BMW iX5 Hydrogen 2023 Preview

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

Hydrogen has been the future for decades now. Toyota put most of its eggs in that basket, not expecting battery EVs to take off as quickly as they have. But most other manufacturers have decided that the next automotive phase after internal combustion will be battery-powered. BMW clearly wants to hedge its bets, though. The company was one of the pioneers of contemporary EVs with the i3, and after a hiatus is back leading the charge with the i4, iX, iX3, iX1 and more. But BMW clearly thinks there could be a future for hydrogen power, and just in case, has been developing a hydrogen-powered version of the X5.

We got to try the car out at the international launch in Belgium. The first thing to stress is that this is not a production vehicle, but it’s not a rough prototype either. The iX5 Hydrogen is what is called a “Pilot Fleet”, which is a group of vehicles manufactured as fully polished road cars but purely to test a concept in the real world. After the launch, the iX5 Hydrogen cars on show were destined for distribution around the world. We asked representatives in Neom, Saudi Arabia during the Extreme E race weekend in that location. They told us that they will be receiving some samples of the vehicle for testing in Neom.

Price and Options

As a Pilot Fleet car, the iX5 Hydrogen doesn’t have a price, and there aren’t trim levels to choose from, because you can’t buy one. The cars are based on a high-spec (but not quite fully loaded) current X5. BMW hasn’t created a new platform for this vehicle. Instead, it has essentially designed a hydrogen drivetrain to fit into a modified X5 SUV.

Instead of the driveshaft in the transmission tunnel, there is one of the two hydrogen tanks. The other is under the rear seats, with the motor and a small 2kWh battery at the rear. The fuel cell, HVAC (heating and air conditioning) and other EV electronics sit under the bonnet, where the internal combustion would have been. The total hydrogen capacity is 6kg, more than the original Toyota Mirai and 2021 update. But this is an SUV, so also larger and heavier than either.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

Other than the big “hydrogen” decals on the side of the Pilot Fleet iX5 Hydrogen cars, there’s not a lot to distinguish them from a contemporary X5. Unlike BMW’s BEVs, this is not a specialised electric platform but an adaptation of an existing fossil fuel-powered one. For those who are not fans of BMW’s most recent “giant beaver teeth” interpretation of its signature kidney grille, it will be a relief that the iX5 Hydrogen uses a tamer version.

So to all purposes this is a new member of the G05 generation of X5s, post facelift. The front resembles the BMW X5 M Competition rather than the standard M or non-M cars. But there are blue “electrification” details, as with BMW’s BEVs, and the trim isn’t quite as aggressive as the Competition. The looks of this car don’t yell “I’m new and I’m electric” so much as the i4, iX or i7.

Interior Comfort

There is very little inside this car to signal any difference from a regular X5 either. This is a conventional BMW interior, with less of a high-tech feel than the iX or i4 BEVs. But BMWs are great to be inside, and the iX5 Hydrogen is no different. The seats are comfortable and easy to adjust using the electronic system.

The rear seats offer similar levels of comfort, and the two outer spaces have plenty of leg and headroom. However, unlike a pure-BEV platform, the middle rear passenger will have to endure a hump in the floor front of them. On a petrol car with rear- or four-wheel-drive, this would enclose the transmission tunnel. In the BMW iX5 Hydrogen, it houses the larger of the two hydrogen fuel tanks (4kg capacity), with the other (2kg) beneath the rear seats.

Storage and Load Carrying

One of our criticisms of the Toyota Mirai was the lack of boot space. It may look like a hatchback, but is actually a saloon. Because of the hydrogen tank behind the rear seats, these can’t be dropped forward, so luggage capacity is limited. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen has none of these issues. We weren’t given the exact figures, but comparing images the boot appears to be the same size as the plug-in hybrid versions of the X5.

That would mean you get a decent 500 litres (down from 650 litres for the petrol-only X5) with the rear seats up. These can be put forward with a 40-20-40 split, giving a maximum of 1,720 litres (down from 1,870 litres for the petrol-only X5). This is competitive with larger all-electric SUVs, and virtually identical to the iX. There’s also an electric boot release and an electric tailgate, plus a small bit of extra space beneath the boot floor. This, of course, won’t be filled with charging cables because you don’t need them with this car. There is no frunk, however.

The iX5 Hydrogen can also tow, although here again no figure was available. BMW claims hydrogen is better for towing than batteries. That’s not because it’s more efficient, but because EV charging bays are not designed for use with a trailer attached, meaning you will probably have to unhitch what you’re towing to charge. Since hydrogen pumps are often exactly like petrol pumps, you can in theory drive in and refuel with your trailer attached, although the latter may still get in the way of other vehicles.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

As this isn’t a “proper” production car, BMW hasn’t chosen to provide any innovation where controls and infotainment are concerned. The operational aspects of the cockpit are from the current X5. There’s a button for turning the system off and on, plus a gearstick-like control for selecting drive mode. Push forward for reverse, back for drive, and back once more for B mode. Neutral sits in the middle. There’s a button to engage auto hold and a separate electronic parking brake. You can choose between Sport, Comfort, Eco Pro and Adaptive engine power modes.

A rotating knob controls infotainment functions, although the large central screen is also touch-enabled. The car we drove had an excellent head-up display as well as the regular instrument binnacle behind the steering wheel. If you’ve driven a BMW before, there are no surprises in store for you with the iX5 Hydrogen in this respect.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

One of the biggest disappointments we have had in the past with fuel cell cars is the way they drive. Once you have gotten used to the immediate torque of virtually any BEV, even a relatively slow one, FCEVs such as the Toyota Mirai or Hyundai Nexo feel languid. While both these cars have their positive qualities, and the 2021 Mirai update has allegedly improved the driving experience greatly, driver’s cars they are not.

There is no way BMW could respect itself if it launched a new vehicle that was as uninspiring behind the wheel as this. Luckily, with the iX5 Hydrogen, it still hasn’t. This is an area where this car is every bit a BMW. The big problem with previous hydrogen cars is power delivery lag. It takes a split second for a fuel cell to start producing electricity, and that is the complete opposite of the instantaneous throttle response of a BEV.

BMW overcomes this with a much more powerful motor than previous FCEVs, plus a battery that can provide the immediate energy it needs. All FCEVs have a battery, to recuperate energy when braking and to provide a little extra help when accelerating. But the iX5 Hydrogen’s battery can deliver 170kW, which when combined with the 125kW from the fuel cell makes a total of 295kW. This drives a rear motor from a BMW iX, capable of delivering the full 295kW (401hp) and 720Nm of torque.

Altogether, this means the BMW iX5 Hydrogen can hit 62mph in under six seconds. Power delivery is smooth and immediate. There is no discernible noise from the fuel cell (the original Mirai made a strange whooshing noise a bit like a turbo waste gate flushing). If you took the hydrogen badges off this car and told someone it was a BEV, they probably wouldn’t guess that it wasn’t.

The hydrogen powertrain is also lighter than a BEV’s, weighing around the same as a plug-in hybrid system. So the BMW iX5 Hydrogen is a bit more agile than a BEV, such as the iX, although not as nimble as a pure petrol car. The steering is nicely balanced, not too heavy, but involving enough for fun. Despite the size of this car, it will be fine around town unless the roads are really narrow.

Overall, this is the best-driving FCEV we’ve ever tried by a country mile – as you would hope from BMW.

Range and Charging

One of the big theoretical selling points for hydrogen is range. This is not so much because FCEVs go further than BEVs, but because they can be refuelled quickly. Indeed, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a range of 313 miles, which is only on par with a decent BEV. The BMW iX xDrive50 has a rated range of 380 miles, and some versions of the i7 even more.

However, it will take you at least 35 minutes to recharge back to 80% of that with the fastest charger you can find, whereas the iX5 Hydrogen will only take about five minutes to refuel and that will take you all the way back to 100% again. In theory, that makes the iX5 Hydrogen better suited to the long haul, because you will only need short stops between 300-mile stints.

Of course, you will need to find a hydrogen fuelling station first, and in the UK there are barely any of these left. When we reviewed the original Mirai, there were 10 functioning H2 stations in the UK. At the time of writing, this had dropped to seven available for cars, and many of those had capacity for fewer than 15 car refills a day. Germany is much better served, but it’s clear that H2 is far behind EV charging infrastructure, and as the latter accelerates is being left even further behind.

One final consideration is that BMW claims FCEVs can stay at high speed for longer. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a top speed of over 180km/h (112mph), which obviously you can only use on a German Autobahn. This top speed is achieved purely with the 125kW fuel cell power, which it can deliver continuously for hours on end without any loss in output. Batteries tend not to be able to deliver peak power for extended periods. It’s also worth noting that efficient drivetrains suffer more from drag than inefficient ones, because the drag makes a proportionately larger difference to efficiency at high speed. The argument is similar with trailers. All cars lose range when towing, but the detrimental effect is lower if your drivetrain was shockingly inefficient to begin with, such as with internal combustion.

Running Costs

The BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a 6kg H2 capacity in total from its 4kg and 2kg tanks, and a range of 313 miles. That means it does 52.2 miles per kg of hydrogen. The last time we checked, hydrogen in the UK was £12 per kg (although this price is from May 2022, so could have increased during the energy crisis). That would make 23p per mile, which isn’t tremendously cheap. In contrast, if you can charge your car on a cheap overnight energy tariff, such as Octopus Intelligent, which is 10p per kWh between 11:30pm and 5:30am, you could be driving for 3p per mile.

The hydrogen you refuel with might not be that green, either, as over 95% of it is produced from steam reforming of methane, so generates CO2 (grey hydrogen). There is a blue version, where the carbon is captured during the process, but only a few percent is currently green, produced by electrolysing water using renewable energy. Grey is the cheapest hydrogen, followed by blue, with green the most expensive.

Hydrogen evangelists expect this to change a lot over the coming decades, with green hydrogen becoming much cheaper thanks to being produced in regions with massive surplus renewable energy, such as Saudi Arabia or Australia. But that hasn’t happened yet. For this reason, hydrogen remains firmly a technology for the future – or experimental implementations such as the BMW iX5 Hydrogen.

Safety

The BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a requisite level of safety tech, including blind spot detection and emergency braking. For some reason, BMW hasn’t installed adaptive cruise control on its pilot fleet cars, just regular cruise control. This is an odd choice given they probably want these test cars to survive as long as possible.

Key Specifications

*based on hydrogen costs of £12 per kg