BMW i5 Touring review

An all-electric BMW 5 Series Touring. When it arrived in 2024 it was the first all-electric, exec-sized estate to the market. How did Avant kings Audi let that happen? BMW snuck in and delivered a choice of rear- or dual-motor electric luxe with a 570-litre boot and more technology (and bonkers ambient lighting) than you could learn to operate in a lifetime.

Of course, Audi has since unleashed the the A6 Avant e-tron, and there’s also the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo and Cross Turismo, the very competent Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer, and slightly smaller but ultra long-range Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake to contend with. Now we're talking.

The i5 also faces competition from within. Sort of. BMW has begun unveiling its new generation of EVs with the latest iX3, which means newer, clever tech, more range, and amazing drivability. Which means the i5's already beginning to look dated...

Yikes. Run me through the specs.

It’s a big car: over five metres in length with just shy of three metres between the axles, in part due to its one size fits all (EV and ICE) platform.

In the UK – where we like a lifestylish estate and BMW sells a healthy number of wagons versus saloons – there are two powertrain specs to choose between. The entry-level version (and Top Gear’s choice, for reasons we’ll return to) is the ‘eDrive40’ which sends 335bhp to the rear wheels only. It starts at £70,045, but for an M Sport-kitted version with the toys, that quickly becomes £76,445.

The WLTP range is just over 350 miles from an 81.2kWh battery. Not bad... but not as far as the A6 e-tron will manage. Nor the ID.7 Tourer. Nor the CLA Shooting Brake. Hmm.

Good to know. Is the other BMW powertrain a fast M version?

Sort of. Not quite a full-fat M Division car, but an M-badge festooned M Performance model: the elegantly titled i5 M60 xDrive. The last part of the moniker means 4WD, because a front motor joins forces with the rear one. Together they generate 593bhp and north of 600lb ft of torque. Okay, that’s an overboost figure, but your stomach gives out before the G-force does. Every time. Even outside of the Sport Boost mode, you’ve got well over 500bhp at your beck and call.

Bonkers numbers in a dignified, unassuming family estate car. And enough to see you from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, topping out at 143mph. Range is 321 miles.

And you’re thinking ‘oof yes please, that’s the one for me’. Right up until you learn it costs £100,000. Without options. Like lashings of carbon. Which isn’t too far off the 717bhp BMW M5 Touring. That’s not an EV of course, but gets some electrons courtesy of its plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The i5 is a hugely rounded bit of kit. It’s easy to drive, swift, refined, comfortable, and almost too well-equipped for its own good. We’d choose it over the saloon version every day of the week.

If it has a downfall, it’s that a big estate car is at heart one of the most practical machines it’s possible to own, and yet with a real-world range of around 250 miles there will be more than a few of the wagon faithful unconvinced that an i5 Touring could take the place of their 700-mile-per-tank 520d. BMW will incidentally sell you a plug-in hybrid-equipped 530e version to assuage your anxiety.

And while it was pretty much the only car in its class when it landed, rivals have almost caught up. Those from Audi and Volkswagen will go further, charge faster, and cost less too. The BMW is still the best, but not by much.