Electrification is gradually reaching every conceivable genre, even hypercars and hot hatches. But the estate car was largely ignored in the initial stampede to turn out EV saloons,, adds an old favourite to the mix. BMW’s shifted 1.2 million 5-series Tourings since the first-gen launched in 1991, and reckons the numbers add up on a sixth-gen car.
That said, the i5s remain an impressive machine in terms of dynamics, comfort and particularly refinement. As with the flagship i7 noise, vibration and harshness simply aren’t granted entry to the cockpit, even when you lean on the performance and the composure to cover ground rapidly. Tricky country roads, paved city streets, tortuous hillside complexes – the i5 M60 monsters then all. In a lesser, combustion-engined car, it’d be all tortured engine, squealing tyres, frantic shifts and ragged effort. In the all-wheel-drive, roll-controlled and impeccably suspended i5 M60 Touring , with its silent but savage twin-motor powertrain , the mood is somnolent, wanting only for the soothing tinkle of formal-garden fountains and the gentle plucking of a harp.
The i5 eDrive 40 Touring is a fine drive in its own right, its normal-car behaviour almost reassuring after the M60’s surreal composure. For most it’ll be the best option, not least for its slightly superior efficiency and range.The Assisted Driving Plus tech, currently only online and functional in Germany, the US and Canada, is compelling, combining indefinite hands-off-the-wheel intelligent cruise with BMW’s glance-at-a-side-mirror automatic lane-change functionality.
BMW’s charging route planner is also improved – intuitive and with some nice functions, like being able to block out certain charger locations and filter by charger power, for example.No, not quite. As with the saloon, the weaknesses are inert steering, a real-world range of some 240 miles and punchy pricing, which floats the i5 eDrive 40 into Model 3 Performance-infested waters, even if Elon’s car’s smaller and not an estate.