BMW clearly doesn’t think you can have too much of a good thing. The previous X5 plug-in hybrid was a very powerful tow car, but the updated BMW X5 xDrive 50e M Sport model has even more poke.
With the 3.0-litre petrol engine and electric motor working together, there’s 489hp and a huge 516lb ft of torque. That’s more than enough to cope with even the heaviest twin-axle caravan, as we found out while towing a large twin-axle Swift.
Stability is one of the most important traits of the best caravan tow cars. In the case of the BMW X5 xDrive 50e M Sport, the stability while towing is excellent, as it should be when a car weighs almost 2.5 tonnes. Any movements are slight and over almost as soon as they have begun.
Although the performance is overkill and didn’t really need improving, BMW has also added to the battery capacity for an improved range. The car will travel 65 miles on electricity alone, according to the official figures, so 50 miles plus is realistic.
While towing the twin-axle tourer, we saw almost 45mpg with a healthy state of charge, although that dropped down to 18mpg once the pure-electric range was zero.
The plug-in hybrid model has less boot space than the rest of the range (500 litres rather than 650) and is only available with five seats. Otherwise, it’s just the colossal price that puts us off.
- Price: From £80,835
- Kerbweight: 2495kg
- 85% match: 2121kg
- Max towing weight: 2700kg
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