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More than half a century of 5 Series pedigree has led BMW to this, the first electric version of its venerable sedan, the i5.
It's true that electric cars come with benefits that suit the realm of luxury (or at least executive) motoring like their effortless acceleration and near-silent operation, so this new G60 5 Series has the potential to be the best yet in its ‘i5’ form.
But there are rivals, well-liked ones at that, which BMW must contend with to snatch the spot at the top of the large premium sedan ladder technically held currently by the Porsche Taycan in terms of sales - though Mercedes’ E-Class would lead if its electric cousin EQE’s sales were combined.
So, with names like that to go up against, BMW better have brought its A-game.
Volvo is a brand that has some strong images associated with it. High-end safety, five km/h below the speed-limit-driving-styles, sitting close to the steering wheel, sweater-sets, ‘bloody Volvo driver’ expletives… ahem (present company excluded, of course).
Those who are watching the brand closely know those images are almost defunct because that’s old Volvo and this is new Volvo.
Comfort and safety still appear to be at the top of the brand's priority list but style is being retuned to make this medium-sized SUV a true competitor against its luxury rivals, the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Lexus NX.
I’ve been family-testing the new Ultimate B5 Bright grade for the last few weeks and have thrown road-trips, kids and pets at it!
In this review I’ll unpack how the XC60 has handled life with my family of three.
There’s no getting around the i5 being a rather expensive offering. More than $150,000 to get into an electric sedan that’s not much faster than a hot hatch is a big ask, but there’s plenty to enjoy about the 5 Series.
Things like its heated leather seats shouldn’t be the reason you’re willing to spend so much on a sedan when a $50,000 hybrid SUV will score you the same, instead it’s the fact the 5 Series is a delight to drive and hasn’t lost the feeling of prestige the badge has earned over the last half a century.
In terms of value - if speed isn’t your focus and you’re less of a gadget-type-operator when looking at cars like this - the 520i has the style and comfort you’d need and at $100K less than the M60.
And in terms of large electric sedans, the i5 eDrive40 is cheaper than a Porsche Taycan (by a little) or an Audi e-Tron (by a lot). The Genesis G80 Electrified is the closest cheaper rival, by about $10K, or the less powerful Mercedes EQE is similarly priced at $154,900.
Essentially, if you’re looking at a 5 Series, it might be worth considering if you really need it to be electric, but if so, there aren’t many alternatives in its category for the price.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.
The Volvo XC60 Ultimate B5 Bright is a fine example of a family car that actually caters to families. There are plenty of practical features inside to help everyday living and it has a good amount of occupant and boot space for the class. I like how it handles on the road and its running costs are reasonable for a luxury SUV. It's not as flashy as its rivals but it's still stylish.
My husband and son spent a lot of time in the XC60 and they have enjoyed a high-level of comfort on our journeys together. We all love the built-in booster seats in the back row because of the independence they offer.
If you’ve watched other members of the BMW family go into a new generation within the last few years - the 3, 4 and 7 Series particularly, you won’t be too surprised by what you see here. Especially with the latter, having seen the petrol variants look roughly the same as the electric ones.
BMW specifically made the petrol 520i and the i5 variants look similar for egalitarian purposes - to not disenfranchise 520i buyers who are still spending a fair chunk of cash but might not be ready to go EV.
That means all three variants score a mix of new and old. The kidney grille remains and isn’t as large as on the M3 or 4 Series, while the bonnet line following it and the ‘character line’ down the car’s side also remain. And yes, the Hoffmeister kink where the C-pillar meets the passenger window’s lower corner is still there.
On that C-pillar though is a ‘5’ stamped into the bodywork, new to this generation, while the front grille as mentioned has a glowing light surround - the brand’s ‘Iconic Glow’ already seen on the 7 Series.
Overall, thanks to being slightly larger in every dimension, the new 5 is starting to look bigger than a 7 Series from a little while ago. And that’s because it is - its body is overall longer than an E65 7 Series from the mid-2000s.
It’s 5060mm long 1900mm wide, 1515mm tall (97mm longer, 32mm wider, and 36mm taller). Its wheelbase is 20mm longer too at 2995mm.
The XC60 looks mature and graceful with its wide stance and well-proportioned body. The pronounced bonnet and stylish grille confirm its luxury SUV credentials.
The LED headlight design has been inspired by ‘Thor's Hammer’ (gotta love that Scandi heritage!) and the chrome accents around the windows accentuate the optioned darker tint.
Despite having a stately kerb-side presence, it’s not a boring looking car. The 20-inch dual-coloured alloy wheels and sleek body panelling help the XC60 appear almost sporty. Overall, its exterior design looks like it will age well.
The interior style of the XC60 can be summed up in two words - understated elegance.
The cabin isn't as flashy or wowing as some of its rivals and that might be because it lacks the visual impact of customisable ambient lighting, or because the chunkier dashboard looks more solid and dependable than sleek and fancy.
Regardless, the high-quality leather-accented upholstery and trim options elevate the space to earn the 'luxury' tag.
There is a plethora of soft-touchpoints throughout the car and visual highlights like chrome accents, an illuminated crystal shifter by Orrefors and a solid-feeling steering wheel.
A longer wheelbase means more space inside, where the 5 Series also still looks fairly familiar to those who have spent any significant time in a recent model BMW.
BMW has historically been pretty bang-on with ergonomics, and the new-gen 5 does a good job of sticking to that. Comfortable sports seats and quality feel for the materials on touch points mean the 5 Series feels nice to be in, and relatively restrained interior design for a somewhat luxurious car means it looks nice too.
It’s let down only by a couple of things - its multimedia screen and Operating System 8.5 is a little less simple to use now, and requires more touching the screen than previous iDrive systems, rendering the scroll wheel less useful.
The BMW Interaction Bar too is a little tricky to see controls on, as well as lacking physical feedback for using controls. Vent flow controls are digital sliders on the Bar, while vent direction is controlled by an unusual ‘joystick’ style control nearby.
The rear seat is plenty spacious, as you’d expect from a large sedan, with climate controls and ports for charging devices in the rear.
Families will appreciate the XC60's cabin. Both rows of seating are roomy for the class and the front seats are supportive and comfortable with multiple adjustments available.
However, there is an electric toggle dial that controls the lumbar-, side-, and under-thigh supports as well as the massage function, but flipping between modes can be a bit confusing at first.
I enjoy having the practical two-position memory function on both front seats, as I’ve been travelling a lot with my husband and the heat/ventilation features on the front seats have been great during a recent run of strange weather.
The back seats are well-cushioned and the bench is wide with three adults being able to sit without too many grumbles.
I have plenty of room for my 168cm height and my seven-year old is able to get in and out without any trouble thanks to the higher ground clearance.
Our absolute favourite feature is built-in child booster cushions in the outboard seats. They have two height positions to accommodate different heights/weights and it’s been wonderful for my son to have the autonomy of buckling himself in. But also just awesome for my husband and I because it’s one less thing to think about!
Storage throughout the car is good for the class with the front enjoying a mid-sized middle console, large glove box, two cupholders and two large drink bottle holders. The extra-large storage bins in the front doors are also very handy.
In the rear, you have two retractable cupholders in the fold-down armrest, two map pockets and two drink bottle holders in each door.
The other amenities are great with the individual climate control and four sets of directional air vents – ideally located on the back of the centre console and on the B-pillars.
Charging options are solid with both rows enjoying two USB-C ports and the front also getting a 12-volt outlet and wireless charging pad. The boot has a 12-volt socket, too.
Onto the other technology, the 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive and relatively easy to get around once you spend some time with it. Along with the Google subscription, you also get wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster shows the navigation map and the head-up display incorporates directions, which is great.
The cluster itself isn’t customisable, though, and I like fiddling with things like that to personalise the driving experience.
Another practical feature is a secondary key fob which can be programmed to control the maximum speed the car can travel and the audio volume.
I'm sure this would be handy for parents of any P-platers out there who often borrow the family car.
The key fobs are easily distinguishable. too. The spare for our test vehicle is a bright orange colour, so there are no 'whoops, I grabbed the wrong key' arguments, either.
The boot space is a great size at 483L offering plenty of room for holiday luggage. The back seat has a 60/40 split and a ski-port to open up storage options.
The loading space is level and there is a temporary spare tyre underneath the floor. You can adjust the height of the car using the air suspension and I love a powered tailgate.
There are three members of the new 5 Series family from launch, with a base 520i starting things off from $114,900 before on-road costs.
It’s the only petrol-powered (with mild-hybrid, we’ll come back to this) variant in the trio, but it does have a fairly extensive list of features as standard. In terms of tech and comfort, most of what comes with the 520i is available further up the range too, with the major differences being drivetrain related.
In the 520i, the interior upholstery is synthetic ‘Veganza’ leather with Alcantara, though optional Merino leather is a $4000 BMW Individual option. The front seats are heated as standard, however, and electrically adjustable with memory settings and lumbar support.
A 12.3-inch instrument display paired with a 14.9-inch multimedia display are standard across the range, running BMW’s Operating System 8.5, while a head-up display, ambient lighting, wireless phone charging tray and BMW’s ‘new’ Interaction Bar are included too - a crystalline-style strip across the dash with touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ like the climate controls.
A panoramic glass roof - unable to be opened - is standard too, while the 520i’s sound system is a Harman Kardon set-up with 12 speakers.
Exterior features are quite similar to the more expensive i5 variants, with Adaptive LED headlights, automatic boot opening, an M design kit with front and rear aprons, side sills, and BMW’s Iconic Glow kidney grille surround.
Optional in the 520i is an ‘Enhancement Package’ which adds a choice of aerodynamic 21- or 20-inch wheels, metallic paint, and a 655-watt 17-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system for $5400. One test car on the launch we attended was painted in a BMW Individual colour - Tanzanite Blue - which upped the price to $7800.
Moving up the range to the mid-tier i5 eDrive40, which starts from $155,900, adds Merino leather interior, metallic paint, Bowers & Wilkins surround sound and aerodynamic 20-inch wheels standard, but it also includes adaptive suspension and some other EV-related features.
BMW’s ‘Adaptive Suspension Professional’ comes with Integral Active Steering (rear-wheel steering) and is a step up over the M Sport suspension from the 520i, while its aero wheels function as a way to keep the electric car’s range being affected by resistance.
The eDrive40 also comes with an acoustic protection system to make ‘electric car noises’ to warn pedestrians, as well as BMW’s ‘Iconic Sounds’ for the occupants - basically a system that uses orchestral sounds composed by Hans Zimmer that are affected by acceleration intensity, speed, and drive mode.
It also comes with the standard kit for an electric car, a Mode 2 and Mode 3 charger, cable, and a five-year Chargefox subscription.
The top-spec i5 M60 xDrive ups the cost to $215,900 and the features list again slightly (as well as being far more powerful).
Its suspension is even more advanced, adding the brand’s Adaptive M Suspension Professional with active anti-roll, plus 21-inch aero wheels as a no-cost option. The M60 also gains an M rear boot lip spoiler.
Inside, BMW’s ‘Crafted Clarity Glass’ controls in the centre console are standard, as is ventilation for the front seats and a four-zone automatic air conditioning system.
There are four variants for the XC60, split evenly between the B5 petrol engine and the T8 plug-in hybrid. Our test vehicle is the top-spec Ultimate grade coupled with the B5 petrol engine.
Without any packages, this combination will cost $80,990, before on road costs, which is a $1000 price hike for the 2024 model year.
The standard features list for the XC60 is robust and there are some great premium features, like the electric and heated front seats that feature electrically adjustable under-thigh support, lumbar support and side-bolster support.
The front seats also have a two-position memory function, which I find helpful whenever I share the driving with my husband as there is no hassle for me to get back to a comfy driving position after he drives!
Other premium features include a heated steering wheel, pre-entry climate control (perfect for those super-hot days), premium leather-accented and high-quality trims to choose from.
The technology highlights include a complimentary four-year subscription for the built-in Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store which are accessed via the portrait-style 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system.
There is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a very handy four-zone climate control system.
Other practical features include a handsfree powered tailgate, keyless entry, keyless start, coloured head-up display and a ticket holder on the windscreen, for those odd occasions where you have a physical ticket!
Now, here come the optional packs our model has been fitted with. There’s the 'Climate Pack' for $150 that adds headlight cleaners and a 'Lifestyle Pack' for an additional $13,800.
The latter sounds expensive but you get some lovely features in the pack, like a panoramic sunroof, improved Bowers & Wilkins sound system, Nappa leather upholstery, front seat ventilation, front seat massage function, air suspension and tinted rear windows.
Add on $2050 for the 'Thunder Grey' paintwork and it slides in at $96,990, before on-roads. and that places it towards the top-end of the market compared to its rivals, but the BMW X3 xDrive30i M Sport still just beats it with a $97,900 price tag.
Despite BMW calling it ‘electrified’, the base 520i is only a mild hybrid so most wouldn’t realise unless they were told.
Its turbocharged 2.0-litre four cylinder puts out a modest 153kW and 330Nm, with power and torque sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
BMW claims it’ll knock over the 0-100km/h sprint in 7.5 seconds, a few seconds too slow to blow anyone’s socks off.
The mid-spec eDrive40 has a little more kick to it, its rear-mounted electric motor capable of 250kW/430Nm and able to cut that time to 6.0 seconds.
It’s fitted with an 84kWh battery to draw its power from, the same as the 442kW/820Nm M60 with its all-wheel drive dual-motor setup.
The M-tuned i5 can hit 100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds. Bye bye socks, perhaps.
Volvo is aiming to offer only fully-electric powertrains from 2026 and the new XC60 B5 petrol variants feature a mild-hybrid element designed to improve fuel economy, especially in stop-start traffic.
Our test vehicle has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol powertrain with a maximum power output of 183kW and 350Nm of torque. It’s an all-wheel drive and has a smooth eight-speed auto transmission.
BMW claims the petrol 520i sips 6.7 litres per 100km from its 60-litre fuel tank, though we were unable to independently test any of the claimed figures on the launch day.
The base car has a theoretical range of 896km if it was possible to achieve the claimed fuel consumption figure for the duration of the whole tank - but it isn’t and realistically you could knock about 20-30 per cent off that, depending on how enthusiastically you drive.
In the i5 variants, the same 84kWh battery provides slightly different ranges due to the eDrive40 using 16.56kWh per 100km, and the M60 using 18kWh.
The eDrive40 has a claimed 550km maximum range, while the M60 has a 506km figure thanks to its extra motor and weight.
The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.6L/100km and my real-world usage averaged 8.1L/100km.
That’s pretty economical given that I cover a good mix of open road and urban driving and am not precious with the power.
Based on the combined cycle number and the large 71L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 934km. To give you an idea of time between fills, I drove it for 14 days before having to fill up.
You can’t sneak in any blends or lower grade fuel though as Volvo recommends a minimum 95 RON premium unleaded be used.
For some cars, the list of features is what really separates the variants, but that’s not the case for the 5 Series. As is a bit of a BMW tradition, the drivetrains dictate the different trim levels and prices, and there are three fairly distinct flavours of 5 Series.
Starting at ground level, the 520i might at first seem like a bit of boring vanilla. Except it’s actually quite smooth and light vanilla.
There’s not a lot to write about when it comes to its drivetrain, but the lightness of its engine and petrol tank combo when compared to EV batteries and motors is refreshing, and makes for a quite dynamic rear-drive sedan.
Its 153kW and 330Nm is delivered smoothly enough with the mild hybrid assistance doing a little in helping responsiveness, but without intervening in the gearshifts it doesn’t feel particularly keen.
It lacks the ride comfort of the i5’s adaptive suspension, but it’s able to be driven in a spirited manner that belies its size and even, to some extent its 1725kg kerb weight. Chocolate sprinkles on the vanilla, if you like.
It’s not fast, but it feels nimble compared to its electric siblings and can carry a fair bit more speed through corners, after which there’s room to notice its rear-drive characteristics.
It’s especially noticeable after getting out of the 2130kg eDrive40, though the extra power from its 250kW/430Nm motor makes for some more spirited acceleration and a little more excitement when exiting a corner, especially if you’re aiming to double-check if it really is rear-wheel drive. There’s a little more than choc-topped vanilla going on here.
The steering is, like in the 520i, direct and responsive, though in most cases is probably best set to ‘comfort’ rather than ‘sport’ in its settings.
The eDrive40 is rather comfortable and capable when barrelling through twisty backroads, and doesn’t feel out of hand for a five-metre-long sedan. It holds its weight well, and telegraphs when you might be approaching the limit quite sensibly.
When considering that, then, it’s impressive how brutally capable the 2305kg M60 is.
Here, we’re looking at a double-choc fudge with extra choc, and maybe some cookie dough in there for good measure. There’s a lot to like, but boy is it heavy.
It’s 580kg (or exactly half a Peugeot 208 GTi) heavier than the 520i, but it feels quick on its feet and its anti-roll seems to do a lot in terms of dynamics, the limiting factor really seems to be its tyres (which can and will squeal quite quickly to let you know when approaching said limit).
While you’ll need to take caution with how much speed you approach a corner with, you’re not going to lack acceleration on the other side, its all-wheel drive being less ‘fun’ but more efficient at getting you away from the bend than in the rear-drive eDrive40.
That adaptive suspension does also translate to a comfortable ride on relatively rough roads - only particularly bad bumps will reveal how much weight and pressure is being placed on each corner of the big sedan.
The XC60 is a relaxing car to drive, it does what you expect it to do most of the time. It has enough power to handle open-road touring with ease and while the suspension is on the firmer side, the ride feels well-cushioned.
The only time it skips a beat for me is when you're easing off the accelerator, slowing down, but then need to pick up speed again.
Say, when you find a gap in traffic and begin to merge. There can be a short delay before acceleration happens and it feels somewhat clumsy. But these moments are few and far between.
The cabin is quiet, with minimal wind and road noise. Our family had no issues chatting. It only gets loud inside when heavy rain hits that big panoramic sunroof.
Adaptive steering makes the XC60 feels nimble and horribly tight city streets less daunting. It’s easy to manoeuvre in a small car park, as well.
The clear 360-degree camera system and sensitive front and rear parking sensors also help to make light work of a parking.
BMW has a fairly industry-standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on its new cars, while its electric car batteries are covered by an eight year/160,000km warranty.
For servicing, BMW offers numerous discounted packs and deals based on your preferences and desire to pay upfront.
For the 5 Series, a five-year/80,000km basic service package is $2400, though the i5 will have different needs and lower servicing costs not yet listed by the brand.
It’s not often common to associate a luxury brand with reasonable on-going costs but the Volvo XC60 is offered with very competitive pricing and terms.
The five-year/unlimited km warranty is normal for the class but you can pre-purchase a three-year/45,000km or a five-year/75,000km servicing plan.
The three-year plan is priced at $1750 (averaging $583 per service) and the five-year plan is priced at $3000 (or an average of $600 per service). Both plans are cheaper than a pay-as-you-go option and are inexpensive compared to some rivals.
Servicing intervals are good at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.