BMW offers ultimate i5 power with this M60 model. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Background

Those who know their fast BMW's will know that there are M - and Ms: full-fat M cars like the M2 and M3. And lesser 'M Performance' models which, though still fast, aren't quite as intensively motorsport M-developed. With the old seventh generation G30 5 Series, the M Performance model that sat below the ultimate M5 was an M550i twin turbo V8. It's a mark of the change in development to the current G60 MK8 'Five' that the M Performance variant in the range now doesn't have an engine at all. It's the all-electric model we look at here, the i5 M60 xDrive.

Driving Experience

There's no shortage of power here, the M60 propelled by a pair of motors respectively developing 261 and 340hp, energised by an 81.2kWh battery. The extra motor's added 175kgs of weight drops the EV range to 315 miles. Total output to all four wheels stands at a monster 601hp and 62mph from rest flashes by in just 3.8s en route to 142mph. Adaptive damping and all-wheel steering are standard-fit and as an option, you can add the brand's M- developed active anti-roll bars to reduce cornering roll. To keep over 2.2-tonnes in check at these kinds of speeds, you might need those. There are drive modes of course, though not all of the offered 'MyMode' settings have much to do with driving; choose from 'Personal', 'Sport', 'Efficient', 'Relaxed', 'Expressive' and 'Digital Art'. For this top i5, there's also a Hans Zimmer-curated IconicSounds driveline soundtrack; and screen-selectable energy recovery settings, though it's easiest simply to leave the system in its automatic 'Adaptive' mode. This i5 M60 also gains a 'Boost' function, operable via this red-highlighted left hand steering wheel paddle. Pull it back for maximum thrust, at which point the dash lights up, the soundtrack goes spooky and you're simply hurled at the horizon.

Design and Build

This M60 xDrive i5 model has been developed in both saloon and Touring estate forms. Either way, it sets itself apart from an ordinary rear-driven i5 eDrive40 variant with 20-inch wheels in an 'M Aerodynamic' style and there are High-gloss black M mirror caps, along with Sun Protection glass. Inside, the M Leather steering wheel has a red accent and you get stainless steel-look M Pedal Covers and an M Anthractite headliner, plus there's a crystalline glass look for the BMW Interaction Bar. Like other 'Fives', the cabin's dominated by the curved screens of the brand's advanced 'BMW Live Cockpit Professional' media package, which comprises this 12.3-inch 'Digital Instrument Display' and the fascia's central 14.9-inch centre-dash 'Control Display'. Around the triple-layered dashboard, much is borrowed from the larger 'Seven', including the aforementioned 'BMW Interaction Bar', an ambient lighting strip across the fascia that wraps around into the doors. All this technology's impressive, but you might like us find yourself getting irritated by some of the buried screen menu functions and wishing sometimes for the instant accessibility of old fashioned switches and buttons. Pleasingly, given the kind of car this wants to be, you sit quite low and you're surrounded by stitched Veganza leather and exquisite detail touches like intricate speaker grilles and secondary controls that can be fashioned from cut glass. But it's not an interior likely to please a traditionalist. In the back, there's comfortable room for a couple of adults. And the boot is 490-litres - and extendable with a 40:20:40 split-folding rear backrest.

Market and Model

There's a choice of saloon or Touring body shapes. In saloon form, you'll need nearly £98,000 for this i5 M60 xDrive with 601hp, around £17,000 less than a rival Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 4MATIC+ but £24,000 more than an equivalent version of BMW's lesser rear-driven i5 eDrive40 model. To help justify that in-house premium, this M60 xDrive i5 has its own bespoke 'M Performance' level of trim, largely based on the upgraded 'M Sport Pro'-spec you can get with that lesser model, but with a few updates, a number of which we've mentioned in our 'Design' section. In addition to those, you get 'Adaptive Suspension Professional' adaptive damping and rear wheel-turning 'Integral Active Steering'; and the BMW IconicSounds Electric drive sound package. And inside, there's four-zone Automatic Air Conditioning. As an option, you can add the 'Ultimate Pack', which is limited to this i5 M60 model - and includes, well, just about everything. The main feature is 'Adaptive M Suspension Professional', which adds Active Roll Stabilisation, deploying 48 volt electric swivel motors to ensure particularly fast and precise compensation of lateral inclination forces through tight bends. Otherwise, it's just the entire contents of all the four options packs you can add to the lesser i5 eDrive40, plus crystal-like 'Crafted Clarity' interior controls. For a little extra, you can add softer BMW Individual Merino Leather upholstery too.

Cost of Ownership

We gave you the i5 M60 xDrive's driving range figure in our driving section - up to 315 miles. This figure comes via an extremely slim high-voltage battery located low down in the vehicle floor and providing 81.2kWh of usable energy (quite a lot smaller than the 101.7kWh battery used in the larger i7). The heat pump technology used in the integrated heating and cooling system for the cabin and drive system helps boost efficiency, as does the adaptive or individually adjustable recuperation feature. The high-voltage battery is heated using a dedicated 5.5 kW electric flow heater. The Combined Charging Unit in the i5 M60 allows AC charging at a rate of up to 22kW (double that of the eDrive40), while DC power can be taken on board at a rate of up to 205kW. This allows for a 10-80% charge within 30 minutes. The 'BMW Charging' package comes as standard on the i5, which gives owners attractive kilowatt hour tariffs for AC and DC charging throughout the UK and Europe. The high-power charging network run by the BMW Group's joint venture IONITY also forms part of the BMW Charging network. Almost 16,000 charging points are included in the UK and Ireland, while the monthly fee for BMW Charging and IONITY is waived for the first 12 months for all retail customers.

Summary

Fitted here is more technology than a mid-sized BMW has ever seen. And M5-like levels of power, despite this being a lesser M Performance model. But you certainly pay for that and we're not really convinced that this M60 offers quite enough to justify its substantial price premium over the only slightly smaller and less rapid i4 M50 model that sits just below it in the fast section of BMW's EV range. But if you're going to think like that, you could also question whether an M60 was worth its big premium over the also quite rapid ordinary i5 eDrive40 model. If you like the idea of an M60, you'll already have decided that it is. And you'll be justifying purchase by reminding yourself of the huge saving it offers over this top EV 5 Series model's only really direct rival, the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 4MATIC+. If that justification is enough for you to write the big six- figure cheque required for this top EV 'Five', then there's lots to enjoy here.