Order books have opened for BMW's new X5 premium SUV, with prices starting from £57,495.

The German manufacturer's large SUV, which has enjoyed sales exceeding 2.2 million units since 1999, is now larger and promises to be better to drive than ever before, according to a statment issued by BMW.

At launch, the X5 is offered with two diesel engines and a petrol. The xDrive30d is the most efficient and cheapest version.

Its 3.0-litre diesel engine promises fuel consumption of 47.1mpg with CO2 emissions of 158g/km. Acceleration from 0-60mph takes 6.5 seconds.

The xDrive40i uses a 3.0-litre petrol engine, providing 340PS - enough for a 0-60mph sprint time of 5.5 seconds.

A range-topping M50d uses a tuned version of the 3.0-litre diesel, developing 400PS and hitting 60mph in just 5.2 seconds.

All the powertrains come with a revised version of BMW’s eight-speed automatic gearbox and a redesigned all-wheel-drive system that provides a greater rear-bias, to improve driveability.

The new BMW X5 comes as standard with 19-inch light-alloy wheels on the xLine model, 20-inch M star-spoke light-alloy wheels on the M Sport model and exclusive 22-inch V-spoke alloy wheels on the M Performance model.  Further variants in 20 to 22-inch formats are available as options.

An off-road package is available, for the first time on an X5, providing underside protection and a differential lock.

Available as an option, a new Driving Assistant Professional package comprises Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, which is capable of braking the vehicle to a standstill and sending it on its way again automatically. For greater convenience in stop-start traffic, the period between stopping and automatically moving off has been extended up to 30 seconds.

Speed restrictions can be incorporated into the automatic cruise control system and the pack also contains the Steering and lane control assistant including Traffic Jam Assist as well as the Lane Keeping Assistant with active side collision protection.

The Lane Change Assistant can be used on motorways and dual carriageways when the Steering and lane control assistant is active. Holding the direction indicator in the required direction is all it takes to initiate a lane change.

Inside, two high-resolution 12.3-inch displays are fitted. One for the infotainment, and one in place of the instrument cluster.

The X5 features the latest version of BMW’s iDrive system which includes a suite of connected services, free for the first three years.

The car can connects with external devices, such as a smartwatch or Amazon Alexa and also has the ability to perform over-the-air software updates.

BMW X5 prices and CO2 emissions:

Model	Power (PS)	Fuel consumption (mpg)	CO2 (g/km)	Price (OTR)
X5 xDrive40i	340	33.2	193	£58,885
X5 xDrive30d	265	47.1	158	£57,495
X5 M50d	400	41.5	179	£71,475