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Electric performance, driver-focussed technology, and a responsible driving feel clash and merge together in this all-electric tourer from BMW.
"I firmly stand by the fact that one of the best cars that I drove last year was, wholly and thoroughly, the BMW i5.
While BMWs in general are too expensive for me to buy, I emerged from the experience thinking that based on the driving experience, the steering characteristics, the range, the build quality, the overall feel and the passion and the soul, well I just yearned to have it."
"So, what do you do when you have a shell, a car, which is so great, but then you take it and you make it more functional, more usable?
Because I'm actually, I'm just going to show you, look at this, okay.
This is the BMW i5 Touring and the main difference, it's very easy to show because this is a BMW i5, but if I do this, I have a boot that is big enough for things."
"So you have the i5 in all of its greatness, but you just have it in an estate version, which means that you can load this up with all the things that you're going to need to transport on an everyday basis, or just go on holiday.
That pretty much makes this the best car in the world."
"So that's what this video is about then.
We'll continue the hour.
Sure, measured on key specs, there are some sacrifices to be made here.
It's a couple of milliseconds slower to 100, it's a few decibels more noisy in the cabin compared to the sedan, and in our testing, it only marginally has better range despite being heavier."
"But despite this, it's still 6.1 seconds to 100, a top speed of 193 kilometers an hour, and around 450 kilometers of real world range, which will shoot from 0 to 80% in 30 minutes at 205 kilowatt charging.
The cabin itself is also a deeply nice place to sit."
"It simply is, and we can go through it together right here.
Now there is all of the amenities that you would expect, huge double screens, wireless charging pads right here for two phones, nice cup holders, and these little instruments right here."
"Now I still think that this crystal thing that they have going on is a bit too bling for me, both on the volume knob and this little selector down here, as well as the gear selector right here.
Now this is actually quite cool because when you turn it, it actually operates both Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and the proprietary system, the OS, that BMW themselves have made."
"Now is this system nice?
It's fine.
It generally is, as well as this command screen right here, which mercifully does respond very directly to Apple CarPlay and simply just takes the route and the UI directly from that suite, which is very nice to see."
"All of these buttons are functional.
All of them work.
There is no pseudo touch stuff going on.
It's all very nice.
It's all within reach, and it's all very responsible."
"I don't really mind any of the stuff that is in here, even though that it's not particularly in my taste.
And I also think that, for instance, when you look at these icons right here, that it could use some Apple-esque minimalism, some Nordic sort of boiling down of what all of these functions essentially are."
"So I, for instance, struggle with just finding the driving modes.
And then I found this little button down here, which says My Modes.
And when I press that, I got all of these weird digital art, relax, expressive.
And I was just looking to get maximum range out of the thing."
"And then I found Efficient, which I had to press every single time.
And when I did, it turned off all of the heaters.
It gave me 90 kilometers of range, but it still turned off all the heaters.
So again, it can be a bit of a smush in here."
"But the main gripe that I have is that I have to return this car and know that I will never earn enough money to get something which is this delicate.
Because sure, there are small nitpicks here and there, but it's still just a magnificently lovely place to be."
"It just is.
The i5 Touring is, to me, one of the all-time greats.
It proves that BMW is the current king of EVs in more ways than one.
And even though it's not perfect, no car is, I love this thing."
"I hope I get to drive it again someday.
See you on the next one."
