Yahoo Autos 2024 BMW i5 M60 Tested: The Fun Flagship
In the first quarter of 2024, BMW's U.S. EV sales were up about 63 percent over the same period last year, and they now surpass 12 percent of the automaker's total sales, the latest data points to prove that BMW is taking this whole electric-car thing quite seriously. In fact, at a media event last fall, BMW revealed that it sends mystery shoppers into its dealerships to covertly assess sales reps, gauging whether they're informed about EVs or are steering customers toward internal-combustion models (many car dealers openly hate EVs because they demand infrastructure investment and training but don't require the same lucrative level of service as ICE vehicles). The logic is sound: If BMW is going to bother building cars like the 2024 i5 M60, it would prefer not to get kneecapped by the crack sales staff at Ashley Shaeffer BMW.
And the i5 M60 does make a compelling case for itself. With a 335-hp motor at the rear and a 257-hp motor up front, the mightiest i5 summons 593 horses—not far in arrears of the outgoing M5's 600 horsepower. Torque checks in at 586 lb-ft, or 605 when M Sport Boost or launch control is engaged.
To get that coveted Boost label on your left shift paddle, opt for the $1050 M Sport Professional package. M Sport Pro also brings M Sport brakes with red calipers (which delivered a tidy 158-foot stop from 70 mph), a rear spoiler, and the goofy but fun "Iconic Glow kidney grille." Pull the boost paddle for more than 0.8 second and you'll access max torque and automatically change the synthetic soundtrack to Sport (think "spaceship"). The seatbelts yank tight, like you're on a roller coaster that's about to launch out of the gate, and the i5 digs in and flings itself to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. The quarter-mile blurs past in 11.5 seconds at 124 mph. We saw 140 mph in 15.4 seconds, just before the electronic limiter steps in at 142 mph. M60s with all-season tires are limited to 130 mph, so bear that in mind if your commute includes much unrestricted autobahn.
Behind the wheel, the i5 feels large but wieldy, aided by adaptive dampers, rear-axle steering, and deftly balanced weight distribution: 50.1 percent up front and 49.9 percent rear, which is to say close enough that you might knock it in the other direction with a full tank of electrons. The 324-cell battery is not especially huge—81.2 kWh—with an eye toward manageable size and weight rather than continent-striding range. Curb weight still registers a chunky 5225 pounds—which is to say, almost as much as a V-8-powered 760i xDrive (5317 pounds).
We saw a middling 230 miles of highway range, but our test car was wearing 21-inch tires, which ding the range compared with the 19- or 20-inch rubber. But this result is more impressive than you might think, because our i5 came close to its EPA-rated 240 miles of range, which is way closer than the EV norm. However, the EPA scores the i5 M60's range as high as 256 miles with the 19-inch rubber. If you're worried about a discrepancy between battery charge level and distance to your intended destination, the i5 offers a Max Range setting that kills all nonessential electrical functions and limits top speed to 56 mph. Climate control is disabled, as are the heat and ventilation functions on the seats and heat for the steering wheel. The i5 will snap out of this mode if the driver floors the accelerator, turns the windshield defrost to maximum, or pulls the M Boost paddle.
As for recouping energy during off-throttle situations, BMW says that "the drive control system can use navigation data and information from sensors of the driver assistance systems to adjust how much power is recuperated according to the respective traffic situation." Translation: Left to its own devices, the i5's regenerative braking level is about as predictable as next week's Powerball numbers. Sometimes it freewheels for a while and then decides to activate regen, or the opposite might happen, or it might just stick with one strategy for a while. However, the driver can also choose a regen setting from among three preset levels to establish some consistency.
Of course, you can also leave the driving (mostly) to the car via the i5's $2000 Driving Assistance Professional package, which includes the Highway Assistant hands-free-driving system. In contrast to GM with its Super Cruise system and Ford with its BlueCruise, BMW doesn't make a big deal about its vehicles' hands-free capabilities. In fact, we didn't even realize the M60 was so equipped until we set cruise control on the highway and found the car happy to maintain its lane—or change lanes, after using the turn signal—with no driver intervention. Part of the surprise stems from the fact that BMW hides its infrared driver-monitoring camera behind the dashboard instrument cluster screen rather than grafting it to the steering column, so there's no visual giveaway when a car is equipped with Highway Assistant.
The system works quite well up to its 85-mph limit, with one caveat: How is a car that's smart enough to execute a lane change not smart enough to cancel the turn signal when it's done? The i5 is also capable of making lane changes based on driver eye movement—the car suggests a lane change, and the driver confirms it by looking toward the relevant outside rearview mirror. (We evidently didn't encounter a situation where the i5 decided it wanted to change lanes.) If you're not on a limited-access highway, the i5 still offers lane-keeping assist that's minimally hands-on, with capacitive sensors in the steering wheel, meaning that the driver needs only touch it rather than deliver the annoying periodic nudges required by torque-sensing systems.
Our i5 M60's $85,095 base price increased to $94,245 with options. This is, for now, the flagship of the 5-series range. In that role, and with so much tech-forward hardware, the i5 M60 might have easily forgotten a crucial ingredient: fun. But this car is fun, and sometimes it's even a little silly (the launch-control theatrics never get old), which certainly helps assuage the inevitable pining for some hazy E39 ideal of driving greatness.
Right now we're in a transitional phase of powertrain evolution, and BMW is hedging its bets by offering the 5-series with either gas or electric propulsion. But the i5 M60 is the current star of the lineup, and not by accident. If there's any doubt about how BMW sees the automotive future, here's a 593-hp hint.
You Might Also Like
