Touring shades it for room and poise on has plenty of wow-factor Irish people are not too fond of estates, but the BMW i5 Touring could be a game-changer The danger with instantly liking a car is that you can overlook the failings while energetically accentuating the positives. It takes a bit of discipline to go looking for the drawbacks with the usual vim and vigour needed to convey a balanced assessment. That may very well be the case with the new BMW i5 electric Touring (estate).
Or, to give the tested model its full name, the i5 eDrive 40 M Sport Pro Touring. I was only 10 minutes behind the wheel when I told my fellow passenger: “I really like this car. Really like it.
” Even more than the saloon version, I have to say, despite the fact they are hugely similar in all areas except, obviously, the longer roof and extra glass for the estate. Wheelbase, for example, remains at 2,995mm. The car is also a member of the five-metre-long club.
That is substantial, but it never felt unbalanced or bulky despite the demands placed on it. So I’m still looking for a major flaw. I know I am going against the tide by favouring the Touring because, as a buying public, we are not that fond of estates.
If there was ever a chance of that, the advent of SUVs and crossovers put paid to the possibility quite quickly. That’s a pity because an estate can be so versatile and practical too. Needless to say, this is the first all-electric 5-Series Touring.
It is also bigger than the outg.