Eight years is a long time in the SUV business. Long enough to go from bold statement to familiar furniture. The fourth-generation BMW X5 has worn its age surprisingly well, but the clock is ticking, and Munich knows it. A fully redesigned model is on the way, targeting a 2027 or 2028 model year launch, and early shots combined with sharp digital renderings are already giving us a very clear picture of what’s coming.
The most recent and compelling visual evidence comes from Kolesa, where renderer Nikita Chuyko stripped away the camouflage to present a set of strikingly realistic illustrations. The result is a next-generation X5 that looks evolutionary rather than revolutionary, which is probably exactly what BMW intended. You don’t mess with a formula that prints money.
Up front, the new X5 ditches the controversial oversized kidney grilles that made the current generation look like it was perpetually surprised, replacing them with a smaller, more composed double-kidney setup flanked by redesigned headlights with a fresh daytime running light signature. The bumper gets two vertical air intakes flanking a central opening, aggressive enough to intimidate in a parking lot.
The profile stays clean and largely faithful to the outgoing car’s proportions, while the rear gets a more muscular treatment. Large taillights, a split tailgate carried over from the current model, a sportier diffuser, and four exhaust tips on the rendered version round out a back end that means business.
Inside, BMW is borrowing heavily from the new iX3 and i3 Sedan playbook: a display stretching pillar to pillar across the lower windshield section, next-generation infotainment, and likely the same four-spoke steering wheel.
On the powertrain front, BMW isn’t picking a lane. The new X5 will be available with traditional gasoline and diesel engines, a plug-in hybrid setup, a full electric variant following the iX5 template, and a hydrogen fuel cell version. Something for everyone, including the genuinely undecided.
