[Evilmoretea]

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So my dealership lent me an i5 eDrive40 M Sport Pro for a business trip, as my M240i was slightly delayed in being delivered. As you can guess the fact I have an M240i I like 6 cylinders, turbos and burning dino juice.
This was not only my first i5 impression but my first electric car drive ever!

Design:
This thing looks really good. I love that the bonnet has adopted the streaks you see from the M3 and M4. My car had the optional carbon wing mirror and spoiler which complimented the carbon style trim interior well very nicely.

The iconic glow grille was not popular with any of my friends but I liked it very much.

I like almost every angle of it

Inside like most BMWs it’s a great place to sit, honestly kept thinking I was in something more like a 7 series.

Not much to say, the seats are comfy, it feels premium. I find it interesting the steering wheel is a flat bottom, feels unusual for BMW and overall I prefer the G42 steering wheel design.

Driving experience:
So this was very interesting, was a bit miffed that there’s no traction control or driving mode buttons in the centre console and you can apparently only adapt traction control when in sport mode (which you have to go through the iDrive screen to enable) so not ideal for initiating sporty mode quickly

The drive was smooth but I found the “heavy” energy recovery too much, the car would jerk when I came off throttle. Once I turned it down to medium it was a perfect balance. I’m sure I’d get used to this if I drive electric more often. Overall I was actually surprised at how much like a normal car it felt.

Downhill the car seemed to wait for me to brake and then began intense energy recovery/braking which was confusing at first but actually made driving down steep hills very easy. Better than in a petrol automatic that tries its best to use engine braking.

Both me and my passenger were surprised at how bumpy the car was in some places (UK A roads and motorways) I felt almost every bump however it was never painful. Sometimes uncomfortable as the weight of the car over some large bumps in the road made me move up and down in my seat.

We had the M Sport standard multi link suspension.

Adaptive suspension professional available as an option.

Body roll and agility was pretty poor tbh. I found myself trying to overtake smaller hatchback cars on roundabouts only to encounter uncomfortable body roll which my passenger did no appreciate and so I had to take it much smoother, you make up for it on the straight line acceleration. Was surprised at how much body roll there is even at very average/low speed tights turns. Also high end acceleration was pretty rubbish, boost in sport plus was underwhelming. Everyone goes on about electric cars and their blistering speed but I feel this has been oversold. Side note 119mph top speed on a car that costs nearly £90k What’s that all about?

Driving assistance features:

Yeah this was interesting. So I tried out the assisted driving which is like adaptive cruise except the car can also steer for you (if you keep hands on the wheel) and change lanes. I’d suggest to turn down the distance to the car in front as the thing would brake harshly anytime someone pulled in front of me.

Additionally the adaptive cruise kept randomly thinking I was in a 50 mph average speed zone on the motorway, when the speed limit was actually 70mph. This happened more than twice and whilst I was overtaking in lane 3 the car suddenly began to brake down to 50 mph whilst there were cars behind! Also even when it correctly predicts a reduction in speed limit ahead. The recovery/braking is far from smooth. I’d probably switch all of these things off.

Luckily the speed limit warning is not very annoying and can easily be disabled (everytime you switch the car on) with a long press of the large “SET” button on the steering wheel

I didn’t option the 3D parking view on my M240i but I am glad this car had it. My very first stop was Heathrow airport parking and the 3D view made me feel very comfortable manoeuvring the car around tight spaces. Although I was surprised at how easy to park the car was even without these.

Range and charging:
Was told to expect 300+ miles range from a full charge. Now in fairness it was cold - 3 degrees C. I was also driving at motorway speeds for most of the journey with only a short acceleration test. We got about 200 miles.

Charging was impossible. Both in the city and the 3 service stations I went to alone the M4, I could not find a single working charger that didn’t have a queue.

First station only had two chargers for normal EV and then a Tesla charger station
(I don’t know if the Tesla charger would have worked because there were 4 cars on charge and 4 cars queuing to charge)

Next service stations had loads of chargers… but not a single one was working. Plenty of taycans and other BMW EV owners sat there on the phone with the company desperately trying to get it to work in the cold) So in the end I cut my trip short and just about had enough range to drop the car back at the dealer. Continued the final 10 miles of the trip back on the good old Dinosaur juice.

To summarise:

It’s a great looking car, for a minute I really wanted one. If you’re usually a diesel driver doing motorways up to 200 miles and have access to charging at work or home then I’d say go for it. Otherwise for town, B roads and cities I’d avoid. Basically it’s a nice chauffeur/taxi car.

I personally could never justify the £80-£90k on one for what it is.

EDIT (clarified which suspension option was fitted)

[PsychDoc]

Re: the harsh ride, what size rims did the car have? I'm assuming 20" or 21" which would make the car less compliant over potholes and bumps. I ask because no other reviewer that I've seen or read mentions any concerns about harshness.

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

Re: the harsh ride, what size rims did the car have? I'm assuming 20" or 21" which would make the car less compliant over potholes and bumps. I ask because no other reviewer that I've seen or read mentions any concerns about harshness.

20" 938 M Star Spoke BiColour Jet Black alloy wheels

It was not that the car was harsh exactly. The bumps were noticeable and you felt a large movement in the suspension. Especially vertically. It was quite smooth, just you’re very aware of every bump even though it’s not painful. If that makes any sense.

There was this one section of the A419 which has some invisible bumps in the road, when hit at 70mph gave a similar sensation to going over a normal speed bump at 20-30. I felt my body go light as it lifted from the seat on the drop down.

It was also the first thing my passenger noticed in comparison to his Audi (not sure which one he has)

It was the level of comfort I’d expect from something like a 2/3 series but not from the 5. Just made the car feel a bit cheap.

I think the weight was largely to blame, didn’t feel like the suspension was up to the job. We had the M sport suspension and drive mode was in personal.


But take all this with a grain of salt as it’s just my experience and I only had the car for a day covering a mere 200 miles. Certainly didn’t push it to its limits. I’d encourage you to test it if you’re ordering.

Edit: Corrected the suspension type from adaptive to M Sport

[deutsch100]

The car you drove was M Sport or no? In the USA...M Sport comes with air suspension.

I took delivery of my i5 M60 on 12/30 and it is as comfortable and road isolated as the two i7 I drove. Myself and my family cannot believe how road imperfections are just almost gone. I have 21" wheels.

[RichardInCA]

Great review! I do think that the different packages and specs across regions make it really hard to compare/contrast. I see a marked difference in the handling and feel of the car between sport mode and personal or efficient mode on my M60, but that might be to do with the extra suspension goodies on the car.

We’ve got a whole other “see how deep the rabbit hole goes” thread on winter range here…the two things that I think are poorly understood are both temperature and speed have a much higher impact on range than I think is apparent coming from an ICE - the i5 is my first EV and I’ve had it for about 2months now and am starting to get a real sense for this. I will say, range in the M60 in the southern US where we’re above freezing, seems decent. But those in the cold parts of the country are seeing dramatically lower range. The other thing is that the range shown on the dash is an algorithm-driven estimate and fluctuates quite a bit relative to actual range. A rabbit hole, I know.

Anyway, great write up, thanks for sharing!

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by deutsch100

The car you drove was M Sport or no? In the USA...M Sport comes with air suspension.

I took delivery of my i5 M60 on 12/30 and it is as comfortable and road isolated as the two i7 I drove. Myself and my family cannot believe how road imperfections are just almost gone. I have 21" wheels.

It was an “M Sport Pro” UK trim which does not have air suspension as standard. It has “M Sport Suspension” which as far as I can tell from professional reviews and speaking to dealers is normal multi link and not air.

There is an option for Adaptive Suspension Professional which doesn’t specifically state that it is air suspension. The only actual reference to air suspension I can find is from media reviews that state this option provides the same air suspension from on the rear axle only.

Attached a screenshot of the US description of the standard suspension on the M Sport model.

And also the UK spec option description for the adaptive suspension professional.

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

Great review! I do think that the different packages and specs across regions make it really hard to compare/contrast. I see a marked difference in the handling and feel of the car between sport mode and personal or efficient mode on my M60, but that might be to do with the extra suspension goodies on the car.

We’ve got a whole other “see how deep the rabbit hole goes” thread on winter range here…the two things that I think are poorly understood are both temperature and speed have a much higher impact on range than I think is apparent coming from an ICE - the i5 is my first EV and I’ve had it for about 2months now and am starting to get a real sense for this. I will say, range in the M60 in the southern US where we’re above freezing, seems decent. But those in the cold parts of the country are seeing dramatically lower range. The other thing is that the range shown on the dash is an algorithm-driven estimate and fluctuates quite a bit relative to actual range. A rabbit hole, I know.

Anyway, great write up, thanks for sharing!

Certainly encountered the speed effect on range in my situation. To eek out the last few miles I dropped down below 60 and saw massive improvements.
Similar on ICE you expect speed to have an effect on range but it is so much more noticeable on an EV than I expected.

BMW petrol automatic cars use efficient dynamics to intelligently de-couple the transmission and allow for coasting. I don’t know if they do this or if it is possible to do something similar in the i5 electric motors. When I was in efficient mode and had the live vehicle up, I think it did mention something about cruising or coasting.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for the review

[RichardInCA]

Originally Posted by Evilmoretea

Certainly encountered the speed effect on range in my situation. To eek out the last few miles I dropped down below 60 and saw massive improvements.
Similar on ICE you expect speed to have an effect on range but it is so much more noticeable on an EV than I expected.

BMW petrol automatic cars use efficient dynamics to intelligently de-couple the transmission and allow for coasting. I don’t know if they do this or if it is possible to do something similar in the i5 electric motors. When I was in efficient mode and had the live vehicle up, I think it did mention something about cruising or coasting.

I think the closest is the settings in the D mode - you can dial up and down the amount of regenerative braking vs coasting that is applied, with B mode (one pedal driving) being the most aggressive. I’ve not yet worked out whether B mode (max regen) that I’ve come to like, is actually less efficient in some settings as after you finish a burst of regen, you need to spend more battery energy to maintain/regain target speed relative to if you just coast.

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

I think the closest is the settings in the D mode - you can dial up and down the amount of regenerative braking vs coasting that is applied, with B mode (one pedal driving) being the most aggressive. I’ve not yet worked out whether B mode (max regen) that I’ve come to like, is actually less efficient in some settings as after you finish a burst of regen, you need to spend more battery energy to maintain/regain target speed relative to if you just coast.

Ah I did not notice the B mode I believe I was in D all the time. I saw that in the driving settings I could adjust regen therre

[Scrapula]

Nice review. I used to live in the UK. I can’t imagine anyone in the US trying to overtake in a roundabout. We just had a double roundabout put in where I live last year. There have been 42 accidents, people get in the wrong lane and just move over, etc.

I’m sure the suspension is different in the US spec. I whip around 30 mph curves without body roll. Our roads are pretty decent here in Washington State, too. I’ve noticed that I barely feel it driving over speed bumps in parking lots, where my Jaguar would jar me.

The instant torque thing is more apparent in the M60 and considering it is not one of the speedier EVs out there is saying something. I never have the need to get to 60mph in under 4 seconds or under 3 like the Model S Plaid. I really only use the power on freeway on ramps.

I agree that it mostly feels like driving any other car. The interior is pure BMW. Not as luxe as the 7 series, but also $50k less money.

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by Scrapula

Nice review. I used to live in the UK. I can’t imagine anyone in the US trying to overtake in a roundabout. We just had a double roundabout put in where I live last year. There have been 42 accidents, people get in the wrong lane and just move over, etc.

I’m sure the suspension is different in the US spec. I whip around 30 mph curves without body roll. Our roads are pretty decent here in Washington State, too. I’ve noticed that I barely feel it driving over speed bumps in parking lots, where my Jaguar would jar me.

The instant torque thing is more apparent in the M60 and considering it is not one of the speedier EVs out there is saying something. I never have the need to get to 60mph in under 4 seconds or under 3 like the Model S Plaid. I really only use the power on freeway on ramps.

I agree that it mostly feels like driving any other car. The interior is pure BMW. Not as luxe as the 7 series, but also $50k less money.

I think the optional adaptive suspension Pro would be worth the extra money. Having said that, the charging situation here in the UK is abysmal and even if you have charging at home and at work, I wouldn’t be prepared to drop £80k on a car that could not rely on to get me more than 200 miles thanks to the state of our service station chargers

[mariopl]

I think 200 miles = 320km is decent for 81kW battery. I got the same figures in winter condition in my i4 M50, though is more powerful. In summer I get easily 400-420km.
But the question is how fast did you drive on motorway? Was it like 140km/h or rather 100-120km/h? If the latter one the result is really poor as for the car with just one engine
By the way, how is the car handling in snow?

[Evilmoretea]

Originally Posted by mariopl

I think 200 miles = 320km is decent for 81kW battery. I got the same figures in winter condition in my i4 M50, though is more powerful. In summer I get easily 400-420km.
But the question is how fast did you drive on motorway? Was it like 140km/h or rather 100-120km/h? If the latter one the result is really poor as for the car with just one engine
By the way, how is the car handling in snow?

At the higher speeds you certainly notice a big reduction in range compared with 100km/h