Mi5 SILENT, POSH AND LETHAL!

With its reimagined design language, BMW has done what it does best-divided opinion with the kind of fervour usually reserved for debates about pineapple on pizza.

- Saneet Osilva

The i5 M60 xDrive is the fifth arrow in BMW's electric quiver for India, joining the iX1, 14, iX, and the stately electrified 7 Series. Bold doesn't quite capture it. This is BMW's 5 Series, an icon for over 50 years and a benchmark in the driver's sedan pantheon. Ten million units have been sold since 1972, and they are cherished equally in their M-powered guises and as the dependable four-cylinder option.

Recasting such a legacy car as an all-electric M? That's either genius or sacrilege, depending on your perspective.

Let's start with the design and save the armchair critics some typing. What don't I like? The missing exhaust pipes. That's it.

Sure, I get the point, but that's really the only gripe because, honestly, it looks smashing. It's not even funny how many heads it's turned. Is it the illuminated grille, the power-bulged hood haunches, or the 20-inch M alloys paired with red M brake callipers? Take your pick. It's got a massive road presence. And here's a twist: the wheelbase is 105mm shorter than its petrol-drinking cousin, making it look all the more balanced.

At the rear, it's all sculpted aggression-a sharp bumper, diffuser, angular tail lamps, and a boot lip spoiler. Up front, assertive bumper angles and cavernous air gaps signal that it means business. Pair it all with a black roof and those iconic M mirrors, and the i5 doesn't just walk-it struts the line between modern, classy, and sporty.