We ’re a number of days into the transition to electrification in the automotive man , but in the US , there still are n’t quite as many options as there could be . Part of that has to do with the fact that bequest automaker are still transitioning over to galvanic drivetrains . While most companies do offer at least one fomite , the vast majority of them certainly do n’t have as many EVs as they do methamphetamine car .
The thoroughgoing example of that is the man of electrical sedans . To be unmortgaged , companies prioritize sedan less in general in the US considering the proliferation of larger vehicle like crossovers and SUV . But what if you do desire an electrical sedan and you live in the US ? Well , I cerebrate you should considerthe BMW i5 .
Before I go on , yes , Iknowthat the BMW i5 is expensive , and out of damage range for many buyers . It ’s out of price reach forme — but after driving a 2024 BMW i5 eDrive40 for the last week , it would certainly be near the top of my leaning if I did have a little more immediate payment in the bank .
Luxury design
The things that are enceinte about the BMW i5 are the things you wouldexpectto be great . They ’re the thing that BMW has been getting correct for decades .
For fledgling , the fomite is unbelievably luxurious — though without venturing into overkill territorial dominion , like the i7 . The DoI of the vehicle is almost indistinguishable to the flatulence - powered 5 - serial , which is a good thing here .
The i5 is well-situated and roomy , in both the first and second rows , and the seats are extend in a exchange premium - feeling stitch leather . There ’s plenty of great - looking accent light , and the materials throughout the fomite are clear high-pitched - goal .
The space inside the vehicle is one of the main thing that sets it apart from the humble i4 — especially in the 2d row . In other words , if you on a regular basis drive around a home , the larger fomite might be deserving considering .
The outside front majuscule too . BMW has scale back from the oversized kidney grilles of a few years ago , and the previous models look unmistakably BMW , but in a good way . Of course , the “ kidney grille ” on the i5 is only there for show , but it does n’t search bad at all .
The i5 I drove for the past hebdomad had the BMW M Sport Package too . That gives it things like premium wheels , carbon roughage styling , and more . Most multitude wo n’t postulate that — but I certainly enjoyed having it .
All of this comes together in a way of life that by all odds sets the BMW i5 apart from other electric saloon . Cheaper sedans , like the Ioniq 6 simply ca n’t match the agiotage face and find of the i5 , but even similarly - price eV do n’t quite offer everything you may get here . The Lucid Air , for example , is a great vehicle — but it is n’t quite as well - built as the i5 , and I opt the design of the i5 . The main contender in my view is the i4 — which is also great , but again , not as swelled .
Zippy and responsive
The lavishness inside , of path , is n’t surprising from a 5 - series . Nor is the fantabulous performance . The BMW i5 performs very well . As mentioned , my review mannequin was an i5 eDrive40 , which is nowhere near as impressive as the much faster i5 M60 . For the M60 , however , you ’ll have to make up almost $ 20,000 supernumerary — and frankly , the functioning on offer by the i5 eDrive40 will bemorethan enough for most .
These days , it ’s comfortable to focus on 0 - 60 mph times for cable car performance — but there ’s a whole lot more to railway car performance than that . Sure , the i5 eDrive40 may not quite mate the likes of the execution - concentre Teslas , but it still feel very flying , whether through speed up on an on - incline , or simply overtaking a vehicle on the freeway . It helps to put it in Sport mode too — which sacrifice driving range by putting even more power into those wheels . The vehicle has 335 H.P. and 295 pound - ft of torque , and it can accelerate from 0 - 60 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds .
It handled attractively too . It rent corners like a title-holder , hug the road with minimum list — even while speed up .
The range is n’t bad — though it could be effective . The i5 eDrive40 gets 295 miles of range , allot to the EPA , and it can charge at up to 205kW , which is n’t bad .
Not a tech company
But the i5 sure is n’t perfect — and it fall into many of the same pitfalls that other legacy car maker fall into . In other word of honor , BMW is n’t a tech company — and if it ’s seek to become one , it has a long fashion to go .
Like some others , BMW has wad most controls into the infotainment display , include things like clime controls . Unlike other automakers , while there aresomeclimate controls constantly on the blind , they really only mount to being able-bodied to control the temperature . That ’s right — nothing for fan focal ratio , fan selection , and so on . There ’s a consecrate capacitive button for window defogging , but when it come clock time to turn defoggingoff , it wo n’t default on back to the setting you were using before the windows becloud up — provide me throb in the cold fan in the middle of wintertime .
That of course , is n’t to name the real software , which is poorly - designed at substantially . I was forced to use the build up - in infotainment presentation for the hebdomad , because CarPlay would n’t work decently . BMW ’s self - developed infotainment organisation has surely gotten good , but it ’s still perplexing , a little slow , and looks dated . And , I care BMW would bestow back some of those physical climate controls .
But , at the end of the day , if Iboughtan i5 , I ’d spend more time getting CarPlay to lick in good order ( like it has in most other BMWs I ’ve aim ) — and then , I ’d likely void using the build - in software program the vast majority of the meter , except when I ’m forced to for thing like clime options .
Should you buy the BMW i5?
The BMW i5 is an excellent electric sedan chair — but there are others worth considering too . TheLucid Airis a good EV , with a much better range and better software , but I prefer the upcountry build - quality of the i5 . There are cheaper electric sedans ( even if there are n’t many ) , like the Ioniq 6 — but while gets jolly close to the i5 when it come to EV stuff ( and even beat it in things like bill upper ) , it does n’t look as premium or feel as luxurious . In other words , the BMW i5 certainly is n’t for everyone — but if you want a luxury electric sedan with a bit of room on the interior , it ’s dead worth considering .
