The 601hp electric 5 Series estate is here - is it all the wagon you'll ever need?Nobody could accuse BMW of not giving its customers a choice. In the most comprehensive 5 Series offering yet, there are petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and electric derivatives available for the eighth generation. Talk about covering all the bases.
The launch route sees some autobahn action almost immediately. It’s a very good method for endearing you to the car because nothing demonstrates what it’s good at like motorway miles. And, historically speaking, for private and company buyers alike, that's where this car is going to spend a lot of its time. No coincidence then that the i5 is superb on a multi-lane road, unerringly stable, fantastically refined and hugely cosseting.
Anyway. On smaller roads the M60's punch is undeniable - that headline figure may only be a launch overboost function, yet even at its constant 517hp figure the i5 feels faster than the more powerful, lighterever did. This isn’t at the shocking end of EV performance, although an M5 is going to have to be a monster of a car to feel meaningfully more accelerative. Or perhaps it will only make its superiority known above the i5’s 143mph limiter.
But as die-hard enthusiasts, it would certainly be nice to be able to impose yourself on proceedings a little more; to have more adjustability in the regen and more obviously tweakable traction control. Yet it’s hard to meaningfully pick fault with a car that gets so much done with such authority. It inspires lavish confidence. The 5 Series has never been the world’s most exciting saloon or estate, rather it’s delivered across the board for generations - and that quality is unmistakable.