All-electric BMW 5 Series sedan gets the go-faster treatment from its M branch

2023 BMW i5 M60 xDrive

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Launched: Q1 2024 (Singapore) – Price: TBA
Four-door, Medium luxury sedan, five seats
601hp, dual-motor electric drive, 20.6kWh/100km, 516km range

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PROS
Terrifically balanced at speed
Sharp steering
Good ride quality

CONS
It’s going to be expensive
Muted exterior styling

LISBON, PORTUGAL

So now that we’ve described what kind of car the new, all-electric version of the BMW 5 Series sedan is in the review of the BMW i5 eDrive40 published a couple of days earlier, here’s the one about its mean, angry brother, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive. 

Let’s talk about the name for a bit. It’s an electric 5 Series sedan, so it’s the i5. It has some seriously uprated suspension and chassis tweaks from BMW’s M tuning department, along with a peak power output of 601 horsepower, so it’s the M60. Then it has all-wheel drive from two electric motors, one over each axle. That accounts for the xDrive in the car’s name. So all up, we welcome the i5 M60 xDrive. 

Let’s get one thing straight, this isn’t an electric version of the legendary BMW M5 sedan. The purebred M cars are built to cater to a different audience, typically with harder edged handling characteristics, an angrier engine note, and as you would expect, a higher price tag. Yet the i5 M60 is an M Performance car, which means that while it’s tuned to be faster and more sporty than the regular BMWs, it’s not as aggro as the purebred M5. And since this is an electric car, an angrier engine note really isn’t part of the equation, unless of course, if you include the ersatz hum-buzz-whine sound of the BMW Iconic Sounds generator.

What you get is an electric luxury sedan that’s not just fast, but also offers a very comfortable drive at middling highway speeds and then becomes a capable corner carver when the turns appear. It has a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of just 3.8 seconds. So yes, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is faster in a straight line drag race, but the i5 M60 isn’t just built for speed, but is a much more complete car with a stiffened, sportier chassis and suspension tune along with a drivetrain that’s optimised for sporty driving.

We’re not talking about circuit and racetrack driving, which isn’t what the i5 M60 is optimised for, but rather, carving up scenic, deserted B-roads with ease. And that, there’s plenty in the Portuguese countryside where we found ourselves with the car. The steering is light but precise, handling from the adaptive all-wheel drive system is predictable, and there’s more power on tap than you’ll need anyway.

It’s an electric car so there’s no multi-speed gearbox, it’s just one gear and electric motors that punch the car forwards relentlessly towards its electrically capped top speed of 230km/h. 

Some reviews may quote the i5 M60 as having a power output of 517 horsepower and a torque output of 795Nm, and that’s true most of the time. With the customisable My Sport mode and launch control activated, the car’s power output rises to 601 horsepower and torque to 820Nm in short bursts. The result is a hefty gut-punch when triggered. Great for impressing friends and blowing past slower cars, but in reality we think it’s just there as a great big flex.

The BMW Iconic Sounds module, which pipes a synthetic spaceship-type whooshing noise through the car’s speakers, is most active and loud when in Sport mode but thankfully can be switched to a softer setting or deactivated altogether. When driving quickly in an engaging setting, it’s better to do it in EV silence than have the car’s speakers play back the “WHOOSH ” noise every time you put your right foot down. It’s fun for the first ten times but when going quickly on a long, winding mountain pass, it gets tiresome.

The quality of the ride is commendable as the suspension damping makes the car feel much lighter than its 2,303kg kerb weight, but isn’t choppy at all. Brakes also haul the car down to corner entry speeds without fuss or over-assistance. They’re not race car brakes but you get plenty of feel through the pedal when braking hard.  

The exterior design of the i5 M60 isn’t as loud and over-the-top as an M car. It’s devoid of huge rear wings and big front bumpers, but the M bodykit with the blacked-out front end and lower sections gives the car a purposeful sporty stance.  

It also has BMW’s new Iconic Glow front end, which outlines the brand’s kidney grille design with an illuminated outline on each side. It’s a new-ish design element that first arrived on the BMW 7 Series sedan and BMW XM. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority initially did not allow them to be permanently illuminated as it was deemed to be additional front end illumination that was not part of the headlight clusters. So on the previous BMWs they only pulsed when the car was locked and unlocked.

Now the LTA has done an about-turn and allowed those on the BMW i5 to stay permanently lit in Singapore, apparently citing that since it is an EU-approved specification it shall also pass muster here as well.

It’s a software controlled system, so it remains to be seen if the Iconic Glow system of the BMW XM and 7 Series will be updated to stay permanently lit on Singapore-registered cars.

The interior of the i5 M60 is largely identical to that of the entry-level i5 eDrive40, but that’s simply an indication of how highly specified the cars can be from the factory these days. The BMW Operating System has been updated to OS 8.5, and it’s an evolutionary step so if you’ve come from an earlier BMW it’s still very familiar.

Ultimately, the car is an all-electric luxury sedan that’s genuinely quick but not overly aggressive on the attack. Yet in the context of Singapore, an i5 eDrive40 with an M Sport body kit can almost give the same amount of road presence and will cost a lot less to own. Also if you’re holding out for a purebred M, BMW 5 Series EV, we think it’s unlikely to happen in this generation so this will be as quick as it gets for now, and it’s pretty good as it is.

 BMW i5 M60 xDrive

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