Design: Tried, Not Quite There

The overall design isn't bad from the outside. Was the previous generation better? Without a doubt. But we can't dwell on the past. The i5 is a smart looking car from every angle. You can tell they tried — there are updated lines, revised lighting, a general sense that somebody at Munich wanted this to feel more contemporary. Maybe it just didn't quite do the trick. Nothing offensive, nothing particularly exciting either. But for a car sitting higher in the lineup than both the i4 and iX3, that's a missed opportunity.

Interior: Premium, But Stale

Here's where it gets interesting. The materials are genuinely the best of the three cars I drove that day. You can feel it immediately — the i5 Touring is unambiguously the most premium product of the bunch. Better quality surfaces, more refined touches, a sense that this is the grown-up in the room.

And yet it felt boring. Somehow the interior managed to be the most expensive and the least exciting simultaneously. There's a facelift visible if you look for it, but it didn't inject the freshness this cabin needed. Step out of an iX3 Neue Klasse with its panoramic windshield display and open spaciousness, and the step into the i5 feels like going backwards in time — despite the price tag suggesting otherwise. That gap shouldn't exist.

Rear legroom tells a better story. The i5 offers genuinely generous rear passenger space — more than the i4 and is comfortable for tall adults on long journeys. Headroom is similarly strong. For a chauffeur-driven car or regular family long-distance use, the rear bench is hard to fault.

The bott offers 570 litres with the seats up and 1,700 litres with them folded. That's proper estate territory and the Touring body style completely justifies its existence on those numbers alone. Loading is easy, the space is well shaped, and there's no meaningful compromise in daily use. If you need to carry things regularly, the i5 Touring makes a compelling argument.

The Drive: Heavy and Dull, Honestly

This is where I have to be straight with you. The i5 xDrive40 Touring is not a bad car to drive. But it disappointed me more than either of the other two BMWs I drove that day — and not because it's worse than the i4. It's because it wasn't noticeably better.

The i4 felt sporty and alert. The i5, sitting higher in the range and commanding a higher price, just felt heavy. Not dramatically so, but enough that every interaction with the chassis reminded you you're moving 2,230kg of premium estate around. The suspension bottomed out noticeably over steep speed bumps — the rear in particular — which isn't what you expect from a car at this price point. It felt like a horse that wanted to jump, but constantly dragged its belly on every obstacle. 

The xDrive40 produces 394bhp and 590Nm of torque. On paper that's respectable. In practice it felt like the least exciting of the three, partly because someone decided rear-wheel drive was the right configuration for a car that weighs as much as a small container. Put it in boost mode and you'll feel the rear get nervous. In an SUV-weight executive estate. Utterly pointless.

Range: Solid and Predictable

WLTP range comes in at 467–561km depending on configuration and wheel size, with a usable battery of 81.2kWh. DC fast charging maxes out at 205kW, so a 10–80% top-up takes around 33 minutes. Real-world range will realistically sit in the 400–480km bracket depending on speed and conditions — perfectly adequate for an executive car that lives predominantly on motorways.

The Honest Conclusion

Here's the thing. The i5 Touring is exactly what it's supposed to be. And that's the problem — for me at least.

Would I mind driving three hours straight in it? Absolutely not. On a motorway is probably where it belongs most, planted and stable on its weight, eating up miles in quiet luxury. It's comfortable, refined, and carries things. For someone who needs a premium electric estate and values refinement over excitement, it checks every box.

But I went in looking for something. I'm not sure what exactly — maybe I was just hoping the higher price tag meant more driving engagement. It didn't. The regular 5 Series has always been the sensible, slightly boring choice — it's supposed to be. The average buyer isn't a 30-something year old that wants to drag race at every traffic llight. Maybe I was asking a 5 Series to be something it was never designed to be. Or was it?

BMW didn't drop the ball with the i5. They just made exactly the car they intended to make. And that's not quite the car for me.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Interior materials are great
• Rear legroom genuinely generous at 940mm
• 570–1,700L boot is proper estate practicality
• Motorway cruiser without equal — planted, quiet, comfortable
• 561km WLTP range is competitive in class
• 205kW DC charging keeps stops short

Cons:

• Interior feels dated despite facelift — expensive but not fresh
• Rear suspension bottoms out over sharp bumps
• RWD configuration makes no sense in a 2,230kg estate
• Driving experience uninvolving compared to i4 and iX3
• Huge step down in perceived modernity versus the iX3 Neue Klasse

Verdict

The BMW i5 xDrive40 Touring is a very good car for someone who wants exactly this kind of car. That person isn't me. If motorway miles, boot space, and premium refinement are your priorities — this delivers. If you want something that excites you every time you get in, look elsewhere. The iX3 is right there, or why not look at the X5 instead?