It’s now 8 years since BMW began manufacturing its first electric car, the wonderful little i3. Today BMW has launched the latest generation 5 series in Ireland. The styling isn’t a huge departure from previous iterations, building on those thick shoulders and hunkered down haunches, it has lots of sharp lines with a finely tuned front end. The front now has slimmer headlights than before and the grille is blanked off to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The 10cm gain in length over the old 5 Series gives the latest version a sleek profile with a low drag coefficient but not as low as the Mercedes EQE. Right now on BMWs website you can order the BMW i5 M60 xDrive Saloon M Sport, starting from €91,105 and the M model from €120,205.
Taking inspiration from the latest 7 series, the new 5 Series comes with multiple powertrain options, including the new electric i5, as well as hybrid & petrol models. As well as a more athletic looking saloon, the BMW i5 Touring is due to arrive in spring 2024 as an all-electric model in the estate car segment. In even better news, the new M5 flagship will also be available. The i5 M60 xDrive has a motor on each axle for four-wheel drive and a combined output of 593 bhp and 820 Nm of torque & can reach 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds.
As expected it’s longer, wider and slightly higher, with the i5’s boot space at 490 litres which means it has 30 litres less than the combustion engined petrol 5 Series.
Inside, a pair of curved screens are easily viewed by front seat passengers and accessed by the centre of the dashboard using BMW’s latest iDrive 8. BMW’s ‘Interaction Bar’ as seen on the 7 Series and i7 uses a slim, backlit control panel that runs across the entire dashboard and into the front doors. Passengers and driver can easily adjust the ventilation and seat settings using this panel. The centre console has had some of the clutter removed, now with a small toggle gear selector and some crystal textiles instead of the traditional stick shifter.
BMW has partnered with gaming platform AirConsole to lessen any car park boredom with in-car gaming which allows passengers to play games while the vehicle is stationary. In addition to the new BMW 5 Series, the AirConsole app will be successively offered in other BMW models. Also available for the first time is a leather free interior, the oddly named Veganza, which will be standard from launch, with Merino leather offered as an option.
Safety systems will include driver assistance technology, including a clever adaptive cruise control system which takes information from a series of cameras to track the drivers eye movement and adaptive suspension will also be available.