Review: BMW i5 M60 electric sports sedan

What is it:

This is BMW’s first foray into a high-performance all-electric successor to the epic M5. It’s called the BMW i5 M60.

The i5 refers to it being based on a 5 Series sedan, and the M60 tag is a pointer to its performance credentials.

Price:

The BMW i5 M60 sedan tested is priced from $215,900 plus on-road costs and the wagon version is priced from $219,900 plus on-road costs.

ANCAP safety rating:

The BMW i5 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating from tests conducted in 2023.

You can read the full ANCAP safety report here.

Engine:

Under the bonnet is a massive electrical system that powers two electric motors (one for the front wheels and another for the rear wheels).

The combined peak outputs are listed as 442kW/795Nm.

The battery pack has a capacity of 81.2kWh and the claimed driving range in ideal conditions is 506km.

BMW claims the average energy consumption of the BMW i5 M60 is 19.5kWh/100km.

On test, our energy consumption dipped to 15.1kWh/100km but climbed to between 20 and 25 kWh/100km during our performance testing.

Transmission:

As with almost every electric car (except with certain Porsche and Audi electric vehicles), the electric motors have one seamless gear ratio.

0 to 100km/h (as tested):

Floor the throttle and the BMW i5 M60 does the 0 to 100kmh dash in 4.0 seconds (based on our precision VBox timing equipment).

Go through the motions and activate Launch Mode (which counts you down from 10 seconds within which you can floor the throttle) and the BMW i5 M60 can do 0 to 100kmh in 3.8 seconds.

That’s quicker than the previous BMW M5 performance sedan.

But the latest BMW M5 sedan has just switched to plug-in hybrid power to assist the twin turbo 4.4-litre V8 and has a 0 to 100kmh claim of 3.5 seconds.

The following makes for uncomfortable reading: other performance electric cars such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Tesla Model 3 Performance or Kia EV6 GT can do 0 to 100kmh in 3.5 seconds (so, faster than the BMW i5 M60 despite costing roughly half as much as the BMW).

Of course, the BMW i5 M60 isn’t just about straight line speed, and we will get to the other luxuries shortly.

However, this comparison highlights the level of performance available with electric power.

Emergency braking from 100km/h (as tested):

The BMW i5 M60 pulled up in an emergency stop from 100kmh in 37.0 metres, which is fair for a performance car.

The vehicle tested was equipped with Pirelli P Zero tyres.

The wheel sizes are ‘staggered’ (in the parlance), which means the rear wheels and tyres are wider than the front: 245/40/20 (front) versus 275/35/20 (rear).

This means you can’t front-to-back the tyres when rotating them to get more even wear out of the rubber.

And there’s no spare tyre (common among most electric cars), so you’re calling a tow truck if you get a flat.

Good points:

This is a super-quick, super-luxury sedan.

Epic, reassuring brakes (with zero fade).

It’s a comfortable highway cruiser and delivers seamless and effortless performance.

Good braking, reasonable grip (though we feel BMW could do better in this department, more on that shortly).

Widescreen dash display and the adjustable ambient lighting in the cabin are highlights.

Incredible low and high beam headlight performance.

Roomy back seat. Big boot.

Understated design.

Bad points:

The suspension can feel a bit too floaty at times.

And the tyres don’t grip as well as other electric cars with similar performance.

We happened to have a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N in the garage at the same time as we had the BMW i5 M60 and felt the Hyundai had sharper handling and the BMW tended to understeer (push wide) in corners because it lacked front-end grip.

It’s worth noting the BMW i5 M60 weighs 2.4 tonnes (versus 2.0 tonnes for the previous generation BMW M5), which likely explains why the BMW i5 M60 is harder to handle in tight turns.

What the haters say:

An electric car doesn’t deserve the hero BMW M badge.

What the haters don’t understand:

The BMW i5 M60 acceleration is worthy of the prized M badge but the jury is out on the handling.

It doesn’t feel as glued to the road as other BMW M cars (or the current BMW 530d).

And it’s not as agile as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

Should you buy one?

This is a serene machine but you’ve got to be a BMW fan to justify the price.

There’s plenty of other electric cars with the same or better performance for roughly half the price.

Side note: the chief engineer of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N was a former BMW M division engineer.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N may not appeal to badge snobs, but you can’t deny its ability on paper and from behind the wheel.

Also consider:

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Tesla Model 3 Performance, Kia EV6 GT.