First time I see a video where someone talks about the world of owning an EV and the charging network and did not mention once Tesla.

Making their EVs feel normal and familiar is working for them check out their sales figures, Mercedes trying to reinvent the wheel is holding them back compared to Munich.

Take a selfie 🤳 feature……how many meetings they had to decide that 😂

I have to disagree about the Mercedes interior. The quality is poor, the actual design of the interior is awful. Exterior is awful too. There’s nothing that I prefer in the Mercedes when compared to the BMW.

Really enjoyed this style of video Sam! Thought it was really informative and that you structured and conveyed your thoughts on the experience really well. Nice work 👊

Home charging is so nice. 13-14 hours to charge 20-80% at home basically means you got a rather slow home charger setup of 3.6 kW. 7.2kW setup is more suitable if you drive a lot. Most new cars can AC charge at 11kW, but for that you would need a 3 phase home setup. Having 11kW home charger would have meant 4.5 hours to charge 20-80 (roughly 50kWh)

I highly suggest keeping your eye on the Ioniq 5 N. The Smoking Tyre published a fantastic podcast which explains why it would be the perfect EV for you: fun to drive, reasonably priced and the ability to change the power delivery and sound to mimic that of an ICE car. Truly something ahead of its time!

Really appreciate the detailed review Sam ! Very Harry-esque and I guess praise doesn’t get higher than that 😅

This channel deserves the million. Nice narrating and quality content. ❤

Lovely video! The combination of the public charging network and your home charger (no matter how slow it is) finally giving you a good experience and ability to assess the car w/o being hobbled by the infrastructure. Looking forward for more ev/hybrid content in conjunction with the already great content regarding combustion engines

The biggest problem with owning an EV is charging it. If you have a house and can charge at home, maybe it’s no problem. If you don’t do roadtrips or drive more than 200 miles at a time, it’s not a problem. The issue is when you travel long distances and rely on public chargers.

The video I was waiting for Sam. Hopefully this experience has convinced you to try out other ev’s. If you can ignore the disgusted eyes from fellow petrol heads, I’d recommend you testing out a Tesla for a week whether model 3 or y. You may find your ev experience to be different. Great vid as always and educational for those who are still unsure of these vehicles

Dear Sam, i just wanted to post a short message. I have followed you since the start of your channel and midway lost track/interest in car related youtubers. However recently due to youtube algorythm i found a video of yours again. I must compliment you on the proffesionalism and quality of your videos, i am very impressed to see how big the change is since the earlier times i followed you and it has been a joy to watch again, from all the other car youtubers i have followed i feel you have progressed the most and provide the best content that is out there. So im following again and i wish you the best!

Great video mate

Excellent big ol ramble at the end 😊 Great informative video, thanks.

Great video this week Sam.

Great video Sam, I do like the new 5 body style. i5 business leases are great, personal ones are looking around £800 pm

Nice review Sam. Even from an EV enthusiast like myself. Get this, I like your ‘other’ content too, despite most petrol heads telling you that you can’t possibly like both. 🙄

The main driver of EV sales is the business incentive to buy new. Unfortunately as commented that also creates the biggest problem. Their depreciation. If you want the general consumer to buy more. Change the business incentive to include second hand. This will help with the depreciation problem and the uptake. Bigger business will still buy new ones as it's a bigger write off and they would be buying new cars regardless. But uptake of the second hand ones and overall would be higher. Solves many issues.

En EV can make 100% sense or no sense at all depending on your location and personal situation. In Denmark ICE cars are charged with a 150% registration fee with a MASSIVE reduction on this fee on EVs. In short, in my neck of the woods, a Tesla Model 3 costs the same as the cheapest Golf with NO options. Moreover, we get a partial refund on electricity used for EVs. Thus, in January 2023 we changed from a 2 year old Golf to a Cupra Born. We drive roughly 40.000 km per year and in 2022 we spent £4250 on petrol. We have a home charger and in 2023 we ended up spending spending roughly £900 on electricity for the EV - that’s a monthly saving of roughly £250. Moreover, because taxation is gradually being intrduced to EVs, this will eat some of the depreciation. In short, in Denmark, you’d have to be a moron to not at least concider an EV. With that said, I would never had bought an EV if I couldn’t charge cheaply at home… and would never have been willing to buy an EV without the reduced registration fee. As it stands, we are VERY happy to have made the switch to an EV, as it makes so much sense for our situation.

I would love to see a similar video with a Tycan, can the brand and the experience win you over despite the depreciation? Keep up good work Sam!

Can’t wait to hear you on the smoking tire this week!

Something wrong with your home charger if it can’t charge any faster. Should take max 8 hours to charge at home (~25miles/hr). This would significantly reduce costs. As a London driver you also don’t get hit by the extra gas tax if you need to drive through the city.

I have the i5 M40. Have to say it is fantastic for commuting. Very comfortable, great ride quality, quick in sport mode and loads of tech. Have something fun for the weekend which helps 😎

fantastic video Sam.

A fantastic public information video Sam, thank you for that, this is one EV that I wouldn't be interested in, although I do think they could work if the public charging network was vastly improved!

nice Benetton f1 phone case! 👍👍

ive owned over 30 bmws, this 5 series is a distinct fail... sad after the last 5 series which was very good

Great video thank you - free from the hysterical drama from other KZfaqrs happening at the moment.

You should have got Tony in this video, he'd have had a field day with this one. That low 200s range just isn't enough for a large saloon/estate car, when the updated Taycan will do an easy 340 miles + on a charge. You also say you've been fast charging at '105/100 kw' - that's also very poor considering a new Taycan will fast charge until 65% at 330kw.

what about the I4, feels a decently priced ev at around 35/40k

Just considering an I5 and this video comes along, perfect. Although "I hope I used that word rightly"...😂😂😂....great content as always

Great video Sam, you nailed it with the list price and depreciation. That is the latest big issue with nearly all EV's. Manufacturers have put ridiculous list prices on them (prob because of the extra R&D and battery costs) - but they are not worth anything near the list prices, we know they are prob cheaper to produce in volume. Taycan is the perfect example of everyone going mad 3-4 years ago and now they can't sell them 2nd hand so had to massively reduce the asking price. I still think EV is not great for your only car. Mainly those who can afford to run 2-3 cars and have charging at home, it works great for them.

I like BMW´s - always had one - until now. I switched to a different brand (which was hard for me emotionally) yesterday, I picked up a brand new EV in the north of Germany and drove it overnight to the south. - because their lease is not competitive, which also means they are successful and they are selling well. Everybody is losing sales - Tesla is kicking out thousands of employees because they are not selling. BMW is the only vendor being successful in the EV market right now, increasing sales. Their strategy of producing a platform which is capable to offer all drive trains pays off. They are flexible to produce either EV, hybrid or ICE - depending on market demand. As far as I know they are the only one for now being able to do this. - most successful car vendor right now by far. Great review btw showing us the day to day experience with an EV.

7:44 reminds me of the thx sound test 😂

great video!!!

I am in the middle of doing a 700 plus (US) miles trip each way and after driving I would say about 500 miles yesterday, I do realize that one I don't make that many super long trips a year and two it would be possible to do it with an EV and it probably would not be that inconvenient, at least if I was by myself like I am now. I do have the ideal situation to be an EV owner if I was to do so, a home, lot of garage space etc but if I lived in an apartment or a city, I am not sure if I would want that although if you live in a city you probably don't drive that much either. Long story short, I could probably getaway with living with an EV.

Sam, good honest review. I think for me it’s the unknowns, the depreciation is heavy + how long does the battery last before needing replacing. Whereas a combustion car will do 200k if maintained properly (especially a diesel) and will still have some value. If I’ve spent 100k + on a car had it for 5 years put 50,000 miles on it, how much have I lost and how sellable is my car compared to its combustion equivalent. I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at buying a 50,000 mileage combustion engines car. Right now I would be very hesitant at buying a 50,000 mile EV

can't wait to see your new panamera

Thanks for a balanced review Sam of many things. Home charging is the crux of it. I very rarely use public charging, maybe a few times a year on longer trips. I would never go back tj ICE now. I know it's not for everyone, but if you can then you should go try one with a open mind. You might be surprised. As I can charge at home, the savings are huge.

I hate to agree with Tony but his advice of don’t get an EV until you have to is pretty much bang on for me. And I say this as someone who likes the idea of them as a family car and has a lifestyle that suits them (mainly short/local trips/OSP and able to have a home charger) but the depreciation/insurance unknowns are a concern, and at the moment they clearly aren’t the environmental holy grail as yet (but an increase in renewable energy in future will help that). Great/honest video 👍🏻

The over night home slow charging is for battery balancing which is important for good battery health.

Sounds like your home charger wasn’t letting the car reach the max charge rate. It should only be taking about 5 hours to charge about 80% and about 7.5 hours for a full charge. The max rate at home is typically 11kwh

Bought an EV 2019 as my daily driver. I love my mid engine weekend sports car, but as daily I‘ll probably never go back to petrol. Looking forward to EVs like the Ioniq 5 N, that have fake gearboxes and cool sounds if I‘m in the mood and not in my sports car.

Interesting video. I drive a Kia EV6 and i charge at 220 Kw and in approx. 15 minutes. Based on your "average" numbers I wouldn't touch a BMW EV if I mostly used the public network.

I appreciate you doing this research and beta testing for us so we don't have to actually bite the bullet and purchase or lease one of these.

Sam, something is wrong with your home charger if it takes you that long to charge at home. Its about half as fast what it should be after I just did some math. Adjust the power output up.

I absolutely love my i3 for around town. Admittedly my situation is well set up for it: a house, fairly limited commute needs, and a gas car for longer trips. That being said…quiet, punchy, almost zero maintenance, and never ever need to stop for gas. If you can find a Rex model, even better, as it erases range anxiety. It even makes an organic low-key electric motor whine that I quite enjoy as well. Win!

Can’t wait for you to review an ionic N.

Great video as always Sam. Random question, what street is that @23:24?

It would be fun to see you long test a Tesla model s. Is it a easier EV to live with?

Thanks for your take on an EV today Sam! keep on making the stellar videos!!!

Charging for 30 min is fine if you can actually work, but most of us do not have the luxury of a flexible “office”. Would have been great if you could have done a long distance trip in it.

Enjoyable video, Sam! The section where you suggested watching a different video for the ‘more dynamic’ stuff, I’m just not interested… and I think that says it all about this car in my view. Capable for sure, but not fun.

I wish manufacturers would implement 4 wheel steering on all sized vehicles for maximum manoeuvrability.

It feels different watching this video when I talked with you just a couple hours ago for the first time, btw I also talked with Tony about how we don’t like EVs, not to hate them but how the hype is going down and how they will never make an event of EVs like Gathering Supercars’s.

Ev as a Daily to me should be extremly useful, a friend recently have a Smart #3 and to me is big enogh but tiny enough his is a brabus and it is actually uncomfortably fast.

EV content, so this video might not get many views. However, this was a fantastic film and I loved hearing your summary of this car.

Great video sam i been fences more in more . Keep looking at them more in more. I only drive 20mils to work if that . In during week only short in town to small county drives. But charge here all puplic where i live bc on street parking mustly in area of Pennsylvania. But used ev market here fell hard awd tesla from rental cars being sub 40 to 30 k for long range awd and mach e mustang my top choice even the Kia sporty ev6 drop off good bit. All sub 40k miles some even low 12k miles

At least it is getting better!

It would be very interesting to get a 550e and see if you plug it in enough to make the most of the battery

It sounds like Hans recorded a vacuum cleaner with some electronic distortion...

That's a sharp looking car and would fit my commute. My current bmw 535i also gets atrocious gas mileage and if i were to sell it I might as well give the thing away as the depreciation has been horrendous. If I were in the market for another car - I would buy this BMW i5 M60. If i need to go long distances, I can use my Toyota 4runner for that.

17:57 thats very interesting given that shmee and stradman said the complete opposite Basically saying that chargers are the very reason evs suck, despite the car being actually good

In a city or country that you can drive across in a day....then fine. But it just doesnt work in many places without infrastructure. And that infrastructure isnt free

Hate the car, love the video. This was a nice combination of old school STG in modern times. More of this please!

Great video! The car on the other hand is still a big no

Great video Sam - do you have a 11kw charger at home? That should charge up over night without a problem at cheap rates (perhaps yours is not charging at at least 11kw speed?). Also by locking in a good residual value for a 3 year lease, arent you protected if you can hold on to your car for 3 years and respect the mileage on your lease?

Good vid, EV,s are good if you live and work around a city like London and life style and you have a drive or ability to charge at home. But if you live on the opposite end of that remote area like myself not necessarily a good option or even safe at times of the year. The nearest thing to a EV I am looking at is the BMW x5 45E hybrid, witch for running around the local area will be fantastic, but when I need to travel for business or family I am not restricted by the expensive charging network. And I require a reasonable 4x4 system. I think EV,s are not for all but pushed by a London centric and politicians who really have zero idea how real life works let alone the trades and other business.

Seems to me that the summary of this review is that if you want to buy a new EV then make sure you do it tax efficiently through you company or employer. But the flip side of the extra depreciation for the EV must mean that for the private buyer, a nearly new example would be cheaper than the ICE equiavalent.

A higher performance ICE car will also have less mpg, and also again in the winter. So whilst these are downsides of EVs it applies around the board.

A more efficient EV can have a smaller battery which gives a quicker home charge and then reducing running costs a lot

Which watch you’re wearing here? Looks great

If it didn't have that awful dull paint and if it had a decent engine under the bonnet, it would be a lovely car 😁

My G30 LCI M550i does 800-900kms on a tank of fuel highway driving. The thought of trading this on a lego electric BMW is utterly absurd.

My biggest gripe with it is that TV screen on the dashboard. It just looks cheap after seeing it for a while. It really got me looking over at stellantis to see what their Italian brands are doing. The newest Maserati Folgore looks stunning and the Alfa Romeo Junior has physical buttons. The Fiat 5OOe also looks sublime. If the italians prove they can make reliable electronics, I would frankly get an italian EV just for the interior. I find the interior of German cars to be cheap feeling in BMW products, tacky in Mercedes and a bit too busy in VW group. I do love BMW, but to me the cheap looking dash is just a big nope for me. I know they are fun to drive, but so does an Alfa Romeo, and that even handles better.

Interesting that you find the charging to be okay - however I can’t see that working for the majority of people who don’t have the flexibility that you do (ie working 9-5 in an office). Last thing I’d want to do is add 30mins to my commute to charge up. I’ll pass for now thanks

I think reasonably priced EVs with a decent range are interesting cars for commuting, no oil change no anything so in the long run you will be saving money. The more expensive ones I don't really see the need for them (taxes and things like this apart).

£112 grand feels crazy for a normal saloon not an actual M car. (still feels crazy price on an M car to be fair). Most people are only going to afford these second hand which then is worrying if they only guarantee their batteries for so many years. After them years you'll be looking at a massive bill if your battery goes. I don't know how likely or often batteries end up dying but just feels like could be a nightmare

Good information 🔋🪫☎️

After having this, would you go back to the 718? I have a i4 M50 and it's great, but Im considering changing to a 718. Previously had a 981 and I really miss having the engine sound.

Not fully convinced by this car. I think the upcoming Audi A6 e-tron will be much better.

Sam love to see you in an Porsche Macan (or Taycan) EV. With 800V tech supercharging will take only 18 (/21) minutes per charge. But first fix a propper 11kW supercharger at your home, this makes living with an EV so much better! (Even beter than living with an petrol car I can say from my own experience. Ever moring a car ready for 250+ miles waiting for you, instead of you waiting to refuel at an petrol-pump)

Your fuel cost estimate for an M5 is way off, 25-27mpg is what you might get on long road trips being very careful, around town you'll be lucky to see 14-15. I had an F10 M5 (basically the same engine, slightly more efficient than an F90) and was spending around 50p/mile in fuel with mixed usage. In an F90 you could easily add £1k to your estimated fuel cost.

This whole video feels like Sam forgot to do his homework and then realised at the last minute 🤣

Sam, thoughts on public charging outside of London? Can you depend on them as a way of existing together? My assumption is that London is probably well catered for. What if you lived in Somerset?

Interesting, we have a ford mustang EV we use as a daily. It’s great! We charge at home which runs on solar, so no cost. Life is good .

In 4 months with a golf diesel, covering same mileage, I’ve used petrol stations 8 timw at an average of 6 t minutes a time. Until they really are quicker charging, I’m out.

Also everyone of these brands with all the fancy touch screens have de-laminating issues .... ghost inputs suck....and even on a inexpensive vehicle cost is $1,300 starting !! And that's to replace with oem

These were on cheap lease deal last week The e drive 40 £230 + vat a month 2 years 8k a year 3k deposit Cheap

Again very good

I loved my BMW i3 until the dash lights started flickering like a Christmas tree, the range extender started acting up, and the usual SCARINESS of owning a BMW out of warranty began!! (sold it, and bought a used 2017 Smart Fortwo gas with 22,000 miles).

I would take the 50 mile range difference, because it would probably be 100+ with petrol equivalent, say, 520i or 525i vs M5.

Good fair review on it, this one is also not for me but through the business or salary sacrifice lease you can use these without the fear of depreciation and have a really nice commuting daily that costs around £7 to charge at home for your 230 miles and maybe have something nicer tucked away for fun.

That Mercedes interior with all the screens looked hideous

Over the last couple of years I've basically been agreeing with everything the behind the glass podcast has been saying about EVs but then all of a sudden I wanted to replace my supercharged Jaguar XKR with something new and out of the blue I swapped to an EV. I bought an MG4 XPower. This has 420hp, is dual motor and is at the 'cheap and fast' end of the market. I got a great deal on it (20% off the list price, with 600 miles on the clock ex demo). I have had it for 5+ months now and have been super impressed by it. I've had very little in the way of charging issues. Had to swap charging bays once at Gridserve as the one I was on wouldn't start, but that's it. I've avoided all apps and just use contactless so that aspect has come on a long way from where it was. I don't do a lot of long journeys and if I did I would have stayed with IC, but the ones I have done (around 275 miles) have been trouble free. You do have to plan a bit of extra time, but not an outrageous amount. One thing to avoid is sitting on the charger for every last % because charge rates drop as you approach higher percentages so you might as well leave and stop again further up the road as the cumulative time is less. The MG charges at 145kw max. I have a slight different perception over charging costs versus fuel: On the motorway they are basically the same price (comparing my XPower to the Jag). 80p/kwh is pretty outrageous to be honest, and I think although charging networks need to invest heavily to provide the service, they are in fact price gouging quite a lot. As batteries get better, I don't know how that will play out with regard to charging costs, as most people will eventually make it home before needing a charge (in the UK), when solid state batteries become the norm. On my last long trip Fuse was 65p/kwh @ 150kw which is more reasonable. Gridserve was 80p on the same day. As far as depreciation is concerned, I think people are going to have to get used to keeping cars for longer with EVs. It just isn't viable unless you have loads of cash to change every couple of years. Or if you want to do that, then leasing is the way forward. The depreciation curve for EVs is just different and you have to realise that before getting into one. I always buy my cars outright and will ideally keep this one for the length of the warranty, which is 7 years. I'm luckier than some as I do have a home charger. At 7.4kw it charges the car overnight easily (I use OVO anytime so it actually charges during the day often too if I plug it in, all at 7p per kwh). I rarely have it below 50% at home in reality and only charge to 80% unless I have a long journey the next day. This is pretty standard stuff. Interestingly, as an EV owner you have to get reasonably familiar with the technology i.e. understand what the best way to manage the battery is to get the most out of it on a long journey etc. It does require a little more brain power than just pouring a liquid into a tank until the pump clicks off. I think the smart money with EV purchases is on the lower to mid range stuff. If you like prestige cars then you're at the thick end of both the purchase price and the depreciation which is not good for mass adoption. Cars like this BMW don't make a lot of sense to me for all the reasons outlined in the video and I think that's a future problem for them to deal with. Having swapped my daily to an EV I have no interest in driving a petrol car anymore really, and so have two other cars basically sitting there doing nothing. This says quite a lot as I've always been a big petrol head. I think it's probably the modernity and convenience that's appealing to me. I still agree that EV's still don't suit everyone but I suspect a whole new set of people will be able to migrate when the next battery tech comes online in the next 1-2 years.

Sundays With Sam ☕️🐿

Was hoping for a panamera vid today.

112k pounds is nuts.. that same car (i5 M60, almost fully equipped) in Canada is 115k CAD, or like 67.5k British pounds 😅