New i5 And i5 M60 Are Big Electric BMWs For People Who Don’t Want A Jump Scare When They Open The Garage Door

The new BMW XM and last year’s iX show that BMW isn’t afraid to be brave and challenge styling conventions, particularly where electrification is involved. But all hope isn’t lost for buyers who want to cruise around in a roomy zero-emissions BMW but still like an old-fashioned four-door sedan shape and sensibly-sized grille kidneys.

BMW’s 2024 i5 ticks both those boxes and our spy photographers have caught two different flavours of i5 honing their routine ahead of a 2023 launch, where they’ll slot into BMW’s lineup as sister models to the new 5-Series and above the i4 electric sedan.

Unlike the i4, which is a four-door fastback with a practical hatchback rear end, the i5 appears to be a more traditional sedan shape. And instead of the i4’s long grilles, it gets a fairly shallow set of kidneys. But it’s not totally devoid of modern styling touches: check out the flush door handles, as seen on the i4 and 4-Series Gran Coupe. There are new LED headlamps too, though it doesn’t get BMW’s new two-height lamp arrangement. That controversial design flourish is reserved for high-end models like the 7-Series, X7, iX and XM.

Related: This Is The 738-HP BMW XM Label Red And It Looks Just As Wacky As You’d Have Thought

Just like the next combustion 5-Series range, the electric i5 will be offered with a range of powertrains, something BMW’s R&D department inadvertently confirmed by fixing a sheet of paper to the window of each of the test cars in these pictures that lists the model name. Thanks, guys!

The car in the black wrap that looks like it’s been scribbled on by a pre-school class is an M60, which is likely to get the same mechanical setup as the iX M60. The bi-motor SUV delivers 610 hp (619 PS) to its four wheels an can crack 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.6 seconds, but the lighter, lower i5 M60 should be quicker, unless BMW decides to give it slightly less power to preserve the iX’s positioning as the more desirable product.

And at the other end of the range, seen here looking like one of those cars that’s been turned into a dog, is the two-wheel drive i5 40. Assuming the 40 signifies the same powertrain found in the i4 eDrive40, that means it will have a single motor supplying the rear wheels with around 330 hp (335 PS) and be capable of zero to 60 mph in just under 6 seconds (the i4 needs 5.5 seconds).

The i4 eDrive40 is capable of traveling 310 EPA miles (499 km) on a charge on its 81.5 kWh battery but BMW might take advantage of the i5’s longer wheelbase to fit a bigger power pack that could stretch that range further. BMW might also slot in an xDrive50 variant between the two models by using the 516 hp (523 PS) twin-motor setup found in America’s entry-level iX, though the sedan’s lower center of gravity should ensure it’s much more fun to drive.