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Just picked up my i5 M60 that I custom ordered. Carbon black with black merino, carbon fiber trim. 20″ 930M all seasons, M sport pro with red calipers, Executive package, driving assistance and front ventilated seats. Came from an X5 M50.
Had a nice long trip with mostly highway miles to bring it home. Overall, really loving it!
As expected, first things first, this thing moves! Put it in sport mode and it really moves. But acceleration is just effortless all throughout the power band. And even though the car is heavy, I didn’t really feel it. Now, I’m coming from the X5 with a V8, and I had two F10s with the V8, so I’m kind of used to heavy cars. The suspension was very compliant and had a comfortable ride. But when pushed in to the corners, it was firmly planted. Overall, for the kind of driving I do, and the desire to have a mixture of luxury and sport, this really hits all of the right buttons for me. It also feels extremely tight and put together. So for me, driving dynamics are excellent.
First electric car for me, so I’m having a little bit of a paradigm shift in that area. Of course not specific to the i5, but the range isn’t superb. Mind you, I rarely drive such long distances these days, and I do a lot of local driving, 800-900 miles per month. I was able to perform two complimentary charging sessions today. Between Baltimore and home, stopped at a Wawa in Deleware, charged and picked up something to eat. While I could have made it all the way home, I still wanted to drive more and didn’t want to have to plug it in until I get the wall box installed. The Electrify America chargers seem to be very popular. I think many manufacturers have a complimentary period with them, so it was a little crowded. I’ve seen other chargers that aren’t as busy, and the Electrify American network isn’t all too large in NJ. EVgo is more popular around here. Then fulled up to 80% eating some dinner. The saving grace is being able to do other things while in the car with heat or A/C running.
One of my biggest concerns was the cheap(er) materials inside. While I’m not going to say it’s amazing, I will say it feels solid, but also doesn’t feel all too luxurious for the price point either. Harder plastic pieces, the cheaper looking grille right on the top of the dash you see all the time. And the door armrest is not all too comfortable on longer trips. However, at least things like interaction bar look good, plastic doesn’t creak or give way. Looks to be a combination of cost cutting, emphasis on recycled materials, and maybe even some weight savings. It’s good enough, but wish it was better.
Technology is pretty great all around. Wanted to get more used to how the highway assistant worked, but did use it for a little bit, and the hands free driving is really very relaxing. Glad to finally see BMW actually have more customization available in the gauge cluster, and overall iDrive 8.5 is pretty easy to use. Google Maps with Android Auto integrates very seamlessly, allowing you to not only have to see Android Auto or car functions, can see both at the same time, which is really nice. Waze doesn’t integrate quite as nice though.
What could be better? I wish I could have ordered massaging seats, that’s for sure. I don’t like all of the shiny black plastic, that’s going to be a pain to keep clean. No comfort access sensors on the rear door, but the phone integration and auto unlock works pretty damn well though mitigating that somewhat. And since I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, wish you could get the traditional BMW gong. Given everything is just code anyway, don’t see why they couldn’t offer that. Would even be cool to see like a retro gauge cluster from the E39, kind of like what Ford has done with the Mustang.
While it’s only been one day, it has been 250+ miles, and I’m definitely happy overall.
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