2024 BMW i5 Review: The New Electric 5 Series Is Here 

I've never seen Doug wearing long pants

A new depreciation king has arrived!

This BMW I5's camera system has given us the best tour of the Cars&Bids Headquarters - the only one I think we've ever had!

Doug is the type of guy who says that the car doesn't have a sport mode, but when he opens the menu, the same sport mode greets us

That opening startup sound sounds a lot like Macintosh computers when they power up 🤔🤔

Front :BMW Side:Honda Accord Back:Mercedes CLA

The most interesting part about this video is the Lucid Air Dream Edition selling for $87,000. That’s half price from 2 years ago!! I believe Doug needs to adjust the Value in its dougscore making it the new champion!

I had a brand new 2024 530i rental from sixt about three weeks ago. At first, I hated it. I accidentally turned on the overhead lights and had to go through 3 screens to turn them off. Once I figured out the basics, I was in love. This thing was great. It snowed in Maryland (where I was) and this xdrive was a blast!! Seriously thinking of trading in the Allroad for it.

If it wasn’t for the logo and kidney grill I probably wouldn’t recognize this car as a bmw at all

As someone who came of age in the E39 era, there’s very little about this that feels like a BMW to me. It just seems so far removed from what I have in mind when I think of BMW.

Doug is the type of guy that reviews car trims for the masses.

The BMW I5 is here! Not great, not good, not awesome, not the best, not bad, not awful, but here! Reminds of Christopher Hitchens beginning his lectures with: "Of all the introductions of myself that I heard, this is certainly the most recent!".

The G30 was design perfection. So naturally BMW thought, "we have to make it ugly like the rest of our new cars" and thus the G60 was born!

Kudos for testing the standard version and not the M 👍🏻

Probably the best review I've seen in an age, thanks for the insight.

I drive the bmw i5 M60. I agree with everything you said Doug. I’m 6’7 I have plenty of room, car seat fits easily in there. I came from a ford bronco Wildtrak backseat space was so limited. Also this BMW drives so well on the road takes bumps well and that M60 is a beast speed wise

Last gen was nice from the get go.

I like how turning the hazards on makes the mood lighting go into "red alert" mode, fulfilling every Trekkie's dream.

Harry from Harry’s garage had a very interesting review on this particular car. I am sure Doug enjoyed it, as a big fan of him.

I saw one of these today. It's huge. It has a backup beeper because it's the size of a truck!

It boggles the mind that there's no front trunk in this thing. They've got an engine bay the size of a swimming pool but they can't even find the space to fit the charge cables under there. Just a complete lack of ambition in the packaging department.

Rest in peace to my favorite sedan ever

10:23 My Second-gen Volvo S60 from 2013 has those "boxes" feature on the reversing camera. True, the reversing camera was an optional extra back then.

I work for bmw and I drive these cars everyday, yet I’m still watching Doug’s video on it because I love his reviews that much.

4:39 the opening the door sound and the starting up sound are like the sounds Microsoft Windows used to make 2 decades ago. This is not a complaint. I dearly miss those versions of Windows.

It's not ugly...it just has an economy car vibe

Not offering AWD on the base model of the electric model is a big mistake. Lots of potential buyers for this car live in areas that get terrible weather and an AWD model that sits between the 40 and the 60 would sell pretty well, especially in NY, Northern CA, MA, Washington State, etc. Almost all of this cars competitors offer AWD without requiring customers to purchase the top performance model too.

That carwash camera mode is great. I have the same on my i4, and I do use it every time I go to the car wash.

I love that the A class is still in the bunker..he’s a month ahead on videos

Doug is leveling up, he started doing reviews sitting on his knees next to a car and now he levelled up to a chair. In a few years from now we'll be getting reviews from a reclining chair. ;)

I cannot wait to get my hands on this vehicle.

this is the most futuristic car interior i have ever seen this makes me think of the vehicles in Bladerunner 2049

I kinda wish Doug would still review in church car parks and stuff

Doug is the kind of guy who says enthusiesty, twice, like it's a real word.

Looks great! Seems great!

My BMW dealer said the black center headrest was designed that way to blend better with rear deck lid less reflection allowing better visibility out the rear window.

First impression: The i5 has the presence of a Toyota Crown sedan. And, according to Doug’s assessment, you can pay a premium price for a prestige brand and enjoy the same type of competent but unremarkable experience delivered by a mid-level Honda Accord .

BMW + all electric... what could go wrong?!?!?

Hey Doug, just a friendly suggestion, but could you think about putting sound-deadening material on the walls to reduce the hall in the sound. That would be a great upgrade for the new filming location. ❤️

Love the way they look and the size

Stop kids from saying first please

I like the back up beeper its cool

Doug is the GOAT of reviewing cars!

Beautiful car and great review

Doug the kind of guy to knock on your door and asks how your refrigerator is running.

I'm surprised Intel isn't upset with the i5 nomenclature

From The Ultimate Driving Machine to the Ultimate Leasing Machine.

I am a software engineer in mid 30s and I find all this tech and screens too much. I like having cruise control, navigation, Spotify and backup camera, but this situation with big screens everywhere, no physical controls and lights everywhere just seems distracting and unnecessary.

Feeling optimistic about BMW EVs. BMW makes good electronics. My 5 series had 200k miles and every button worked, had no rust and rode like a dream. It just had a lot of oil leaks. This car has no oil and less coolant, so it might be reliable. I might buy one of these.

Put Intel logo sticker right before the i5 badge on the trunk

The welcome sound is like an orchestral reimagination of the good old mac startup chime

BMW using B&W speakers, love it! 😂❤

The 5 on the side of the car looks like the Sketchers S Also the chime when you get in the car reminds me of an older pc booting up

No one: "Hey, how could we make the 5 Series depreciate even faster?" BMW: "Let's make it electric!"

The little problem I see here is: If you wanted to have a comfy cruiser, you'd go for a Merc. Now you can cruise here too but: The 5-Series always was a car which not only in the top model had some sportiness. Even a 520i E34, a 535i E39 or just the very first ones always - maybe were not all fast, but all had better handling than a merc and were more engaging to drive.

A bit too minimalistic. I still prefer traditional buttons. They provide a different tangible experience.

I've already seen the new 5 series in person and this thing is huge. Cars have gotten way too big now.

Even though the design is imho a step back from the G30, I like the strategy where the ICE and EV’s have the same design. Mercedes should also do this instead of making those hideous EQ-serie cars.

Fyi in case you're car shopping- the voice control in new BMWs is excellent and you can use it to change the climate settings without having to go into the screen. You can also use it to open the sunroof and windows

The car looks massive with you sitting behind it.

It gives you a MacBook startup sound when you get in?

Base model ICE is going to be a great buy in 18 months

I like the calmer moderation style a lot.

It's hard to outdo the previous gen G30 in terms of styling. Designs like that just have a timeless, signature look to them that defines a brand and makes it hard to deviate from. Especially the m550i with the more aggressive front bumper. I hope this 8th gen is a stepping stone to something great in the future. Also, those prices. No longer best bang for your buck.

nice skoda

Thanks Doug

One interesting quirk to BMW infotainment is that the basic functions can be controlled by hand gestures - for example do a little circle with your finger in the screen vicinity and it will adjust the volume - I'm quite sure, that there's one for A/C fan speed as well. It's actually quite handy - you don't need to look away from the road or look for any button at all.

bmw outdid themselves on this one. when you thought they couldnt ruin another car, they put out this

13:50 has Doug grown taller again? 😂

This is exactly what I want. Super comfortable ride.

I bought a three yr old 550 several years ago for a 60% discount from its MSRP. I can’t wait till this come around the used market.

Highly recommend Harry’s Garage review on the i5. He was very disappointed with it!!

While in for my 2023 540i's first service, I drove the M60 (M5 electric version). I loved it and went home to research it. 240 mile range under the best conditions is a NO SALE. I live in the midwest and that just wont work.

Cool you like the car. I have the car for a couple months now and really like it a lot.

The interior is definitely impressive. The fact that is longer than the older 7 is also a great change. Eventually 1 out of every 3 homes will have a EV. This will definitely make the value of the classic 5 series (V8,and V10) go up in value.

Who were the nut jobs critisizing the E36 and E39's looks? Referring to Doug saying every re-design he saw over his lifetime received criticism. Also, I would play with the hazard button all the time due to how it lights up the internal light bars. "RED ALERT! SHIELDS UP!" Damn, I'm such a nerd....

Can we please return back to the outdoors reviewing? made the videos much better

5:59 Imagine hitting the hazard switch by accident and having that lightshow start.

I just picked up a 2025 i5 X drive with premium package, I had a i4 for the past 2 years. This is a big sedan, comfortable and not that slow. My i4 was sportier. BTW for enthusiasts get the M version, I drove it and it is ridiculously fast

Doug! I’ve been waiting for you to make this video for a year! My husband and I were looking for an EV for a year now… searching and searching, test driving and test driving. Well we just started a build for the BMW I5! And low and behold you finally put this video out! I’m shocked. I thought you were gonna skip this car! And then we were iffy on the cape green color, so we went with red! Still happy with red but you reviewed the green so we might’ve picked it 😅

I saw an EV BMW the other day. It was in a 20-minute queue before it could refu-- I mean recharge for 40 minutes to get to 80% battery and then it would have barely enough range to get the guy home. Meanwhile, my 2016 VW Golf (ICE) can recha-- I mean refuel in ~3 minutes to the full 100% and my range is about 900km (highway). But I guess he's very comfortable sitting in his BMW where even turning on the airco or heated seats or entertainment or all those interior lights affect your range. My car also has lane assist, adaptive cruise control, has a DynAudio sound system with subwoofer, blind-spot warning, and so many other nifty features. All for the grand total price of (back in 2017 when I bought it 2nd-hand) $20,000. That BMW offers minimal added comfort (on top of forcing 40 to 60 minute recharging breaks very regularly) for an additional $60,000? Imagine that saving $60,000 can get you. Here's what: $40,000 in profit if you put it into an index fund for 5 years. Your expensive luxury car (that also costs a ton in expensive BMW maintenance) is costing you more than just the additional purchase price. And guess what? Most people driving those things are broke. As. F. Posers. If you want to get this car and make it make sense, you should have $1,2 million in liquid savings. And even then you should rethink your choice 15 times over because you can get a far more reliable Honda (also very comfy) for half the money.

thanks doug

Delivery for mine in September! Whoot whoot!!!

BMW didn’t succeed to amaze us with their new designs. Good work BMW🤝🤝

The only BMWs I'd consider getting: M340i, M5, or M2.

I’m glad this is an objective review, and not too many stupid comments from people who haven’t driven or can’t buy one. Having test driven 90% of EVs available in the UK, this is by far the best and most similar to a petrol car I’ve tried - maybe bar the i4. If you have the chance to try the M60, it is absolutely brilliant and exciting.

Thank you for the metric units

Looks like an Accord

I'm sorry but you're wrong. No one considered the previous generation 5-series bad looking or controversial. It has been the best looking BMW in years and this is the issue of the new one. It looks like Toyota Camry compared to that. It's like they took an iron to the previous gen and took all the interesting bits out.

11:20 Doug is not sure where CarWash feature can be used , but is perfect when boarding the Channel train (UK -France) as it is quite tight there.

What I don't get is that they have a Carwash Mode camera mode, but it won't let you shift from N to D without pressing the brakes, so at the end of a carwash you're at risk of getting rear ended by the car behind you because the BMW won't let you shift into D without almost completely stopping. It would make sense to allow a shift from N to D if the Carwash Mode is activated.

I really love that Colour and am curious to see one in Person here on the Autobahn or parked somewhere, because in Person is always different than on Pictures on a Video And as you said Doug, i'm 100% sure People will still complain because it's a BMW Prost & Cheers from Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps

4:15 I wouldn’t be surprised if Hans Zimmer composed the revise beep-beep sound. At this rate I also wouldn’t be surprised if they release a BMW music album.

I personally think most of the last gen BMWs (like the m760, m5, m2, x6m and x7) looked the best and that means yes, even btr than the previous ones

Hey Doug - I like your video and I agree with the score that you gave the i5, but there are a few important things that I want you and others to be aware of when buying a 2024 5 - Series (incl. i5 and gasoline models): 1. iDrive 8/8.5 is *ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE* ; the controls for the self-driving feature (Driver Assistance Professional) are no longer on the steering wheel, they are now buried within the iDrive system! I find myself having to take my eyes off the road to adjust things like the cruise control distance! I've also noticed that some of the features/options/settings in iDrive 8 and 8.5 seems to vary between models (For example - The purple colored ambient lighting is not available in the 3/4 series, but it is available on the X1...??) 2. That Ambient Lighting bar, which is also called the "Interaction Bar with Ambient Lighting", is ONLY available (as of now) in the i5 and NOT in the gasoline 530i's! The 530i's will still have ambient lighting, but the design is both a joke and an insult and will come in the form of two lines -____- 2. You did mention that changing the driving modes will change the ambient lighting.... However in other models like the X7, there is a setting that will allow you to change driving modes without changing the ambient lighting color...?? 3. For those of you who like to open/close your sunroof, I would highly suggest you *AVOID* any 5 series that has the *Sky Lounge* option or any 5 series that has the *Executive Package* , which will include the *Sky Lounge* option! Why? The Sky Lounge is basically a panoramic sunroof, but you CANNOT open/close the glass and it does not have LED's - all you can do is either let in a lot of sunlight or no sunlight at all; I find it useless as I would rather have the option to open/close the glass to let air in. 4. As of now, new i5 owners get 2 years of free charging via Electrify America (owned by Volkswagen btw); the only model that get 3 years of free charging is the i7 Besides the Ambient Lighting (on the 530i's) and that horrible iDrive 8/8.5 system, I think they did a good job on the 5!

An electric appliance that will end up depreciating 50% in value within a year. Hybrid would be better.

“First” people - sentenced to 10 years of dropping the Zoap

Wow as for the moods...got make sure that you put your car in the good mood for a good day

“Lighted”?? I think the word You’re looking for is lit 😂

Doug is the type of guy to climb over a glass wall to see what's on the other side