An entire decade after the launch of its first full production electric vehicle, the i3, BMW has finally revealed its full electric version of the 5 Series, its second most popular car globally.
Well actually, it's two versions. The new BMW i5 eDrive40 will supposedly offer 361-mile range, while the sportier BMW i5 M60 xDrive 600-hp version will apparently launch from zero to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds, though the range drops to 320 miles.
Aesthetically, BMW isn't going to mess too much with a popular design, but just like with the recent high-end i7, this eighth-generation vehicle has grown in length, width, and height. Unlike the i7, the i5 will not sport a fold-down TV, though. Backseat Netflix fans will be upset.
The i5 eDrive40 is rear-wheel drive, with the electric motor located directly in the rear axle, generating 340 hp and 400 newton-meters of torque. The zero-to-62 mph sprint is significantly lower than the M version, but at six seconds flat it should be plenty fast enough for most. Maximum speed is limited to 120 mph. BMW is claiming combined power consumption between 19.5 and 15.9 kilowatt-hours per 62 miles.
If 120 mph is somehow not enough for you, the all-wheel drive i5 M60 xDrive has motors on both the front and rear axles. The rear motor generates 340 hp, and the front 261 hp. The torque generated by both is 795 newton-meters but goes on to reach 820 when “boost” or launch control is activated. Max speed is limited, thank heavens, to 143 mph. Power consumption is a claimed 20.6 to 18.2 kilowatt-hours per 62 miles.
That almost unnecessary boost feature on both cars is operated by a shift paddle near the left steering wheel spoke. If the paddle is pulled for more than 0.8 seconds, maximum acceleration is triggered. The drive sound changes at the same time for those who like fake noise pumped into the cabin.
Next, a word on pricing. Normally such boring matters are left to the end of car reveal articles, but you might want to consider the following: The i5 eDrive40 will start from $66,800 in the US, but the UK price will start at £73,200. Yes, you read that right. After currency conversion, UK customers are being asked to pay £20,000 more than US punters for the same car.
It gets worse for the i5 M60 xDrive. That will retail at £96,840 in the UK, while in the US it will be $84,100, which means the Brits will pay nearly £29,000 more than the Americans for the same car. I asked BMW why there was such an enormous difference in price between the countries; all it would say was that “pricing varies by market.” But even factoring sales taxes and Brexit, the disparity seems stark. Bad luck for UK buyers.
With that unpleasantness over, let's turn to the battery itself. The i5 uses the same eDrive system seen on BMW's iX and i7. It's also built on the same architecture as the 7 Series. The 81.2-kWh flat pack is fitted in the underbody to save space. That pack can be charged with DC up to 205 kW. This means refilling the battery from 10 to 80 percent in around 30 minutes, if you find the right charger. Indeed, BMW says range can be increased by up to 97 miles in 10 minutes at a DC fast-charging station when starting with a low charge level of 10 percent.
While driving, if you don't fancy manually choosing the energy recovery levels in braking, the car can use data from its navigation and driver assistance systems to adjust how much power is recuperated. Of course, the i5 has a number of other tricks to boost range by conserving power. These include an “efficient” driving mode that supposedly increases the range of the i5 by as much as 25 percent by limiting drive power and speed, as well as “reduced comfort functions.”
“Max range” mode, designed for situations where a planned charging stop is no longer possible (which is becoming increasingly likely as more EVs replace combustion cars on the road while charging infrastructure lags behind) is more brutal. Speed is immediately limited to just 56 mph, air conditioning is deactivated, and steering wheel, seat heating, and ventilation are shut off.
Something called “air flap control” can apparently increase the electric range of the i5 by up to 16 miles by opening the cooling air intakes in the iconic BMW kidney grille, the lower cooling air intake, and brake cooling ducts only when required. Turbulence-reducing “air curtains,” which direct the airflow from the front apron past the front wheels, supposedly increase range by up to 1.25 miles (well, everything helps) while the clever light alloy wheels seen already on the iX can potentially give you an extra 6 miles.
Inside, naturally, there's more tech. The fancy curved dashboard display is brought over from the recent models, and the “interaction bar” seen in the i7 is here now, too. Limited voice control comes via BMW's Intelligent Personal Assistant, which now responds to instructions from rear-seat passengers as well. You'll probably shun this in favor of Amazon Alexa, which is also available and allows you to check your i5's battery status or activate preconditioning using an Echo Dot or similar smart speaker.
But it's the addition of in-car gaming that BMW seems most excited about for the i5. The company has loaded in AirConsole so anyone in the car can play an OK-but-not-exactly-stellar list of streamed games while the vehicle is stationary or charging. Your smartphones can act as game controllers. The titles number 20 or so right now, and most are generic knockoffs of classics, but there are at least a couple of gems in there, such as Overcooked.
For audio to go with that gaming, the standard Harman Kardon surround system with 12 speakers and a 205-watt amplifier should more than suffice, but of course you can pimp this to an optional 18-speaker Bowers & Wilkins setup with 655-watt amp if you're willing to tick that box.
And in addition to BMW's ultra-wideband key tech—which lets you unlock and lock the car using your phone, Apple Watch, or digital keys shared with others—BMW's optional “tech pack” includes an interior camera in the roof so passengers can, if they must, take photos and record videos, then share them by scanning a QR code in the control display. More usefully, you can also use this camera to take a look at the car cabin remotely via the BMW app. Sensibly, it's also activated when the anti-theft recorder is triggered.
BMW has been making the 5 Series since 1972. However, in the US, with the rising popularity of SUVs among other factors, the 5's sales in 2022 were half what they were in 2018. BMW will likely be hoping that these EV iterations of one of its flagship models, bested only by the 3 Series in popularity globally, will turn this decline around when i5s become available in October later this year.
