BMW i5 given more range as brand eyes up 2025 update blitz

A longer range for the BMW i5 and an additional engine option for the recently updated 2 Series Gran Coupé are among a series of updates planned for the BMW range in 2025.

While it feels like BMW’s electric version of the 5 Series, the i5, has only just gone on sale, the brand is already giving both saloon and Touring estate versions a boost with up to 29 miles of extra range, depending on the variant.

The BMW i5 eDrive40 Touring gets the largest improvement in efficiency, with energy consumption cut by nine per cent; unhelpfully, BMW hasn’t actually quoted the new range figure, but 29 miles on top of the eDrive40 Touring’s existing 329-mile total would mean the new car could have up to 358 miles at its disposal in WLTP testing.

Most efficient overall is the i5 eDrive40 saloon, which has quoted efficiency of up to 17.9kWh per 100km, which translates to 3.5 miles per kilowatt-hour; not bad for a heavy electric car, if a little behind the 3.8mi/kWh of last year’s updated Porsche Taycan. The changes have come about through the use of new silicon carbide semiconductors in the car’s power electronics, lower-friction wheel bearings, and low-rolling-resistance tyres on more aerodynamically optimised wheels.

The updated i5s also get interior ambient lighting as standard across the range, lumbar support for both front seats, Harman Kardon audio, improved trim for the door switches and the option of BMW Individual black and dark violet merino leather trim.

Elsewhere in the BMW line-up, the 2 Series Gran Coupé hasn’t even hit the road yet, and already the firm has announced two new engine variants. While the 120bhp 1.5-litre petrol 216 Gran Coupé won’t be coming to the UK, the other, a 215bhp, four-cylinder 223 xDrive Gran Coupé, will be. This one manages 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds, and up to 44.8mpg.

Other key changes in BMW’s 2025 line-up include an improved AC charging rate for the brand’s plug-in hybrid models, leaping from 7.4kW to 11kW. Digital Key Plus, the company’s smartphone key app, will now be standard on the iX electric SUV, while owners with a BMW running on the brand’s operating system 9 (such as the latest 1 Series) will find Youtube has become available in their infotainment systems.

From March, several BMW models will get a new Tyre Repair Kit Plus, an update to the old can-of-gunk method, while the X5, X6, and M5 all receive new equipment (the M5’s including new Individual leather options). In addition, the 2 Series Active Tourer and X1 will be adorned with a new alloy wheel option.

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