You Guys, the BMW X5 Is 25 Years Old

Remember Y2K? The BMW X5 does

2025 BMW X5 Silver Anniversary Edition group shot

written by Steven Ewing^{Director, Editorial Content
Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.}
edited by Kathleen Clonts^{Copy Chief
Kathleen Clonts has worked in the automotive industry since 2014 and has copy-edited thousands of vehicle reviews and stories about cars and the auto industry in that time. Kathleen is the Edmunds editorial team's copy chief and previously worked as the senior copy editor for Automobile magazine.}
6/21/2024
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Hard to believe, but the BMW X5 is now 25 years old.
To celebrate, BMW will offer a limited-production X5 Silver Anniversary Edition.
Based on the X5 xDrive40i, the Silver Anniversary model costs $81,075 including destination.

Picture it: The year is 1999. You're either (1) freaking out about the year 2000 changeover and hoarding canned goods or (2) getting ready to ring in the new millennium — or Willennium — by listening to Prince or Robbie Williams or (if you're like me) Silverchair on your Sony Discman. Retro-style cars are all the rage; you're super jealous of that one guy on your street who drives a Plymouth Prowler. And over in Germany, BMW is ready to shock the world with the introduction of its very first sport-utility vehicle — sorry, Sport Activity Vehicle — the X5.

The world has been through a lot since the original X5 was introduced (an understatement, for sure), but over the past 25 years, BMW's midsize SUV has aged gracefully. The X5 — along with contemporaries like the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class and Porsche Cayenne — kicked off a class of luxury SUVs that's since seen exponential growth. No, you can't get the X5 with a manual transmission like you could back in '99, but it's still a top pick among luxury SUVs.

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2025 BMW X5 Silver Anniversary Edition rear 3/4

To celebrate the X5's long-standing excellence, BMW will offer a Silver Anniversary Edition of its stalwart SUV for 2025. Based on the X5 xDrive40i, this model comes with 20-inch wheels, Lime Rock Grey paint, and a standard xOffroad package that includes different drive modes, as well as a two-axle air suspension that can raise or lower the ride height. A mechanically locking rear differential and underbody protection plates are also included, and BMW says customers who choose this X5 will be offered a discount on dealer-installed General Grabber all-terrain tires. A roof rack, cargo mat and all-weather floor mats are also part of the package.

Inside, the X5 Silver Anniversary Edition comes with carbon-fiber trim, a Harman Kardon surround-sound stereo, and heated seats, armrests and steering wheel. You also get a trailer hitch, if towing is your jam, as well as BMW's Parking Assistance package.

Since it's based on the X5 xDrive40i, the Silver Anniversary Edition uses a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six engine with 375 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, as well as all-wheel drive. BMW says it'll build "around 1,000" examples of this SUV, with production expected to kick off in August.

Edmunds says

Happy 25th anniversary, BMW X5. Here's to the next two and a half decades.

by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.

edited by Kathleen Clonts

Kathleen Clonts has worked in the automotive industry since 2014 and has copy-edited thousands of vehicle reviews and stories about cars and the auto industry in that time. Kathleen is the Edmunds editorial team's copy chief and previously worked as the senior copy editor for Automobile magazine.

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You Guys, the BMW X5 Is 25 Years Old

Remember Y2K? The BMW X5 does

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