It seems like just a few months ago we drove the, then, all-new BMW X5 at its international ride-and-drive event in the US. Well, it wasn’t. Time has flown and we are already halfway through the model’s lifespan. That means a facelifted BMW X5 and its swoopy X6 sibling will soon be on offer. In fact, buyers may want to pop into local dealerships from Q3 of this year.

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New Look

The big news with the facelifted BMW X5 is its new, err… face. Slimmer headlights with arrow-shaped DRLs help differentiate the newest version of the company’s ‘mid-size’ SUV. These are complemented by newly designed taillamps. The coupe-like X6 has similar changed front as rear. BMW has also seen fit to offer the X6 standard with an M Sport package.

Owners and drivers will get to feast their eyes on a new wide-screen curved display. The system is run on BMW’s OS8 software. The newer interface means that there are fewer buttons and switches as many functions are now digitally controlled.

Click here to read our review of the X5 when we drove it at the international launch.

New Tech

BMW continues with the electrification of all its products in some form or another. The facelifted BMW X5 and X6 engines now feature 48V mild hybrid technology. The addition of this component adds 9 kW and 200 N.m to the mix.

At the very top of the range are M60i xDrive derivatives. These are powered by a new M-derived 4,4-litre V8 petrol engine. The twin-turbocharged unit produces 390 kW and 750 N.m. The outputs allow the large SUVS to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4,3 seconds.

BMW will also offer two inline six-cylinder engines. The petrol xDrive40i variant offers 280 kW/520 N.m while the diesel dishes up 219 kW and 670 N.m. Other under the skin changes include revised tuning of the adaptive suspension and anti-roll bars.