Is that crazy iX still behind us? Ah, this sucks. We already drove a similar trip with a Toyota Mirai and an Audi Q4, but then it went very differently. The hydrogen Toyota was in the lead for the entire ride and finally arrived in Ingolstadt five quarters of an hour earlier, without any problems. In this second attempt, the hydrogen drivers have a somewhat more formidable opponent, because that huge iX battery just won’t run out. ‘Team battery’ even just blows past us at a certain point, while the X5 will soon have to make a detour because the intended hydrogen station is closed for maintenance. This is getting exciting.

The hydrogen case

When it comes to the EU’s desire to switch completely to electric transport by 2035, the protest bandwagon is largely led by Germany. Our eastern neighbors seize every opportunity to create an opening to alternatives, such as synthetic fuels for cars with internal combustion engines. That’s not very crazy in all honesty. The German brands in particular have invested heavily in recent years, not least under pressure from the same EU, in making cars with combustion engines cleaner. They also provide a huge industry and therefore a lot of employment. Then there is resistance to the concept of the battery-electric car itself. After all, driving long distances at high speed is something that Germans are ideally suited to, and EVs are naturally somewhat less suitable. To combine that with a fully electric powertrain, there is a good alternative, according to BMW: hydrogen. Although there is enough criticism from the industry about this form of drive, which is not nearly as ‘green’ and efficient as the regular battery EV (BEV), the argument that hydrogen has important advantages for larger vehicles is increasingly being heard. With trucks and buses in particular, a BEV powertrain requires a huge, expensive and heavy battery to achieve somewhat usable range. Charging stops cost business users precious hours and keep the (fast) charging station busy for an unnecessarily long time. A set of hydrogen tanks, linked to a fuel cell that converts the hydrogen into electrical energy, would therefore be a lighter, more convenient and perhaps also a cheaper alternative. If the necessary hydrogen stations for those trucks are there after all, it is relatively easy to also equip some passenger cars with such a powertrain. BMW even states that setting up a complete infrastructure for electric driving can be much easier and cheaper by including not only charging stations, but also hydrogen stations in the implementation. The brand was already working on hydrogen around the turn of the century – with an E38 7-series! – and now wants to prove itself right with the iX5 Hydrogen. This special X5 is not for sale, but will be available in a small edition of a maximum of one hundred units as a kind of mobile testing ground. BMW lends the cars to ministers and other interested parties, but also to the press. Bring it on!

BMW iX5 Hydrogen has front bumper from X5 M

Apart from the extensive sticker work, there is little to see on the outside of the iX5 Hydrogen. In all cases, these are X5s from before the recent facelift, for the simple reason that the development of the hydrogen version was almost completed by then. For extra cooling, BMW mounts the front bumper of the fierce X5 M, but with a unique grille motif from the 3D printer. The huge wheels come from the iX, just like the electric motor on the rear axle. The difference: that iX has one more and therefore has four-wheel drive, while the X5 is a rear-wheel drive. The energy required to deliver the total power of 401 hp only partly comes from the fuel cell. By converting hydrogen into electricity, it delivers a maximum of 170 horsepower. The power is supplemented by a small, but very fast charging and discharging battery, which is fully charged during braking and driving. In fact, the iX5 is a hybrid, even if it always runs electrically. Now that the word hybrid has been used: the fuel cell itself comes from Toyota, although all other components of this special powertrain are from BMW.

Start in Arnhem: charging energy and filling up with hydrogen

We start our ride in Arnhem, where the Shell on Westervoortsedijk has both fast chargers and a hydrogen station. So we can completely top off both cars there, to start the ride in an honest way. The destination: BMW Welt, the futuristic-looking building in Munich in which BMW presents itself to the world. According to Google Maps a journey of 720 kilometers, so that we know for sure that none of the cars will make it without a stopover. The X5 has a theoretical range of 504 kilometers with 6 kg of hydrogen, but the iX comes as 50 thanks to a battery of 108.8 kWh even up to 632 kilometers away. The weather is good today: the sun is shining, it is not too hot and there is no strong wind. The fact that the Germans choose to demonstrate the experimental hydrogen powertrain in an X5 is not only due to the business case described above. After all, this large SUV also simply offers a lot of space, which enabled the developers to conceal all powertrain components invisibly, without losing space anywhere. There is one small exception to this, because there is no extra luggage space under the opening loading floor. That is no different with a plug-in hybrid X5. Also when it comes to weight and power, the iX5 and X5 xDrive45e are very close to each other, so the hydrogen model actually drives very normally. It is ‘just’ an X5, but smoother and quieter. So very nice. Furthermore, the iX is a wonderful travel companion. In terms of size, the two are not even that far apart, but the experience on board is very different. The X5 is more traditional and higher, more of a true SUV, while the iX appears more futuristic with its minimalist interior. It really is a lounge on wheels, where the X5 is above all ‘just’ a big BMW. Matter of taste.

We’re not taking it easy

Then today’s question: How fast are we going to drive? A serious consideration for ‘team iX’, because such a charging stop takes time. In theory, a hydrogen tank barely fills up, so the X5 pedal goes to the bottom after crossing the border. The BMW has a top speed of over 200 kilometers per hour, but only if that small battery also has power. In practice, therefore, it fluctuates somewhat and we reach that 200 during short peaks, but certainly not always. Fortunately, 150 km / h is also smooth, but not smooth enough. Due to the huge battery, the iX is also able to cover entire distances at high speed, so that easy-to-take method is quickly ignored. The first problem quickly looms for the X5, because the intended refueling stop in Limburg aan der Lahn turns out to be impossible due to maintenance work. So take a detour, to a pump that, as an excess of disaster, appears to be located on a partly broken road. Damn, this takes time! After half an hour of worrying, our chances seem lost, because the iX has been happily plowing on all the while.

X5 on hydrogen more susceptible to cracking than Mirai

With a full tank, the X5 is also quite pessimistic about the range after all that tearing: more than 286 kilometers are no longer possible, according to the car. Where the Toyota Mirai previously suffered remarkably little from our heavy right foot, the large and high X5 is indeed sensitive to this. It presents us with a dilemma: refuel again, or try to reach the finish line without a refueling stop? With still 412 kilometers to go, we opt for the fast option again, because otherwise the chance of winning against the EV seems completely lost. After the difficult start, Germany quickly shows itself from a better side, because the hydrogen infrastructure here is certainly better developed than here. With the indispensable H2 Live app, which warned us about the faulty pump, a hydrogen pump can be found around every major city, often at an ‘Autohof’ right at the bottom of the exit. Refueling itself does take a little longer than with a petrol car – just start it up, pump it for a few minutes – but it is still considerably shorter than charging. The colleagues in the iX also notice this, because about an hour before Munich, the X5 rolls past them invisibly during a second charging stop on the adjacent highway. Yes! Now to stay ahead, which is not as obvious as it seems in the afternoon rush hour of the Bavarian capital. Don’t make mistakes now, pay attention! With a slightly sweaty steering wheel we turn the X5 into the entrance of BMW Welt at a quarter to seven, eight hours and forty-five minutes after departure and a few minutes before the iX. The case for hydrogen has been made again, but only close!