i liked the financial breakdown, PHEVs really are an inherently compromised setup but I get why they exist as a temporary transition to full EV. also this particular 50e has a performance argument. its genuinely fast.
The EV industry ( and their Govt bankers) want you to think that electric is the way to go with PHEVs existing as a transition step. Simply not true, range anxiety is not going to go away anytime soon, battery charging times are not going to go down to seconds anytime soon, the grid capacity to support fast charging with ubiquity is not going to happen anytime soon! Couple that with how gasoline engines are optimal for highway cruising and electric for stop and go, PHEVs are going away anytime soon
Hah, I appreciate that. I worked at Car and Driver for the start of my career, and I've long thought about putting out a video discussing the pros and cons between "big books" and independents. There's a lot more group think that dulls down official outlet reviews, which is a shame because most of the writers are actually more skilled than the independents.
Great video, I was recently on the market for this specific vehicle, loved how it drove on test drive, tried ordering one but like you said financially no incentives for this PHEV, since price exceeds $80k. Ended up with an Audi Q5 PHEV, yes a bit smaller vehicle, but still got all the luxuries I was looking for, and averaging 35-38 miles on pure electric, charge at home (L1/120v) and at work (L2/240v). And at the time I was looking late March 2024, since Q5 did not exceed $80k cap for incentives, got a $9k incentive for 3yr lease. Again I would have loved to get the X5, maybe in 3yrs when Q5 lease is up.
My 24’ X5 50e decision over the M60i was the deceptive power output. I’ll tell you that with the tax incentive and 85% city driving I average 97mpge. To me this was a transitional vehicle where I couldn’t fully commit to electric, but wanted the experience… I am sold on the PHEV variant… Not on full electric though! Good descriptive and detailed review! Btw my wife’s Rx350 24’ Is a close second, but the 4cyl is a no go for me lol.
could of gone for a rav4 prime. u want efficiency and also power it gives you that for half the cost. cheaper maintenance. ur already losing car value from depreciation lol. only benefits is a better interior but that's about it. once u go to gas you'll go back to low to mid 20's mpg since its so heavy.
W incentives, the phev is actually a better deal - at least it was in the past. My dad had a 2020 (bought in 2019) before the phev came out. His was spec as the ultimate hwy cruiser - smallest wheeled, air suspension, acoustic pkg, etc. but the droning of the engine (however smooth) was kinda annoying. The phev would have been a better choice for a more relaxed driving under electric power. We had another phev car and it spent 95% in ev. W level 2 charging at home, it was just easy to plug it in everytime we’re home. My dad has since gone full ev. You just can’t match the smoothness of an electric motor.
I have a 24’ 50e with 8,000 miles and i couldn’t agree more with the lurching of the electric motor. Also at low speed crawling it’s constantly fighting the brakes and they make the grabbing sound. I also cannot get the car to limousine stop at all. The adaptive braking makes that an impossibility and you have to really dig deep before it lets you into the physical brakes. It’s kinda annoying because I love it otherwise. I also wish they had a charge mode for the battery instead of just a hold
Glad I wasn't the only one! Smooth departures from a stop should be near the top of priorities for a luxury vehicle. Just had the MDX and now have the GV80, and the MDX has a lurch every few takeoffs, whereas the GV80 is smooth every time.
I am always astounded by the prices you guys in the us can buy your cars. 88 grand for that car is a steal in Europe, I would have to pay about 30k more here
Excellent review! I have a 2020 loaded GLE350 as my daily driver and looking at my next vehicle choice. I always go for the smallest wheel size for more rubber sidewall, better ride, and lower replacement tire cost, but manufacturers cannot seem to understand buyers like me. My primary vehicle is a 2019 MB S560 w/19K miles that I want to keep for 10+ years - real aluminum switches and rollers. I look for CPO 2-3 yr old low mileage, but it seems the dealers never order the $1900 air suspension packages on the GLEs or X5s they lease!!! Just can't find them. As they are standard on the X5 50e, I am hoping to find one of these in the next year or so. The air suspension is so good now and so inexpensive (less than big wheel upgrades). Keep up the good work!
Almost pulled trigger on this but they messed up the order and didn’t even bother to adjust the price… plus no rear seat recline, no comfort access on rear doors, no leather seats… vs rx450 made it a hard sell.
Great review but why would you drive on the left lane at all times? I'm curious because I get annoyed having to overtake people on the right lane at all times.
why did they remove the seat fold lever???? there is lots of things they've just taken away in the 50e that are on the 45e??? (including the buttons >,< )
I have the X5 45E and I don't think the plug-in is worth an extra $5K. When we bought the 45E, we got the $7500 tax credit so that was worth it. Since we bought, circumstances happened that we moved out of our house into an apartment where it's difficult to charge, so now I would prefer just the basic 40I. About that jerkiness, you can avoid that if yo turn off the stop/start function. While I don't think the plug in hybrkd is worth the extra $5k, getting the extra power is worth it for people that want the extra power.
I thought this model hybrid had a stop sale due to persistent bugs in the software and hybrid system? Was this fixed and current owners have no problems reported?
I just drive it as a Hybrid and that is it... I am a car guy... just need good gas mileage.... and I allow the engine to charge it... if they sold a diesel I would get it instead... LOL
interesting how when everyone reviews mk8 golfs they spend a ton of time complaining about climate control being hidden in the screen but for BMW it’s all good hmm 🤔🤔😂
I know it sounds subtle, because it is, but responsiveness, button size, and layout can all have a large impact on frustration level. I have a Polestar 2 right now and don't mind the climate controls being in the screen. And I didn't mind it in the Tesla as well. But the VW and Subaru systems lag too much and become frustrating when all you want to do is adjust your temp
@@DailyMotor as someone who lives in a household with a polestar 2, model 3, mk8 gti(my personal car) i don’t actually notice much lag with the golf it’s only during the first couple seconds at startup! Tho i know earlier models did seem to have older processor so they did lag more. Biggest issue with the golf system is that the controls aren’t backlit! Regardless It’s just funny when it seems to the main talking point in every R/GTI review and then i have to hear about it from friends who never even lived with the car cause it’s all they hear about online 😂😅
You need to change your camera. Filming with a fish-eye lense makes everything look distorted. Also, slow down your camera movements. Too fast, too jerky and not nice to watch.
i liked the financial breakdown, PHEVs really are an inherently compromised setup but I get why they exist as a temporary transition to full EV. also this particular 50e has a performance argument. its genuinely fast.
Exactly my thoughts. Performance is what attracted me to the 50e, especially in comparison to the M60i
The EV industry ( and their Govt bankers) want you to think that electric is the way to go with PHEVs existing as a transition step. Simply not true, range anxiety is not going to go away anytime soon, battery charging times are not going to go down to seconds anytime soon, the grid capacity to support fast charging with ubiquity is not going to happen anytime soon! Couple that with how gasoline engines are optimal for highway cruising and electric for stop and go, PHEVs are going away anytime soon
You can car camp in a phev and have heat/ac without the engine turning on for about 6 + hours
best all round vehicle on the road
I always find it really interesting that TH-cam journalists are always more informed on the car, pricing and packages than “official” outlets
Hah, I appreciate that. I worked at Car and Driver for the start of my career, and I've long thought about putting out a video discussing the pros and cons between "big books" and independents. There's a lot more group think that dulls down official outlet reviews, which is a shame because most of the writers are actually more skilled than the independents.
@@DailyMotorwell keep up the good work. It was a very well done review
Great video, I was recently on the market for this specific vehicle, loved how it drove on test drive, tried ordering one but like you said financially no incentives for this PHEV, since price exceeds $80k. Ended up with an Audi Q5 PHEV, yes a bit smaller vehicle, but still got all the luxuries I was looking for, and averaging 35-38 miles on pure electric, charge at home (L1/120v) and at work (L2/240v). And at the time I was looking late March 2024, since Q5 did not exceed $80k cap for incentives, got a $9k incentive for 3yr lease. Again I would have loved to get the X5, maybe in 3yrs when Q5 lease is up.
My 24’ X5 50e decision over the M60i was the deceptive power output. I’ll tell you that with the tax incentive and 85% city driving I average 97mpge.
To me this was a transitional vehicle where I couldn’t fully commit to electric, but wanted the experience…
I am sold on the PHEV variant…
Not on full electric though!
Good descriptive and detailed review! Btw my wife’s Rx350 24’
Is a close second, but the 4cyl is a no go for me lol.
could of gone for a rav4 prime. u want efficiency and also power it gives you that for half the cost. cheaper maintenance. ur already losing car value from depreciation lol. only benefits is a better interior but that's about it. once u go to gas you'll go back to low to mid 20's mpg since its so heavy.
@@Fumbiii16 wait a min…
Did I just read that you compared a RAV4 to a Lexus Rx?
(Just checking)
Another argument for the 50e is the hp/torque performance. The direct comp is the M60i, not the 40i.
W incentives, the phev is actually a better deal - at least it was in the past.
My dad had a 2020 (bought in 2019) before the phev came out. His was spec as the ultimate hwy cruiser - smallest wheeled, air suspension, acoustic pkg, etc. but the droning of the engine (however smooth) was kinda annoying. The phev would have been a better choice for a more relaxed driving under electric power.
We had another phev car and it spent 95% in ev. W level 2 charging at home, it was just easy to plug it in everytime we’re home.
My dad has since gone full ev. You just can’t match the smoothness of an electric motor.
I have a 24’ 50e with 8,000 miles and i couldn’t agree more with the lurching of the electric motor. Also at low speed crawling it’s constantly fighting the brakes and they make the grabbing sound. I also cannot get the car to limousine stop at all. The adaptive braking makes that an impossibility and you have to really dig deep before it lets you into the physical brakes. It’s kinda annoying because I love it otherwise. I also wish they had a charge mode for the battery instead of just a hold
Glad I wasn't the only one! Smooth departures from a stop should be near the top of priorities for a luxury vehicle. Just had the MDX and now have the GV80, and the MDX has a lurch every few takeoffs, whereas the GV80 is smooth every time.
I am always astounded by the prices you guys in the us can buy your cars. 88 grand for that car is a steal in Europe, I would have to pay about 30k more here
that car has a ticket price in Australia of $202k
Excellent review! I have a 2020 loaded GLE350 as my daily driver and looking at my next vehicle choice. I always go for the smallest wheel size for more rubber sidewall, better ride, and lower replacement tire cost, but manufacturers cannot seem to understand buyers like me. My primary vehicle is a 2019 MB S560 w/19K miles that I want to keep for 10+ years - real aluminum switches and rollers. I look for CPO 2-3 yr old low mileage, but it seems the dealers never order the $1900 air suspension packages on the GLEs or X5s they lease!!! Just can't find them. As they are standard on the X5 50e, I am hoping to find one of these in the next year or so. The air suspension is so good now and so inexpensive (less than big wheel upgrades). Keep up the good work!
Almost pulled trigger on this but they messed up the order and didn’t even bother to adjust the price… plus no rear seat recline, no comfort access on rear doors, no leather seats… vs rx450 made it a hard sell.
Great review but why would you drive on the left lane at all times? I'm curious because I get annoyed having to overtake people on the right lane at all times.
why did they remove the seat fold lever???? there is lots of things they've just taken away in the 50e that are on the 45e??? (including the buttons >,< )
I have the X5 45E and I don't think the plug-in is worth an extra $5K. When we bought the 45E, we got the $7500 tax credit so that was worth it. Since we bought, circumstances happened that we moved out of our house into an apartment where it's difficult to charge, so now I would prefer just the basic 40I. About that jerkiness, you can avoid that if yo turn off the stop/start function.
While I don't think the plug in hybrkd is worth the extra $5k, getting the extra power is worth it for people that want the extra power.
Hate that the second row don’t recline automatically with a button, manual at this price point is ridiculous
I thought this model hybrid had a stop sale due to persistent bugs in the software and hybrid system? Was this fixed and current owners have no problems reported?
having the mazda 3 above 50e is wild
I just drive it as a Hybrid and that is it... I am a car guy... just need good gas mileage.... and I allow the engine to charge it... if they sold a diesel I would get it instead... LOL
They do sell a diesel
interesting how when everyone reviews mk8 golfs they spend a ton of time complaining about climate control being hidden in the screen but for BMW it’s all good hmm 🤔🤔😂
I know it sounds subtle, because it is, but responsiveness, button size, and layout can all have a large impact on frustration level. I have a Polestar 2 right now and don't mind the climate controls being in the screen. And I didn't mind it in the Tesla as well. But the VW and Subaru systems lag too much and become frustrating when all you want to do is adjust your temp
@@DailyMotor as someone who lives in a household with a polestar 2, model 3, mk8 gti(my personal car) i don’t actually notice much lag with the golf it’s only during the first couple seconds at startup! Tho i know earlier models did seem to have older processor so they did lag more. Biggest issue with the golf system is that the controls aren’t backlit! Regardless It’s just funny when it seems to the main talking point in every R/GTI review and then i have to hear about it from friends who never even lived with the car cause it’s all they hear about online 😂😅
You need to change your camera. Filming with a fish-eye lense makes everything look distorted. Also, slow down your camera movements. Too fast, too jerky and not nice to watch.