BMW i5 M60 xDrive Expert Review

Exterior:

The BMW i5 M60 xDrive boasts an aggressive stance, featuring a forward-inlined sharknose silhouette, complemented by multiple design attributes; the fascia integrates well-contoured construction, with sharp vertical creases on the forward-leaning bonnet. The muscular bonnet attribution sees a continuum with an iconic kidney grille: The section hosts slats positioning prominent M-badging, supported by grille surrounds with illumination and sharpened headlights.

However, the use of more gloss black elements and a larger kidney grille, with a cut-out sensor radar housing, brings customers with mixed opinions in terms of liking. Some find these styling attributes to be busy and cluttered compared to older-generation BMW sedans made available in India. Nevertheless, the following enhanced attributes improve the appeal to customers as of today, featuring muscularity, while maintaining styling aesthetics that are contemporary:

The sharpened LED headlight configuration has a liking amongst customers, which moves away from the Halo-like lighting to a much more poised structure, featuring twin LED DRL elements. The standard LED headlights with an adaptive function for nighttime visibility also look cool. Towards the lower bumper section, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive also houses a glossy black treatment with a functional grille too, offering aerodynamic efficiency. With the lower side sections featuring aero ducts, the front end ties well into design integrations.

Coming to the side profile, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive gets a much more muscular stance; the section features hand-crafted exterior mirrors which have a carbon-fibre weave, striking to passersby. The sides also get a contoured design, with a crisp shoulder line elevating the sedan’s strong character. The high-gloss skirts on the lower section provide the i5 M60 xDrive with a sharper appeal, too. The flush door handles ensure that the BMW i5 M60 xDrive is aerodynamically efficient as well.

Additionally, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive’s side profile enhances its sporty and luxury nature with dynamic alloy-wheel construction and an M-sport braking system featuring red brake calipers. Towards the rear, BMW has ensured to carry forward the aggressive design characteristics; the sedan boasts an M-Sport thin spoiler with lightweight carbon construction. The horizontally aligned LED tail lights with narrowed LED strip integrations enhance the vehicle’s overall strong appeal.

Moreover, BMW has made sure the i5 M60 xDrive offers a high-performance in-cabin architecture to stay true to its aggressive characteristics, which makes the electric i5 M60 xDrive remain unique:

Interior:

The BMW i5 M60 xDrive has a highly aggressive trim integration to offer a strong M-badge-specific atmosphere. The cabin gets carbon-fibre elements integrated into the dashboard for sportiness. For exclusive M-badge-oriented luxury, the dash also features a seamless digital cluster and infotainment screen; these are blended into a single lateral screen extension with no splitting edge. They have a curved construction as well, with quick touch widgets for a better user experience. This section, unlike the exterior, is liked by customers

Additionally, the dashboard layout featuring crystalline elements finds continuity in the door panels, providing a unique atmosphere based on drive mode selections; the setup incorporates ambient lighting and offers around 15 colour customisation options. The touch-sensitive control panel on the dash for the climate control system is another neat touch, setting the i5 M60 xDrive class apart. However, we find the storage spaces to be shallow, especially under the central control armrest. The underfloor cavity of the boot space is not sufficient for carrying larger items.

Nevertheless, for the enhancement of the appeal, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive’s cabin features M-design deemed Alcantara and Veganza upholstery with perforation; we felt that this offers high grip and comfort. The high-quality material and bolstering offer the BMW i5 M60 xDrive’s cabin a pleasant and highly strong appeal, respectively. The M-Sport colour combined stitching into the seats’ bolstering neatly ties the cabin section. The high-grip and chunky leatherette steering wheel construction reflects its sporty nature, which we find quite premium in feel.

In the interior design department, the BMW i5 M60 xDrive manages to establish a luxury but sporty character, featuring the elements discussed above, ensuring they are unique to the i5 M60 xDrive. The electrifying cabin-design architecture makes the BMW i5 M60 xDrive truly unique for customers seeking a sports sedan that they can resonate with as a pure performance identity. However, keeping the crystal element neat can be a problem since it attracts dust and fingerprints. All said, the cabin feels like a place where occupants can be comfortable.

Build Quality:

The BMW i5 M60 xDrive does not shy away from delivering a strong appeal when it comes to fit and finish of trims and elements; these are made of high-quality materials to enhance the experience. There are minimal panel gaps and fitment issues, as expected from a brand like BMW that has set a global benchmark for the luxury passenger car segment. The overall construction is premium in appeal and designed for better reliability and durability. So, are the feature integrations: