Our particular 5’s ultra-bright yellow metallic paint job undoubtedly helps the attention, but as anyone who has ever owned a yellow car knows, the underlying model needs a funk, a shape to justify such a bright set of clothes.
Were I specifying one of these for my own use, I would choose an Ultimate model (as that trim gets you Iconic Yellow upholstery) with Pop Yellow paint and the Diamond Black roof option in a heartbeat, although I could probably be persuaded into the Arctic White as well, so long as it came with that same black roof with red edging.
It’s hard to see a case for the lower-powered (118bhp, rather than 148bhp) motor, since it always comes with the smaller (40kWh against 52kWh) Urban Range battery. The punchier motor gives the 5 very impressive step-off acceleration and the bigger Comfort Range battery gives you a reliable range of 190-200 miles at this time of the year, whereas the small one, even driving a less powerful motor, is only good for 150-160 miles. Spend the extra would be my advice.
Having talked economy, I have to confess that I’ve encountered a wide disparity in the miles-per-kilowatt-hour figures while driving our car. In gentle town running or consistent low rural speeds, you can drive it over 5.0mpkWh, a very impressive figure. When tooling about on A- and B-roads, you can keep it well into the 4.3-4.5 range, again a good performance.
But there are also times when it sticks stubbornly in the mid-threes, and I can’t seem to do much about it. I’m one of those fetishists who chase good figures, so overall I’ve managed to keep our average economy in the early fours. A less obsessed driver would return 3.6 and be happy.
If you consistently do 2000 miles a month in any car, you pretty soon form an accurate idea of the maturity and durability of its controls and switchgear, and this is where, in my book, the 5 really deserves plaudits. It’s easy to operate, there’s zero evidence of flimsiness (a 5 flaw from the olden days) and when you get the car valeted (which is what our photographers like) it comes up showroom-fresh.
That overriding impression of durability informs my whole 12,600-mile life with our 5. From what I now know, these cars are going to last a long time, both as leading EV market offerings and, once sold, as individuals.
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