The third installment of Car and Driver's new podcast Into Cars sees editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga and chief brand and content officer Eddie Alterman explore the similarities and differences between BMW's gas-powered 5-series sedan and its electric counterpart, the i5. The 540i xDrive is the BMW 5-series as you already know it. It's a mid-size luxury sports sedan with multiple decades of experience under its metaphorical belt.
As they drive, the conversation turns to the effect that an engine can have on a vehicle's personality. Good or bad, the engine serves as the beating heart of internal-combustion cars and can make or break their persona. 'They all start to feel the same,' says Alterman on electric vehicles. 'I don't care if it's a Lucid Sapphire or an Ioniq 5 from Hyundai. They all have the same power delivery and they all really have that same character.