17/05/2026

Contributing Editor Keshy Dhillon / keshy@piston.my Editorial

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SUNDAY | MAY 17, 2026

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One telltale sign that this is the CKD is the gloss black surrounds of the grille.

Same yet different BY SHAUN LEE

Locally-assembled BMW i5 might be an identical car with a better deal but in a tough market

THE locally assembled (CKD) 2026 BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport Pro is now priced at RM392,300 with BMW’s five year BSRI package, which is about RM32,000 less than before. And after driving it again, the most obvious takea way is that this is, for all intents and pur poses, the same i5 we already know. The visual changes are minor, and more importantly, the build and material quality feel largely carried over from the imported car, for better or worse. If anything, some may assume the locally assembled version would feel slightly worse off in terms of quality, but that has not happened. From the cabin to the way it drives, it feels essentially unchanged. Which means all the things that made the earlier i5 impressive are still here, and so are some of the weaker points. That makes the CKD i5 quite easy to understand. BMW has not reinvented the product. It has simply made an accomplished electric executive sedan a tad more attainable. The EV market around it has changed quite a bit in the last few years. It is not

that the i5 ever had uncontested value, but newer EVs, particularly from China, have become increasingly good at chal lenging what buyers expect to get for their money. Some now deliver a very convincing luxury impression, long features list and strong showroom appeal at significantly lower prices. A Zeekr 7X, for example, is not in exactly the same category, but it does show how much stronger the market has become in terms of luxury feel per ringgit. That makes the BMW’s case a little more nuanced than before. Still, once you start driving the i5, the reason it

CKD version gets this subtle bootlid spoiler.

remains so com pelling becomes obvious. This is still, to me, the benchmark for sus pension tuning in this class. The way the i5 rides is deeply impressive because

The rest of the driving experience fol lows the same theme. The steering is accurate, the brake pedal is easy to judge, and the whole car responds in a way that feels natural and intuitive rather than artificially sporty. It still has that familiar BMW trait where the car seems to shrink-wrap itself around you after a few corners. That sense of cohesion matters more than the outright performance figures, though those remain healthy enough. The rear motor produces 313PS and 400Nm in normal use, rising to 340PS and 430Nm with Sport Boost, which is more than enough for a car of this nature. But what stands out is not how fast it is, rather how well the power is delivered. Inside, the story is a little more mixed, but again, familiar. The i5 still makes a strong first impression. The curved dis play, Interaction Bar, Bowers & Wilkins audio system, and overall sense of width and occasion in the cabin all contribute to

it manages to be supple when it needs to be and tight when it has to be, depending on the mode, without ever feeling brittle. There is no jiggliness, no harsh edge, and none of that under-damped heavi ness that some large EVs can suffer from. In Sport mode, it never crosses into being uncomfortable. In fact, I could quite hap pily leave it in Sport all the time. That is the more balanced setup for me. Normal is just a touch softer, and there is a slightly air suspension-like quality in the way it lands over bumps, which some may prefer, but Sport gives the car the better overall balance without any real penalty in comfort. That level of suspen sion control is not easy to achieve in a heavy EV on 20-inch wheels, yet the i5 makes it feel effortless.

No frunk here.