First drive: 2023 BMW i5 prototype

There will be two i5 models from the start of sales: the dual-motor, four-wheel-drive i5 M60, packing 590bhp, and the single-motor, rear-driven i5 eDrive40, with 335bhp.

Naturally, the M-lite car steals the show, with performance and dynamics to challenge the best of the competition, as I discovered on handling tracks at a BMW test site. Power delivery under gentle throttle loads is exceptionally smooth and linear. Response is instant, with real urgency from rest, before the car gains pace with effortless grace and great flexibility.

It’s all achieved with outstanding drivetrain refinement and in near silence. You can hear a synthesised noise, meant to mimic the exhaust roar of an ICE BMW, but let’s just say it’s a matter of personal taste.

It’s what happens when you tap on a steering paddle marked Boost that really gets your attention. It unleashes all 590bhp for up to 10 seconds, with a countdown showing in the instrument panel. The result is explosive acceleration that leaves you breathless, the pick-up intense and the mid-range very muscular.

Does quick also mean fun to drive in this instance, though? The i5 M60 has BMW’s Adaptive M Suspension Professional package, with steel springs up front, bespoke air springs at the rear and variable dampers. Our test prototype also featured the Dynamic Drive option, which adds electromechanical stabilisation of body roll.

In Sport mode, the handling balance is terrifically neutral, with strong front-axle grip and a low centre of gravity giving it great agility. You can therefore confidently carry high speeds through open-radius corners without premature understeer spoiling the fun.

Excellent purchase at the rear and superb traction also allow you to deploy that instantly arriving power early for romping exits. The variable-rate steering, well weighted in the best of BMW traditions, has good off-centre precision, if not the last word on feedback.

Still, with the active rear steer system helping to rotate the rear, there’s enough communication to give the M60 engagingly fluid dynamic properties and a secure feel, even over challenging roads.

Slackening the stability control brings distinctly more rear-biased qualities, much in the character of BMW’s existing xDrive models. You can use this to entertaining effect out of tighter turns, a surfeit of torque overcoming the otherwise excellent adhesion for graceful drifts when circumstances allow.

The mixture of heavy damping and active stabilisation provides excellent suppression of pitch and roll, plus quick settling over undulations and humps at speed. The ride feels firm, but excellent shock absorption means the M60 rarely needs more than one compression-and-rebound stroke to dispatch bumps and potholes. There is some lingering road roar on coarse surfaces, but it never became excessive during my limited time behind the wheel.