Despite ragebait ‘news sites’ screaming that the end of EVs is nigh, for the past several months global EV sales were up over 20% year-on-year in 2024, and are on track to hit a 30% increase in 2025. Still, a shaky post-COVID wartime global economy and a flood of affordable Chinese EVs have forced traditional automakers to rethink their EV strategies, as they struggle with competitiveness and cost.
Take the BMW i5: Unlike bespoke EVs from Audi and Mercedes, this is built on the exact same platform as the regular ICE-powered 5-Series. Which sounds like a recipe for disaster, or at least crippling compromise. Oddly enough, however, the i5 is actually a pretty damn good car.
Styling
The G60 5-Series trades on BMW’s traditional strengths. The long hood and short rear deck give it a pure sports sedan profile. That long snout is required to house BMW’s trademark inline six engines, while the raised rear deck allows for a gently sloping roofline without resorting to tiny trunk opening, as on the odd-ish BMW GT models.
The sides are relatively unadorned, aside from a vaguely carbon fiber-ish accent, and a chrome window strip disguising the heft of the roof pillars. There’s some waviness at the edge of the door stampings, but the panel gaps are, in general, laser-tight.
Up front is a subdued version of the oversized kidney grille that debuted on the 7. While it still bleeds up into the hood, it’s much more subtle. There are fake grille slats printed on the solid plastic cover, but thankfully, it doesn’t light up like a Christmas tree, as on more expensive variants. The rear is more subtle than the previous 5-Series, and features L-shaped accents reminiscent of the 7. Also relatively subdued are the wheels, at a modest 19 inches. A bit small in this day and age, but perfect fitment for a serious sports sedan.
ALSO READ:
PH fuel price update: Massive P2.70/L increase for diesel effective January 21
The 2025 BYD Atto 3 gets an upgraded interior and retains its P1.598-M starting price
Interior
The cabin is austere and Germanic compared to recent Mercs, save for the large LED strip running through the dash into the doors. There are no visible AC vents on that dash. Instead, hidden vents blow air out over the LED strip, much like a Dyson fan. Small joysticks control air direction in what feels like mechanical voodoo. Also built into the strip are various touch controls for the HVAC and lights.
Unfortunately, the haptics aren’t great, the headlights and emergency flasher being particularly irritating. Condensation from the A/C also tends to frost up the panel when it’s humid out, making HVAC control even fiddlier.
Above the strip, a wraparound display houses a 14.9-inch infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. These are canted towards the driver and sit right below the scuttle, so as not to interfere with outward visibility. There’s a hidden camera between the screens, to monitor if the driver is falling asleep.
Below the dash is the expected gadget shelf, sized for two phones side-by-side. There’s a tiny transmission toggle, and a control puck for the infotainment system, surrounded by a smattering of infotainment controls and a rather poorly marked drive mode button (more on that later). There’s a center console with a split lid, but it’s rather shallow due to the rear AC system and batteries packed in the transmission tunnel.
The chunky, flat-bottomed quartic steering wheel looks suitably exciting, but the spongy leather feels a few millimeters too thick. The driving position is rather nice, with a decent view, though sadly there’s no active lumbar or side bolster adjustment. Rear seats have less legroom than EV competitors like the EQE, but headroom benefits from a low hip point, and sensibly high roof. Quite comfortable for two. The center position is compromised by the transmission tunnel and the batteries underneath.
The trunk is similarly compromised due to the hardware underneath, and a safety spare sitting right in the middle of that floor. Even if you decide to leave the spare at home, trunk space isn’t great. You don’t get a frunk, either. The cavernous space left by the absent six-cylinder engine is filled with chassis braces, and coolant hoses, hidden underneath a comically large insulated engine cover.
Performance
Even without a giant, phallic, inline six engine, the i5’s 335hp electric rear-drive gives you all the thrust you need. 0-100kph dispatched in a tested 5.7sec. Well ahead of any direct competitor at this price. Top speed is a limited 190kph, not that you’ll ever see it in Philippine traffic, and mixed energy efficiency hovers in the 4.5 km/kWh range, and up to 7 km/kWh in normal highway driving.
There are five drive modes, but only two actually change how the i5 drives. ‘MyDrive’ is your basic starting mode, ‘Sport’ gives you more aggressive performance and the option of heavier steering and more relaxed dynamic chassis control, and ‘Eco’ dulls motor response and lowers AC and accessory draw to save battery. There are no direct controls to adjust regenerative braking, simply a Drive/Brake switch, and a regenerative braking adjustment hidden deep in some random submenu.
An additional ‘Maximum Economy’ sub-mode turns off the AC and limits top speed to 90kph. It is a special kind of hell driving a sports sedan this way, but allows an impressive 9 km/kWh in mixed Manila driving. With the big 84kWh battery, that gives you remarkable range potential.
Ride and handling
Of course, BMWs are more about driving dynamics than energy efficiency. And here, the big BMW both impresses and disappoints.
Disappointment first. That big, spongy steering wheel feels overly light at low speeds, and only marginally improves on the highway. It is still precise, yes, but even in Sport Mode, a Logitech gaming wheel has more heft and gravitas.
But fly into a bend at speed, loading up those 245/45R19 Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 tires, and the steering comes pleasingly alive. Writhing with feedback, with a strong self centering action that makes you work to hold a line under hard cornering. Even tire fitment at all four corners results in a nicely neutral balance. It isn’t quite as lively as BMW’s best, too heavy and soft for that, but I struggle to think of an EV that isn’t an Ioniq 5 N or a Porsche Taycan that drives better than this.
Unlike the 5 N, this isn’t a hardcore hatchback. While you can fling it around at silly speeds, it is best at 8/10ths, flowing with the road like a 2.3-ton Mazda Miata. The stiff unsquirmy Hankooks ride surprisingly well over rough surfaces, whether inflated to 36psi for solo drives or 42psi for a full passenger load. Thank you, BMW for ditching the rock-hard runflats.
Throttle back, and the i5 boasts most of the niceties you need to make it through the daily grind. 360-degree parking sensors, a reverse camera, pedestrian detection, and auto braking. There are no side cameras for parking, but there’s enough tire sidewall to protect your wheels from curb rash. An even bigger omission is adaptive cruise control, which really ought to be standard on anything north of P1,500,000.
Extra features
There are a few other things missing, too. Automatic unlocking, for one. A sunroof, for another, though the automatic rear sunshade is something local buyers will likely appreciate more, given our scorching summers.
You get wireless charging and smartphone connectivity, but only one of the two phone pads features a charger, and bluetooth is laggy. And the Harman Kardon branded sound system lacks adjustability and oomph.
This is mostly forgiveable, but what’s a bit less so is the control ergonomics. A lot of functions are buried in touchscreen submenus. Even with the crystal control puck on the console, it’s not a fun exercise to navigate. And despite having five Drive Modes, there’s very little mode customizability, and sometimes you wish you could combine mode features. The interior color schema of ‘Expressive’ would go well with ‘Sport,’ while ‘Relaxed’ mode would be nice to pair with ‘Eco.’ And I do wish you got more choices for ‘Iconic Sounds.’ The chosen sounds are nice, but the Koreans do that one better.
Verdict
Fake sounds aside, the i5 is more than just an electric commuter. It’s a sports sedan that’s actually practical. Yes, there are other EV sedans out there, but none of them drive like a BMW. This eDrive40 sits where a 540i would, otherwise, at a price point closer to the old 530d. Where that money once got you a stripped 5-Series with a loud diesel, it now gets you a decently loaded electric scorcher with impressive road manners and performance.
Granted, some EVs boast bigger batteries, and more range, but as an electric sports sedan, the i5 is just about perfect. Like Lexus, BMW is focused on comforting buyers with the familiar rather than overwhelming them with new tech. And apart from a few minor ergonomic kinks, the i5 will make long-time 5-Series enthusiasts feel right at home.
SPECS: BMW i5 eDrive40 2024
Price: P5,790,000
Engine: Single electrically excited synchronous motor with 84kWh battery capacity
Power: 340hp
Torque: 430Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Drive layout: RWD
Seating: 5
Score: 8.5/10
More photos of the BMW i5 eDrive40 2024:
