LET’S MAKE ONE THING CLEAR FROM THE start: the BMW i5 M60 is an exceptional electric saloon – one of the best of its type – but it doesn’t feel like a truly engaging M product. Judged as such, the M60 is proof that hot EVs have a real task on their hands to conjure up a meaningful shift in personality beyond the extra performance they offer. Hyundai cracked it with the Ioniq 5 N (see evo 317), and perhaps BMW will when it launches its first fully-fledged electric M car (an M3, due in 2027). But it hasn’t here.
This might come as a surprise when you consider that, technically speaking, the M60 is more than just a warmed-up i5. It runs on the same Cluster Architecture platform as the base i5 (and the new petrol 5-series that will underpin this year’s M5petrol-hybrid), but with a motor at each axle it generates 593bhp and 605lb ft of torque, and BMW has utilised pretty much every chassis gizmo in the book to make it as agile and dynamic as possible. There’s a front chassis stiffening plate, adaptive dampers, a variable-ratio steering rack, and rearaxle steering that turns the rear wheels by up to 2.5 degrees – either against the fronts or in the same direction, depending on road speed.
