Weighs 500 lbs more than a Tesla Plaid, has a range of 240 miles (on a good day if it's not cold outside) and costs almost $100,000. So much for German Engineering.
Meanwhile, China's BYD the world's leading producer of EVs (along w Tesla) just announced a hybrid car that has a range of 1,300 miles and costs $14,000.
2024 BMW i5 M60 xDrive: Get Ready to Haggle
The electrified M60 is convincingly quicker, faster, more agile and more athletic than its predecessor. But the price? Dan Neil’s eyebrows are raised.
By Dan Neil, WSJ
May 30, 2024 7:30 pm ET
BMW’s favorite color these days is glass. Check out the crystalline controls in our i5 M60 xDrive test car, like repurposed chandelier pendants. Look through the glass roof firmament above and Palomar-Observatory-sized sunshade. Marvel at the dancing animation in the windshield’s heads-up display, or the band of quartz-like illumination bisecting the cabin, flashing with mood-appropriate colors. Glossy carbon-fiber trim, obsidian-black fascia—the Windex bill would be enormous.
In the new M60, longtime enthusiasts of the brand will see its future as through a glass. How darkly is a matter of attitude. Introduced to the U.S. in 1975, the 5 series (sedan and wagon) has been a perennial all-star in the premium big leagues, selling tens of thousands annually. In other parts of the world the 5 series family often finds work as company cars, leased for the convenience of executives. High-performance M versions have historically achieved quicker/faster status without compromising the comfort and refinement of the standard car.
In many ways, the M60 is more of the same, only electrified. Resplendent with 593 hp and 586 pound-feet of four-cornered torque, and enjoying the center of gravity of an antique flatiron, the M60’s street performance is breathtaking and neck-straining. This sumptuously upholstered, eerily refined five-seater can huck itself to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, or about as fast as you can utter the phrase “according to the factory.” After that it’s a gut-churning maglev to salivating madness. Car and Driver coaxed an M60 to a quarter-mile E.T. of 11.5 seconds, with a trap speed of 124 mph. That’s M5 fast.
GLASS ONION Built on a shared gas or electric propulsion architecture, the BMW i5 M60 has a battery capacity of 84.3 kWh (net), a curb weight of 5,247 pounds and an estimated range of 240 miles on the 21-inch sport tires. PHOTO: BMW
I hear you scoffing. What about the craptastic range (240 miles, on the optional 21-inch sport tires, according to the EPA) and leisurely charging (205 kW maximum)? What about the soul-crushing depreciation? If the M60 is so great, why is BMW already offering incentives approaching five figures?
Exactly. As fascinating, flashy and fast as the M60 is, it was born of compromise: namely, management’s decision to build the i5 series on a platform configurable for either IC or EV powertrains. Such strategies invariably leave EV versions burdened with structural “scar tissue,” that is, vestigial mass left over from the IC configuration. Note that the M60 weighs 5,247 pounds, almost 500 pounds more than the Tesla Model S Plaid.
None of this is news to BMW. Munich’s next generation of electrics will be built on EV-optimized platforms. In the meantime, I see no reason why buyers of fine Bavarian knickknacks should have to pay retail for such expedience. I offer the following as words of counsel, to help gentle readers break the spirit of their local sales manager.
I mean, come on, fella…240 miles of range? That’s got to be worth $10,000, off the top. And even that figure is so optimistic it’s practically on antidepressants. My friend and I killed half the battery just hooning around the countryside for an hour, summoning the lightning.
In other cars and in other lives, the range and charging limitations might be irrelevant. But the 5 series is one of the legends of the Autobahn, built for conquering long distances at high sustained speeds. At top speed (143 mph), the M60’s stores of luminiferous ether would be spent in less time than it would take to recharge it.
The shared-platform strategy forced other hard choices, too. Note that i5 models don’t have a front trunk, like Teslas. There’s nothing but hardware under the hood. Knock off $500 and we’ll call it even.
Another thing: The 2024 M60s are not equipped with a North American Charging Standard (NACS) receptacle, compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network—a fact that clearly limits buyers’ convenience and spontaneity. I’m nothing if not spontaneous. And lacking an 800V charging system the M60 can’t take full advantage of DC direct fast-charging.
CRYSTAL PALACE Among the amenities in the 2024 BMW i5 M60 xDrive are cut-glass controls at the doors and in the center console, widescreen display, full-length glass roof and programmable heads-up display.
BMW
The company has said the 2025 cars will be NACS equipped; but for cars in the pipeline, it’s worth another five grand off, wouldn’t you say, Mr. or Ms. Sales Manager? And throw in a home charger while you’re at it.
The test car had M written all over it, literally, starting with the can’t-be-unseen illuminated front grille outline. Ours had also visited the carbon-fiber haberdasher, with exterior bits trimmed with rich, glossy composite pieces and accents. Other boxes ticked included the blaze-red brake calipers and numismatically polished 21-inch wheels.
Despite all the carbon-fiber lingerie, the M60 isn’t exactly irresistible. The front overhang is a bit long, the hood is too low, the nose and shoulders too soft. This points to a deeper and more bedeviling problem for car designers: Aggressive shapes are generally not aerodynamically efficient, and vice versa. With a drag coefficient of just 0.25 Cd, the M60 is efficient but smooth like a Ken doll…down there.
Like all new BMWs, the M60’s gestalt is ruled by the drive-mode selected. The Sport mode dials up all the dynamic systems—from dampers and brakes to e-throttle, steering and stability control. The seat bolsters tighten around your rib cage. The instrument display and quartz-like cabin lighting go into angry red mode and the cabin is filled with soaring turbine sounds, providing driver feedback.
I wish I could say the same of the chassis. The same elements that make this heavyweight so effortlessly controllable at speed—adaptive dampers, 48V active anti-roll bars, e-steering and brakes, rear-wheel steering and the constant intercession of the dynamic codeware—make the car feel numb at the tiller.
Dial on over to the Relax drive mode and the lighting turns a groovy blue. The ambient soundscape changes to a soft, sitar-like droning, swelling and falling with the accelerator. I hate sitar music.
Knock off another thou, sahib.
2024 BMW i5 M60 xDrive
SMOOTH OPERATOR the 2024 BMW i5’s M60 is among the most aerodynamically efficient sedans on the market, with a drag coefficient of 0.25. PHOTO: BMW
Base price: $84,100
Price, as tested: $95,395
Propulsion: All-electric all-wheel drive, with independent front/rear-mounted AC synchronous motors (257/335 hp, f/r) providing cooperative multimodal AWD; 84.3 kWh battery pack.
Power/torque: 593 hp/586 lb-ft
Length/wheelbase/width/height: 199.2/117.9/84.9/59.3 inches
Curb weight: 5,247 pounds
0-60 mph: 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 143 mph
EPA-estimated range: 240 miles
Charging: 205 kW maximum rate, DC direct; 10-80% capacity restored in 30 minutes
Cargo capacity: 17.3 cubic feet
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