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BMW confirms pricing for new X5 and electric iX5 Fleetnews

BMW has confirmed pricing and technical specifications for the new fifth-generation version of its X5 large SUV, including the first all-electric iX5 variant.

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New BMW 3 Series is a straight-six survivor – with no real rival Autocar

The new six-cylinder 3 Series is a joyous surprise in a market absent of rivals Current global headlineds are pretty grim, but news that the non-M six-cylinder BMW 3 Series lives on offers a sliver of relief. If that sounds facetious, know that I really am delighted - and not a little excited - by the arrival of the M350 version of the latest 3er. The successor to the 323i, 325i, 328i, 335i and monumentally capable M340i of the outgoing G20 era is a car that we might have lost for good in these turbulent times. When the Vision Neue Klasse concept was revealed in 2023, with its Giugiaro-esque lines and electric powertrain, the mood music was that the subsequent production i3 would be the de facto 3 Series going forward and that would be that. Of course, buried in the product strategy small print was the fact that the i3 would coexist alongside a new ICE 3 Series. In other words, the 3 Series as we'd known it since 1975 wasn't dying. Mass confusion stemmed not only from the fact that BMW was making a colossal fuss about the electric model and its 'Heart of Joy' chassis integration software: there was also the news that the plant at the century-old flagship site in Munich was going to stop making ICE cars by 2027 (G50 production will occur at Dingolfing, with the straight-six engine made at Steyr in Austria and the inline four in Warwickshire). It's easy to see why so many people thought the petrol 3 Series was kaput, and even if it somehow wasn't, it would live on as a four-pot proposition. The demise of the big-hearted daily-driver 3 Series was and remains such a diabolical prospect because there has never been anything to touch it, at least when it comes to the stuff that actually matters to a lot of us. And what matters is a sensibly sized saloon with a pronounced rear-biased handling balance and an interesting and strong-but not overbearing-engine to pull you along. Crucially, the whole show shouldn't be too OTT. Despite their brilliance, wares from the M, RS and AMG divisions are increasingly feral characters with way too much visual clout and complexity. Bloody expensive too. The supply of easy-going but special-feeling saloons has dwindled in recent years, with the Jaguar XE going to the wall and Alfa Romeo's on-off retirement of the lovely Giulia. Kia had a quietly successful spell with the Stinger GT S but that's long gone, and I'm not going to include Audi or Mercedes-Benz in this debate, because I don't think either the current A5 (née A4) or C-Class cut it as genuinely interesting machines from a dynamic standpoint. The truth is that, this time next year, the M350 is going to be the only car of its kind on sale in the UK. It's now one of the great survivors. And it should be all the car you could ever need, truly. Totals of 437bhp and 428lb ft result in a 4.1sec 0-62mph time and honestly, people, I just don't need to go any faster on the road. The M350 is also making all the right noises elsewhere, with its staggered-wheel set-up, its M Sport differential and an xDrive chassis that, if recent history is anything to go by, will enlist the front axle only in sensitive and subtle fashion. The only drawback is the dearth of opposition. It's a similar problem to that seen in Porsche 911 land. The M350 will be the first medium-rare 3 Series in history without a serious group test to contextualise and validate its likely excellence. In fact, its closest rival will be the 469bhp i3 50 xDrive - its electric sibling.

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