It feels a bit odd driving in any current electric BMW. They feel old. They feel doomed. The Neue Klasse is basically here and it will eventually replace every single current electric Bimmer. It’s the next-generation and after seeing cars like the new i3 and iX3, the current crop feels ancient. So when I finally got behind the wheel of this 2026 BMW i5 xDrive40 for the first time, it almost felt like it was too late. I got there as the party was ending.
Does that make the i5 xDrive40 a bad car or unworthy of customer attention? Of course not, the i5 won’t be replaced for several years. And, as an all-around car, something people will use everyday, it still has a lot to offer. It isn’t the most cutting-edge electric luxury sedan in the segment, nor is it the fastest, that’d be the Lucid Air. So if range, efficiency, and battery tech are your main priorities, you might want to look elsewhere. However, if you think of it as just an electric version of the 5 Series, for customers who just like 5ers and EVs, then it begins to make more sense.
It’s Everything You Want in a 5 Series
BMW’s bread and butter has always been the 3 Series, but the 5 Series was never too far behind. There’s a specific feel to a 5 Series, an identity. It needs to be sharp but smooth, agile but relaxed. It isn’t a 3 Series. It isn’t a 7 Series. But for many customers, it’s the Goldilocks model right in between, striking the right balance of handling precision, comfort, and interior space. Not every 5 Series has nailed that balance over the years, and while the i5 might not be the best of them, recurring customers won’t be disappointed.
There’s an effortlessness to the way the i5 glides down a road. It’s remarkably comfortable, with near-perfect suspension tuning that seemed to iron out bumps that I know are rough on my morning route, without ever feeling overly soft or floaty. The i5 stays planted, buttoned down, and I always felt confident in its grip and composure. It lacks the sort of feel that the best 5 Series have always had, as if you could always feel what the chassis and suspension were doing through your butt, without it ever becoming harsh or intrusive. Instead, the i5 is smoother, more comfortable, and more luxurious. BMW clearly traded some feedback for plushness and I have a feeling it’s a welcome tradeoff for most modern BMW customers.
It’s quick, too. Even the lowly i5 xDrive40, with its 389 horsepower and 435 lb-ft of torque from its two motors, scoots it to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. I remember a time when that was quick for a sports car, never mind an entry-level electric luxury sedan. But I’d argue that BMW’s claimed figures are rather conservative, because a stomp of the right pedal shoves you back in your seat and pulls hard enough to embarrass most other cars on the road. Overtaking annoying drivers is easy work in the i5, and done entirely in silence.
Speaking of silence, this cabin is quiet. Most electric cars are quiet, as automakers work hard to make sure the lack of powertrain noise doesn’t emphasize road and wind noise. But BMW does an exceptional job with the i5. Conversations can be kept to a whisper, even at highway speeds, and you feel very at peace. Enthusiasts who prefer a bit of excitement might be bored, but those looking for an executive luxury sedan will love the i5’s lack of noise. If you want some fake acceleration noise, you can have it but I prefer the silence. At least that’s honest.
My only real issue with its driving dynamics is its steering. Customers who used to have E39s when new, and perhaps even E60s, won’t love the way the new i5 goes down a road or snakes through some bends. Its steering is completely devoid of anything even kind of resembling feedback and it’s far too light. Even in its sportiest setting, there’s a layer of cream on top of a layer of foam in between your hands and the steering. You can’t feel anything and there’s barely an appreciable weight build up as you add steering lock, so it feels very video gamey. Otherwise, though, the i5 is a comfy, quiet, and smooth daily driver that most customers will love.
As an EV, the i5 Struggles Among Its Peers
At $71,550, the BMW i5 xDrive40 isn’t a cheap EV. At that price point, you expect it to be a leader in at least some area of electrification. However, it really isn’t. A 283-mile max range isn’t bad, but it’s far from class-leading. For instance, the Lucid Air is roughly the same price to start ($72,400), yet has 420 miles of range and 420 horsepower. The Audi Q6 e-tron is a larger SUV with a lower starting price and has 325 miles of range. But it isn’t like the i5 has a small battery, it has 84.3 kWh of capacity. Simple maths says that, at its peak range, it averages around 3.3 miles per kWh. However, I was seeing in the high twos on average, so I wasn’t getting 283 miles from a full battery.
What about charge speed? If it can charge as fast as the best of ’em, maybe its lower range can be forgiven. Except it can’t. While 205 kW isn’t bad, and more than most DC fast chargers will allow anyway, it can’t take advantage of the full 350 kW chargers at either Electrify America or Tesla’s Superchargers. BMW i5s built after March 2026 come with NACS charge ports, to fit Supercharger plugs, but my tester was older and still had the CCS port.
BMW Outpaced Itself With the Neue Klasse
It’s hard to recommend the BMW i5 to someone unless they really, really want a 5 Series but would prefer electric instead of gas. As a 5er, I get it. It’s a solid executive cruiser with a comfy interior, a snazzy cabin with many colorful lights, and a lovely ride. But for someone willing to crosshop EVs, I’d have to recommend several others first, including BMW’s own iX3. The iX3 is cheaper to start and yet even at its base price it still has more power, about 100 miles of additional range, and is based on BMW’s latest and greatest technology. It flat-out makes the i5 look and feel ancient.
The BMW i5 xDrive40 is a fine car, it’s just behind the times already. In the old internal combustion world, it was okay if a car didn’t have the latest cabin tech, as long as it drove great still. But in the world of EVs, much like the world of smartphones, even mild aging feels like obsolescence. So while the i5 is a good 5 Series, it’s a middling EV at best in a segment that’s crowding quickly.