While BMW has made a few diesels available here stateside, they?ve mostly resisted that impulse. Instead, they?re looking further down the road with hybrids and plug-ins. And now that they?ve brought that strategy to the popular X5 utility, it?s time for us to plug-in and check out its advanced functionality.

BMW, like many brands, has been a bit schizophrenic lately, especially when it comes to their EfficientDynamics fuel saving strategies; shot gunning the field with both diesel and hybrid technologies. But this 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e is their first plug-in hybrid SUV.

There?s nothing exotic about the hardware, just all the hybrid basics including a 9.2-kWh lithium-ion battery, onboard charger, and regenerative braking; along with standard all-wheel-drive, and an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Of course they are all tied to a gasoline-fed engine, in this case BMW?s TwinPower turbo 2.0-liter I4; outputting 240-horsepower and 260 lb-ft. of torque on its own. Add in electric boost, and system total is 308-horsepower.

Pure EV range is 14-miles; and while that?s certainly not much, every little bit helps. And even after the gas engine kicks on, the vehicle still operates as a true hybrid with an overall range of 540-miles.

We appreciate the xDrive40e?s low key nature, though some will surely wish to broadcast their ?ecodentials? a little more prominently. No one would call it gorgeous, but the proportions are good, and it?s not a bad looking SUV at all.

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