BMW i5 Touring Review 2024

The not inconsiderable list prices of the BMW i5 Touring will be ameliorated for most by choosing it as a company car. Along with the benefits of its EV power for company car tax, it makes a lot of sense.

For other buyers, it's the i5 Touring's superb comfort, dynamic driving manners, and excellent load carrying ability that will win the day. Plus, it's not another SUV, and there are plenty who still love a proper estate car, us included.

There are two power options to choose from with the BMW i5 Touring, though there is a large jump in price if you want the all-wheel drive, all powerful M60 xDrive Touring. It comes with 601PS to make it a serious performance wagon, with a near £100,000 starting price to match.

Brilliant as the M60 is, our vote goes to the i5 eDrive40 Touring. It has a longer driving range, is much cheaper (though still pricey) to buy, and is superbly equipped in starting point Sport Edition trim. You can upgrade to the M Sport if you want that look, though it does add around £6500 to the final bill.

If you're in the market for the BMW i5 M60 xDrive Touring, you will also be looking at the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo. In base trim, the Porsche is actually cheaper than the BMW, but to match the M60's performance you need the Taycan 4S Sport Turismo that is near as makes no difference the same in price.

At a more sensible level, the BMW i5 eDrive40 Touring's rivals are the Audi A6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate. However, neither is offered as a full EV at the time of writing, so you may look to the Tesla Model S or maybe the Volvo V90 plug-in hybrid.

BMWs have always been better put together than their mainstream rivals. For this BMW i5 Touring, though, quality has taken a clear step up and BMW is clearly delivering the same fit and finish in the i5 as you get in the luxury i7 saloon.

Everywhere you hands or fingers come into contact with the BMW, it's pleasingly solid and offers a crafted feel. This is underscored by subtle ambient lighting, but we can live without the IconicSounds mode and its naff piped-in sound effects. Happily, this is easily switched off and should remain so in our view.

The sheer volume of options, menus and functions you can operate through the BMW i5 Touring infotainment screen can be a little bewildering at first. Gone are the physical shortcut buttons of the previous BMW 5 Series, which is a shame - there is a pull down shortcut menu on the screen but it's not quite the same. However, the 14.9-inch touchscreen is still one of the best to use for its speed of response and clarity.

You can also use steering wheel buttons for some operations, as well as the voice commands. However, we reckon almost every i5 Touring driver will quickly come to realise the iDrive style of controller on the transmission tunnel is by far the best way to interact with the system. It's simple, intuitive, and quick to use, and crucially it's much less distracting that reach forward to use the touchscreen.

With some familiarity, the BMW i5 Touring's infotainment is mastered and is one of the very best. You can even watch videos or play computer games on it when the car is parked. Your kids will love you for this.

For all its added load carrying ability, the BMW i5 Touring has the same footprint as its saloon sister. It sits at 5060mm long and 1900mm wide, while the roof bars mean it stands at 1515mm tall. With a 2995mm wheelbase, there's ample room for occupants.

That space is generous whether you are in the front or back seats. Our only criticism is the centre rear seat has a raised, thinly padded cushion that makes it useful only as an occasional space for an adult.

Open up the powered tailgate and you are confronted with 570-litres of boot space. That's not quite as much as you get in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate, but you won't struggle to fit in shopping or holiday bags or the dog, or all of the above at once. 

Should you need more room for kit and caboodle, the rear seats are divided 40-20-40 to allow plenty of flexibility. With all three sections folded down, you have up to 1700-litres of space, even if the seat backs don't go down completely flat. More importantly, the boot floor sits flush with the load sill, and there's also a large underfloor storage compartment to keep the charging cables neatly out of sight.

Choose the BMW i5 eDrive40 Touring and it comes with an 83.9kWh battery and 340PS motor that drives the rear wheels. This delivers 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds, so its performance is very close to that of the 530e plug-in hybrid version.

In real world driving, this is all the power and performance you will need. Should you want to overtake with an extra bit of bustle, there's a boost paddle behind the steering wheel that gives an extra shot of power for 10 seconds, though we didn't find it necessary. In every other situation, the eDrive40 feels refined, quiet and there's a choice of brake regenerations settings from mild to strong so you can coast or drive in a one-pedal fashion depending on your preference.

With the M60 xDrive, as the names suggests, it's four-wheel drive and this is achieved with a second motor to power the front wheels. In total, its two motors deliver 601PS and there's the same 83.9kWh battery, so it does mean a reduced driving range compared to the eDrive40. Still, that won't worry anyone buying this car for its 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds.

With a fully charged battery, the BMW i5 eDrive40 Touring provides an officially rated driving range of up to 340 miles. That's for the car in its Sport Edition form on 19-inch wheels, while fitting the optional 21-inch wheels reduces this to 323 miles. In normal driving, this equates to a range of around 275 miles if you don't mind dipping to around a 10-15% charge before hooking up to the mains.

The M60 xDrive Touring, with its extra motor and four wheel drive, offers a maximum range claimed at 310 miles, so somewhere in the region of 250 miles per full charge is realistic, particularly if you enjoy using its performance potential.

With no internal combustion engine to deal with as in its petrol-fuelled sister models, the BMW i5 Touring is very quiet. There is a little zizz from the tyres on poor quality tarmac, but not anything intrusive or irritating. Nor do you hear much in the way of wind noise at any speed.

What you might notice if it's fitted is the IconicSounds option. This generates a variety of piped-in noises to the cabin through the stereo speakers to match the chosen setting under acceleration. It's entertaining once or twice, but beyond that it's a gimmick we can live without.

All of this generation of BMW 5 Series and i5 are based on the same platform. So, although the BMW i5 has not been tested by Euro NCAP, it shares the same excellent traits as the 5 Series that scored a full five stars. This means you get the full spread of airbags, traction aids, and crash avoiding tech such as automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assistance.

All of the safety kit you need is included in the price when you buy the BMW i5 Touring, but you can upgrade further with option packs. They include the Technology Plus Pack that comes with the Driving Assistant Professional, or the Parking Assistant Plus that comes as part of the Technology Pack.

It's early days for the BMW i5 Touring as far as reliability goes, but the signs are good. The company scored a very creditable 12th place in the latest HonestJohn Satisfaction survey, well ahead of Audi, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz.

BMW provides a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty for the entire car. An eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty also covers the battery

Whether you opt for the BMW i5 Touring in Sport Edition or M Sport trims, your insurance will be based on a group 43 (out of 50) rating.

Take the very rapid M6 xDrive model instead and you won't be stunned to learn it sits in the highest band at group 50.

There is some consolation for anyone stumping up the hefty price of a BMW i5 Touring when it comes to road tax, or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) to give its proper title. As a full EV, there is nothing to pay in the first year.

You also avoid having to pay the additional charge applied to cars costing more than £40,000 when new as EVs are exempt from this. However, this is likely to change in the future, so don't bank on this saving for the full duration of your ownership of the car.

For the i5 Touring, BMW starts the range off with the Sport Edition models that sits on 19-inch alloy wheels. You also get LED lights front and rear, parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, powered tailgate, and exterior trim including the roof bars in a satin aluminium finish.

Inside the cabin, you find BMW's vegan leather upholstery, called Veganza, plus front sports seats that are heated.. There's air conditioning, a 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen with rotary controller, wireless charging for two phones, and stereo with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to pair with your choice of smartphone.

In the M Sport model, you gain dark silver exterior trim finishes, 19-inch alloy wheels in a different design, and Alpine White is the default colour. Step inside and the M Sport has a dark headliner and Veganza upholstery with subtle extra detailing, but is otherwise the same as the Sport Edition.

Then there is the M60 xDrive model that comes on 20-inch wheels that are a unique design to this model. However, beyond some small 'M' badges on the outside, this model is little different to look at from the M Sport. However, you do get the M Sport Pro Pack included with its Individual Lights Shadow Line  option, and M Sport brakes and seatbelts. The M60 also has, as standard, the Harman Kardon stereo and the Adaptive Suspension Professional.