BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport - Opinions

[WestyCarl]

After 3yrs in a Telsa 3 LR I'm considering leaving the Tesla charging network

The BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport (on 19 inch wheels) is very tempting but my only issue is the range / charging. Checking various websites it seems real world millage is between 250 summer and 200 winter?

I think I'm happy in the availability of chargers compared to 3yrs ago when I got my Tesla so this won't be an issue. (altough it won't be plug and play like Tesla)

Does anyone have this car and can confirm / deny my assumptions above, or come up with any negatives I've not though of.

[J1990]

I’d suggest checking out Harry Metcalf’s review. He gave the i5 an absolute battering in his review.
That’s not to say it won’t be a car you’ll enjoy but it does seem to have a shockingly low range for the price point and size of the car. If the price was right I’d have one, however there’s a lot of EVs you can get better value for money on.

[WestyCarl]

J1990 said:

I’d suggest checking out Harry Metcalf’s review. He gave the i5 an absolute battering in his review.
That’s not to say it won’t be a car you’ll enjoy but it does seem to have a shockingly low range for the price point and size of the car. If the price was right I’d have one, however there’s a lot of EVs you can get better value for money on.

I did but he tested the top spec M60 (4wd dual motors), I'm going for the much cheaper poverty spec

[thecremeegg]

Can you not get away with an i4? I have an i4 eDrive 40 and can get over 300 miles during the summer, and around 250 in the winter

[raspy]

WestyCarl said:

After 3yrs in a Telsa 3 LR I'm considering leaving the Tesla charging network

The BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport (on 19 inch wheels) is very tempting but my only issue is the range / charging. Checking various websites it seems real world millage is between 250 summer and 200 winter?

I think I'm happy in the availability of chargers compared to 3yrs ago when I got my Tesla so this won't be an issue. (altough it won't be plug and play like Tesla)

Does anyone have this car and can confirm / deny my assumptions above, or come up with any negatives I've not though of.

i5 is supposed to offer "plug and charge" so would be similar experience to Tesla supercharger (no need for apps or cards)

https://support.bmw-public-charging.com/hc/en-gb/a...

[WestyCarl]

raspy said:

i5 is supposed to offer "plug and charge" so would be similar experience to Tesla supercharger (no need for apps or cards)

https://support.bmw-public-charging.com/hc/en-gb/a...

Thanks didn't know about that

[PSRG]

WestyCarl said:

After 3yrs in a Telsa 3 LR I'm considering leaving the Tesla charging network

The BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport (on 19 inch wheels) is very tempting but my only issue is the range / charging. Checking various websites it seems real world millage is between 250 summer and 200 winter?

I think I'm happy in the availability of chargers compared to 3yrs ago when I got my Tesla so this won't be an issue. (altough it won't be plug and play like Tesla)

Does anyone have this car and can confirm / deny my assumptions above, or come up with any negatives I've not though of.

I’ve got an eDrive40 and my real world winter range is between 220 and 280 miles, driving normally. I’ve only had it since December, so no idea on summer, and as they only went on-sale at the end of October I don’t suppose anyone in the UK has. The plug and charge works at BP and Ionity chargers, though in over 4k miles I’ve only charged in the wild 3 or 4 times. On main roads / motorways it seems to me the charging network is fine, but DC charger availability drops in more remote areas. Or, they exist but are only 50KwH ones. The i5 can only charge at 205KwH DC anyway I think. I like it - it feels like a 5 series to me. Negatives vs the M3 is that it’s pretty big…but I think it’s a much nicer drive, as in more relaxing most of the time, and more composed when pressing on than the Tesla. But other may have a different opinion. Having had many BMWs before it all feels pretty familiar and intuitive to me.

Edited by PSRG on Monday 4th March 20:22

[WestyCarl]

PSRG said:

I’ve got an eDrive40 and my real world winter range is between 220 and 280 miles, driving normally. I’ve only had it since December, so no idea on summer, and as they only went on-sale I don’t suppose anyone in the UK has. The plug and charge works at BP and Ionity chargers, though in over 4k miles I’ve only charged in the wild 3 or 4 times. On main roads / motorways it seems to me the charging network is fine, but DC charger availability drops in more remote areas. Or, they exist but are only 50KwH ones. The i5 can only charge at 205KwH DC anyway I think. I like it - it feels like a 5 series to me. Negatives vs the M3 is that it’s pretty big…but I think it’s a much nicer drive, as in more relaxing most of the time, and more composed when pressing on than the Tesla. But other may have a different opinion. Having had many BMWs before it all feels pretty familiar and intuitive to me.

Great info, thanks. Assuming it's within budget I think I'll go for for the BMW, it's much more refined that the model 3, only slightly slower with slightly less range (neither a big issue for me)

[PSRG]

What I would add is that the i5 saloon is, currently, only available in M Sport or M Sport pro trim levels. But the recently announced i5 touring comes in Sport trim, and as a result, despite being a touring, has a cheaper entry point than the saloon at £70k vs £74k before options.

Edited to correct - as a quick look at the configurator shows than there’s now a sport trim level saloon at just under £68k BMWs website is a nightmare so I can’t see what the difference is, bar the body kit, badges and different wheels. But I’d happily save £7k if that is the only difference!!

Edited by PSRG on Monday 4th March 20:29

[SDK]

J1990 said:

I’d suggest checking out Harry Metcalf’s review. He gave the i5 an absolute battering in his review.
That’s not to say it won’t be a car you’ll enjoy but it does seem to have a shockingly low range for the price point and size of the car. If the price was right I’d have one, however there’s a lot of EVs you can get better value for money on.

Most of the stuff Harry complained about is a non-issue.
My Dad (similar age to Harry) hates my iX, mostly because he’s old and can’t be bothered to work out new tech

[TheDeuce]

I have an i4, I get a safe 250+ miles in decent weather. The i5 numbers from BMW look about the same so I would expect about the same real life range.

Regards the charging network, there is now a higher % of none tesla rapid chargers than there are none tesla EV's so.. technically finding chargers should be at least as easy as you're used too. The none Tesla charging game has really improved over the last year or so, it's now at the point I don't even think about/plan charge stops anymore.

It's definitely now good enough to no longer be a reason to specifically choose a Tesla - drive the EV you like most for your budget

[WestyCarl]

TheDeuce said:

I have an i4, I get a safe 250+ miles in decent weather. The i5 numbers from BMW look about the same so I would expect about the same real life range.

Regards the charging network, there is now a higher % of none tesla rapid chargers than there are none tesla EV's so.. technically finding chargers should be at least as easy as you're used too. The none Tesla charging game has really improved over the last year or so, it's now at the point I don't even think about/plan charge stops anymore.

It's definitely now good enough to no longer be a reason to specifically choose a Tesla - drive the EV you like most for your budget

Thanks, that what I was thinking. It's a company lease and BMW are doing good deals on the I5 so I think I'm going for a change (they are very different cars )