Which BMW X5 should you lease? The 40d, the 50e and the money
In this feature
- Part 1 — the market right now: what an X5 genuinely costs to lease in 2026, with verified example deals.
- Part 2 — which X5 to lease: diesel versus the plug-in hybrid, trims, options and the company car tax maths. (You are here.)
- Part 3 — getting the best price: initial rentals, mileage banding, brokers and the end-of-contract traps.
The short answer, and it surprises people: if you are a company car driver, lease the xDrive50e plug-in hybrid and it is not close. If you are spending your own money and you cover real distance, the xDrive40d diesel is still the better car and often the better deal. Same badge, same body, two completely different financial arguments — and the deciding factor is who is paying the tax bill.
That is the honest summary. Now the working, because the numbers are worth seeing.
The engine choice, priced properly
The current UK X5 line-up is short: the xDrive30d and xDrive40d diesels (both 3.0-litre straight sixes with 48V mild-hybrid assistance), the xDrive50e plug-in hybrid, and the M60i 4.4-litre V8 at the top, with the full-fat X5 M above that. A petrol xDrive40i shows up on some broker lists, but it is a rarer sight than the diesels — check availability before you fall in love with a quote for one.
Why the plug-in hybrid is cheaper than it looks
BMW quotes a WLTP electric range of up to 68 miles for the xDrive50e. That puts it in HMRC’s 40–69 mile band for cars emitting 1–50g/km, which carries a 10% appropriate percentage in 2026/27 (it was 9% in 2025/26 and steps up again in 2027/28). The diesels sit at the other end of the table entirely — the xDrive40d’s WLTP CO2 output is in the 184–200g/km region, and anything above 170g/km attracts the top 37% rate.
Put that against an illustrative P11D of £80,000, which is roughly where a sensibly specified xDrive50e M Sport lands:
| Derivative | 2026/27 BiK band | Taxable benefit on £80,000 P11D | Cost to a 40% taxpayer |
|---|---|---|---|
| X5 xDrive50e (PHEV, up to 68 miles EV range) | 10% | £8,000 | about £267 a month |
| X5 xDrive40d (diesel, 184–200g/km) | 37% | £29,600 | about £987 a month |
Those P11D figures are rounded for illustration — use your exact build’s P11D and certified range before you commit. But the shape of it is not in doubt: for a company car driver the tax difference between the two is around £700 a month, which dwarfs the difference in the lease rate itself. It is why the diesel X5 has effectively vanished from company car lists and why the PHEV, despite a bigger list price, is frequently the cheaper of the two to lease outright. On 11 August 2026 Nationwide Vehicle Contracts advertised the xDrive50e M Sport from £520.54 a month inc VAT against £692.33 for the xDrive40d M Sport, on identical 48-month, 5,000-mile, 12-month-initial terms.
The 68-mile problem
Here is the detail almost nobody flags, and it is worth a couple of hundred pounds a month to the right driver. The band above the X5’s is 70–129 miles of electric range, at 7% in 2026/27. The xDrive50e is quoted at up to 68 miles. It misses the cheaper band by two miles.
That is not something you can fix, but it does mean two things. First, do not assume a plug-in hybrid automatically lands in the cheapest band — check the certified figure for the exact derivative, wheel size and options on your order form, because larger wheels and heavier specifications reduce the certified WLTP range. Second, if a broker or a salesperson quotes you a BiK rate rather than a range figure, ask them which band they are using and why. The gap between 7% and 10% on an £80,000 car is £2,400 of taxable benefit a year.
And if it is your own money
None of the above applies. A private lessee pays the same VAT-inclusive rental whichever engine they pick and gets no tax benefit from the plug-in hybrid at all. What they get instead is a car that is superb on short journeys, dreadful on fuel once the battery is flat and heavy enough to eat tyres. If your driving is a 20-mile commute with a charger at home, the 50e is genuinely brilliant and the electricity is far cheaper than diesel — our running costs explainer on fuel covers how quickly that adds up. If your driving is 400-mile motorway runs, the xDrive40d will return figures the hybrid cannot touch and will cost you less to run over three years.
The M60i and the X5 M are their own conversation. They are wonderful and they are expensive in every direction — top-rate BiK, punishing fuel bills, and lease rates to match; X5 M deals were advertised from £1,872 a month inc VAT on 11 August 2026. Nobody leases one of those to save money.
Trims and packs: what is worth paying for on a car you give back
The X5 comes in xLine, M Sport, M Sport Pro and, at the top, M Competition. Prices for the facelifted car start around £69,560 for an xDrive30d xLine, with the xDrive50e beginning around £80,835.
The instinct is to take the cheapest trim because you are only renting it. On a lease that instinct is often wrong. You are not paying for the car; you are paying for the depreciation the funder forecasts over your term. M Sport is what the UK used market wants in an X5, so funders forecast a stronger residual for it — and a stronger residual means a smaller gap for you to fund. It is entirely normal for a £4,000-dearer M Sport to lease for less than £4,000-worth of extra monthly payments, and occasionally for barely any extra at all. Price both. Do not assume.
The same logic applies to option packs:
- Technology Pack — Parking Assistant Professional, Live Cockpit Professional with head-up display, Harman Kardon surround sound. Broadly worth it. These are the boxes used buyers look for, so a decent slice of the cost comes back in the residual, and a head-up display in a car this size is genuinely useful.
- Comfort Pack — heated front and rear seats, heated and cooled cupholder, the Heat Comfort System. A quality-of-life pack. Cheap in monthly terms and you will notice it every winter morning.
- M Sport Pro Pack — 22-inch double-spoke alloys, Shadowline exterior trim, M Sport brakes with red calipers. This is the one I would think hardest about. Twenty-two-inch wheels on a leased car are a liability: kerb damage is the single most common end-of-contract recharge I see, replacement tyres are eye-watering, the ride suffers on British roads, and on the plug-in hybrid bigger wheels can nibble at the certified electric range. Beautiful. Risky.
- Metallic paint — almost never worth skipping. Solid colours hurt residuals on premium SUVs, and funders know it.
One practical limitation to plan around: the broker listings available on 11 August 2026 offer the third-row seat option on the diesel and petrol X5s but not on the xDrive50e. The plug-in hybrid’s battery lives under the boot floor. If you need seven seats, the diesel is your only route in this model — and if the third row is a deal-breaker, look at the X7 before you compromise.
Where residual values quietly set your payment
Two derivatives with near-identical list prices can be £150 a month apart, and the reason is almost always the residual value forecast rather than anything you can see on a spec sheet. Funders reprice those forecasts regularly, so the ranking shifts. Diesel X5s have historically been strong holders of value in the UK because the trade wants them; plug-in hybrids have been more volatile, propped up by company car demand that ultimately depends on tax policy staying put.
That is a judgement, not a guarantee, and I would not build a four-year decision on it. What I would do is treat it as a reason to quote every derivative you would happily live with, on identical terms, on the same day — and then let the numbers rank them rather than your assumptions. That is exactly the discipline set out in Part 1, and it is worth more than any brand loyalty.
For the fundamentals of contract hire on this particular car, our BMW X5 leasing guide is the place to start, and if you are still weighing ownership against renting, the BMW X5 finance guide sets PCP and hire purchase against a lease. Anyone whose decision hinges on tax should also read our coverage of how car tax is changing in 2026, because the direction of travel matters over a four-year contract.
Continue reading: Part 3 — how to get the best BMW X5 lease price, and avoid the traps
Frequently asked questions
Is the BMW X5 xDrive50e or the xDrive40d cheaper to lease?
On like-for-like terms the plug-in hybrid is often cheaper. At Nationwide Vehicle Contracts on 11 August 2026 the xDrive50e M Sport was advertised from £520.54 a month inc VAT and the xDrive40d M Sport from £692.33, both on 48 months, 5,000 miles a year and a 12-month initial rental. That gap reflects demand and manufacturer support, not build cost, and it can reverse when support changes.
What company car tax will I pay on a BMW X5 xDrive50e in 2026/27?
BMW quotes a WLTP electric range of up to 68 miles for the xDrive50e, which places it in HMRC's 40-69 mile band for cars emitting 1-50g/km. That band is 10% in 2026/27. On an illustrative P11D of £80,000 that is £8,000 of taxable benefit, so roughly £267 a month for a 40% taxpayer. Always confirm the certified range for your exact build before you sign.
Can you get a seven-seat BMW X5 plug-in hybrid?
No. The broker listings available on 11 August 2026 offer the third-row seat option on the diesel and petrol X5 derivatives but not on the xDrive50e, because the plug-in hybrid's battery occupies the space under the boot floor. If you genuinely need seven seats, the diesel is your only route in the X5 range.
Are 22-inch wheels worth having on a leased BMW X5?
For most lease customers, no. They come with the M Sport Pro Pack and they look superb, but on a car you hand back they raise your risk of kerb-damage recharges at the end of the contract, tyres cost more to replace, and larger wheels can reduce the certified WLTP electric range on the plug-in hybrid. The 20-inch or 21-inch options are the pragmatic choice.
Should I lease an X5 in xLine or M Sport trim?
M Sport dominates the used market for this car, so funders tend to forecast stronger residual values for it, which can narrow or even erase the monthly gap despite the higher list price. Price both on identical terms before assuming the cheaper list price wins — on a lease you are paying for depreciation, not for the sticker.
Does an X5 lease price depend on which options I choose?
Yes, but not in proportion to the option price. Options that the used market values, such as metallic paint and the Technology Pack, are partly recovered in the residual value forecast, so they add less to the monthly than their list cost implies. Options with weak used-market appeal add close to their full cost spread across the term.