2023 BMW 5 Series Arrives In Heavily Electrified New Guise - All Electric i5 Revealed

German luxury manufacturer BMW has revealed the all-new 5 Series. The 2023 BMW 5 Series also includes for the very first time, an all-electric model in the form of the new i5 electric sedan.

The all-new BMW 5 Series is the eighth generation of the executive sedan from the Bavarian carmaker. The 8th-gen BMW Series will go on sale in Europe later this year and is expected to arrive in India soon after that.

The all-new BMW 5 Series is 5,060mm long, 1,900mm wide and 1,515mm tall. The wheelbase is 2,995mm long and the ground clearance is 154mm. The new 8th-gen 5 Series is 100mm longer, 30mm wider than the outgoing sedan while the wheelbase has grown by 20mm.

The new BMW 5 Series will be offered in 5 versions when it arrives this autumn in Europe – 2 EVs, one petrol and two diesels. More variants including the M5 are expected to follow in 2024.

The lone petrol version of the new 2023 BMW 5 Series is the 520i. The engine is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit producing 188bhp and 310Nm of peak torque.

The engine is aided by a mild hybrid system with a single electric motor that pushes out 18bhp and 200Nm of peak torque when needed. Power is sent to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The two diesels are basically rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive (xDrive) versions of the 520d. Both use the same engine, a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder unit producing 194bhp and 400Nm of peak torque.

The diesel engine is also aided by mild hybrid tech with a single electric motor that produces an extra 11bhp and 25Nm of peak torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels or all four wheels (xDrive) via an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The final two versions of the new BMW executive sedan are versions of the all-new i5 electric sedan. The base version is the i5 eDrive40 which uses a single electric motor that powers the rear wheels.

The i5 eDrive40 electric sedan’s electric motor produces 308bhp and 400Nm of peak torque. In sports mode, the i5 eDrive40 motor cranks out 335bhp.

The higher-spec i5 M60 xDrive is the top-of-the-line version of the new 5 Series as of now. The electric all-wheel drive i5 M60 xDrive pushes out 509bhp and 820Nm of peak torque. With the Sports mode engaged the power figure rises to 593bhp.

The BMW i5 M60 xDrive sprints from 0-100km/h in just 3.8 seconds and onto a top speed of 230km/h. Both versions of the i5 draw power from an 81.2kWh battery pack. The i5 eDrive40 delivers a range of up to 582km on a single charge while the M60 xDrive delivers a maximum range of 516km.

The design of the new BMW 5 Series is a whole lot more restrained than the new unhinged 7 Series. It features tweaked headlights, slightly larger kidney grilles and horizontal LED taillights.

The i5 is mostly the same, but it uses quite a bit of black plastic to close the grille and other intakes at the front. The rear also sports quite a bit of the black plastic with the boot sporting a tiny spoiler.

The interiors too are an evolution. The curved glass panel on the dash continues to host twin displays for the instrumentation and infotainment and while the former has remained unchanged at 12.3 inches, the latter now measures 14.9 inches across.

The interiors come draped in vegan material for the first time as standard. This includes the Veganza, leather-like upholstery for the seats and vegan draping for the steering wheel.

Thoughts About The New 2023 BMW 5 Series

The new BMW 5 Series sees the Bavarian firm electrify its executive sedan with the new i5 and the mild-hybrid petrol and diesel options. This electrification treatment is also expected to be found on the upcoming M5, which promises to be an absolute riot when it arrives sometime next year.

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