efficient ev's at this time.

[@updlate4756]

@@RemoteSpeed007 Shopping trips? The average commute in the US is 32 miles round trip. Some drive longer, some drive shorter. Not a whole lot of people will be driving 100+ miles daily. If they drive 100 miles, the electric range will bring up their fuel economy from the 26.7 mpg shown in this test to maybe 34 mpg. Throw in workplace charging to effectively double the range and now you're looking at 41 mpg. None of the mid-size CUV/SUV BEVs are super efficient, but those are what this x45e is competing against. While the x45e isn't close to as efficient in terms of mpge, it is the cheapest vehicle, although the base e-tron is pretty close.

[@RemoteSpeed007]

@@updlate4756 What would be the reason-features you would buy this car above a BEV? I don't see any outstanding features? Unless you have a gas version and want to improve mpg slightly and or do very short trips? And the interior is the only attraction. or just the BMW badge? If I was looking at this type of suv, I would rather buy a model Y/mach e/ev6 and save a bunch of money, and get 90-122mpg, lower maintenance,, better tech, better performance etc. Maintaining 2 drive units will not be fun when the car gets older. To me in today's time with the cars available, this seems like a dinosaur, good for 2017, not today. Tell me why I'm wrong?

[@updlate4756]

@@RemoteSpeed007 It's your decision what you buy, I was just clarifying the facts. As to why someone may buy this instead of a BEV... it's cheaper than many other luxury BEVs without any long trip range restrictions. You can tow with it without stopping every 100 miles to re-charge. Sure, you can buy lower trim BEVs that are cheaper. You could buy a cheaper trimmed vehicle regardless of powertrain. Luxury is rarely ever a true value vs benefit proposition. If you want a luxury Plug-in electric vehicle, then this is one of the cheaper ways to get into one. As to improving mpg slightly; if you have a short daily commute, then this improves mpg more than slightly over the ICEV version. Not as good as a BEV, but it's also cheaper than its direct BEV competitors. Those BEVs will be cheaper to fuel and a bit cheaper to maintain. If you drive longer distances, then absolutely the BEV will be a better bet. Short distances won't make a huge difference in overall costs. Then again, at this price point, I don't think many people are prioritizing fuel and maintenance costs. What they're more likely to prioritize is time. As someone who cares about overall global Greehouse gas emissions, I personally feel PHEVs are a better solution than BEVs 'at this time' due to constrained battery supply. With high demand, we can simply build more PHEVs than BEVs, thereby replacing more ICEVs and lower emissions at a faster rate. We also don't have the charging infrastructure in place yet to handle a huge rollout of BEVs. PHEVs see major emissions benefits while requiring no new long distance infrastructure. In other words, if everyone had a BEV today and it was a holiday where many people road trip and need to stop to charge, it would be a complete disaster. PHEVs allow for a faster and smoother PEV transition, before we eventually shift to BEVs. This reasoning hasn't been accepted, and what can only be described as a result of the Tesla effect... other OEMs are starting to concentrate more on BEVs. When it comes to PHEVs, I personally think the lower trim offerings make more sense than the luxury PHEVs which still utilize large and heavy engines. In the lower trim offerings, they typically use smaller efficient engines, lowering overall vehicle weight, and increasing the battery range. The RAV4 Prime for example also put a fairly large battery in the car for over 40 miles of range. It's a pretty solid and affordable vehicle overall. The Escape PHEV is a decent bet, but a tad too expensive IMO. In terms of your claims of all the advantages of BEVs... You can still get ADAS in the BMW. You can still mirror your phone's screen to the car's infotainment. (Something most other brands don't allow) Tech isn't actually any better in any of the other cars. Performance on this BMW is solid. Cargo space is solid. Towing capabilities is solid. Luxury is also solid. PHEVs have lower maintenance than ICEVs, definitely closer to the costs of BEVs versus PHEVs. Remember that the engine will only be used a fraction of the time in comparison to a full ICEV. I own a Chevy Volt, and after 3 years of ownership, the gas engine has only been responsible for 10% of my driving. Obviously it'll be a bit higher in this BMW due to less range, and a less capable electric powertrain. Based on your phrasing, and some of the keywords you used that a lot of anti-ICE folks use... I don't think this question was genuine and meant more as a gotcha. But I replied in case any other readers may find the information interesting.

[@bingham7957]

x5d got a lot better mileage than this hybrid.

[@StephaunLovelace]

Is there a reason why the Chevy Volt voltec system isn't the gold standard for plug-in electric vehicles? Like why are they trying change how phevs work. Chevy wrote the book on how this should work. The only thing I believe others should be doing is making the battery portion last longer. But allowing the gas to come on because you're driving too fast is crazy to me.

[@MrGimbly]

What’s the point of this video with an empty battery? Might as well done the 40i 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@teslatim78]

The Dr. and Admin Manager I work for just bought 1 each. Imagine their surprise when they couldn't charge at a Supercharger and had to put C8H18 in it lolol. Of coarse the Dr. is pushing 80, and the Admin has to have doors open for her.

[@jntx9575]

Not very good compared to my 2013 Ford C-Max that gets 43 MPG on long trips at 70 MPH.

[@JBrown-go8ru]

Can't compare a junky, 2013 Ford C-Max, to this luxury vehicle. I don't care if the C-Max achieved 500 miles per gallon. It's still damn C-Max!

[@InternetDude]

Glad I got a RAV4 Prime instead LOL. It smokes the BMW in the fuel economy and reliability point of view.

[@TheDanielTruong]

Can’t find any RAV4 Prime without 10K mark up. SMH 🤦 still looking.

[@InternetDude]

@@TheDanielTruong they are impossible to find at MSRP it seems. I’m in Canada where they can’t mark up above MSRP but there are none for sale anywhere, 2-3 years wait time.

[@kubanskiloewe]

even my old RX450H is slightly better than this BMW. i got 28,5mpg out of it since 12years now !

[@HumbertoYi0878]

Because these are absolutely competitive…. A RAV4 and an X5. Camry gets better MPG than M5 as well, FYI…

[@florinvid]

But it's a boring interior exterior car with nothing to be excited about except the reliability long term,if you keep the car 10 years, which I'm not. The quality of assembly and materials in the bmw is vast superior, makes you feel you drive something a little more special. Ps:I also have a LS 500 f sport 😊

[@jimrogers2756]

The average person who can afford a +$80k car isn’t going to be picky about fuel cost. Just go with the regular x5. Driving that thing on electric is like dragging a building.

[@jimhine]

As a previous (and happy) X5 owner, we were always looking to save money in fuel where we could.

[@Boltbacker83]

It’s actually more powerful than the V8 though too

[@Mode_na]

I’m fortunate enough to afford cars at these price points, but I still care about fuel costs. Here’s my logic: I’m ok with paying a higher price for better function, more luxury, and prestige (shallow, but yes). In all cases, my money buys me “more” of something. As gas prices increase, I pay more for gas… but don’t get more gas… I pay more, but don’t get “more” of anything. I’m ok with spending more money, but I’m not ok with spending more money for nothing.

[@kdubovenko]

I have an X5 PHEV and I 100% care about fuel cost. I also care about driving on electrical as far much as possible. It’s literally 1/3 cheaper where I live so it would be dumb not to care. For my driving, it’s about $120 per month in savings without solar and about $180 per month with solar.

[@carsbykev7037]

@@Mode_na Your logic is mine, and you’ve put it better than I’ve ever been able to. I don’t mind paying for more, but I do mind waste. Well done.

[@junkerzn7312]

26-ish mpg. That's very similar to what I get in my 22 year old Audi 2.7T driving approximately the same way. Highway of course. I can squeeze out very good gas mileage out of that vehicle on the highway, well above its rating. So yah, I kinda agree on the whole PHEV take. The benefit is there only when a lot of city driving is done and the owner also plugs in every day, but there's no benefit over a conventional ICE otherwise. And given the smaller battery pack, I would be mildly annoyed even just having to plug the thing in at home every day to get that benefit, verses once a week with a full-range BEV. Again for around-the-town. And then we have all the extra complexity of the PHEV on top of that. Great for dealership shops, maybe not so great for owners. -Matt

[@Chrisb8s]

My Volvo wagon with the polestar upgrade and big wheels can get more than 30 mpg

[@HumbertoYi0878]

Does the Audi have 400 HP/450 Tq? Big luxury SUV with modern crash safety? It’s like comparing a banana and a canary because both are yellow

[@ivanhurd6512]

Lol, I have a 2013 vw tiguan with a turbo 4 and that gets the same mileage on the highway 😆

[@JimJames113]

Lol...Kum and Go

[@steveclemens8488]

$65k for crappy mileage and piss poor EV range sounds like a real loser to me.

[@JBrown-go8ru]

"...a real loser to me" Exactly what most people think when they run into you daily.

[@PeteLenz]

Anyone would have to be nuts to buy or even lease a BMW - reliability is just awful. My 2019 just turned 20k miles and has had so many repairs. The software is a disaster. If I hadn’t bought the Ultimate Care package I’d have $1000’s additional in uncovered costs for brakes and more. Dreadful vehicles

[@cmorfan]

I have a 2015 X5 and other than regular maintenance it has been awesome. Sorry to hear you haven't had the same experience.