• Enough space for four – just
• Loads of boot space
• Stacks of safety gear

How much space is there?

Space in the back of the i5 is adequate rather than palatial. A six-foot adult can get comfortable behind a similarly tall driver, but anyone much loftier than will likely feel a little claustrophobic due to the lack of headroom. Knee room and legroom is good but, because the i5’s platform also needs to accommodate space for the driveshaft in petrol-powered models, there’s still a central hump between the rear seats, restricting foot space. You don’t get that in a Tesla Model S.

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The i5’s front seats are much more accommodating. We’re particularly fond of how BMW has designed the car’s armrests. The central one offers enough space for both front occupants and the height matches up to the armrest in the door card, which means you don’t even need to carry the weight of your own arms when cruising down the motorway.

Boot space and storage

The i5 scores another point on the EQE here because its boot sizes up at a whopping 520 litres. That’s 90 more than you get in the Mercedes. We found its automatic closing function is a little too cautious, often refusing to shut if you’ve placed an item too close to the boot lip.

Interior storage is good, too. The cubby in the central armrest is huge, the door bins are generous and there’s space for two of the biggest coffees you’ll find this side of the US in the centre console. Thankfully, they come with retractable tangs to stop smaller drinks rattling around.

We also like how there’s space for two smartphones on the charging pad under the touchscreen – and it features a cooling function to stop your phone from overheating. Clever.

Is it easy to park?

Erm. Not really. The i5 is more than five metres long and almost two metres wide – and it feels its size when you need to park it. Thankfully, every version of the i5 is fitted as standard with parking sensors and a rear-view camera. You can optionally specify a 360-degree camera as part of BMW’s Technology Pack, which we think is worthwhile if you spend a lot of time in the city.

Safety

• Not yet tested by Euro NCAP
• But BMW has a good reputation
• Plenty of standard safety kit

The testers at Euro NCAP haven’t yet got their mitts on an i5, so we haven’t got a safety score for the car. We can’t see it being an unsafe car in an accident, though. BMW’s other electric saloon, the i4, crashes quite well, offering good protection for both its adult and child occupants. It achieved a four-star score in its safety assessment, after being let down by its driver assistance technology.

The i5 features a good level of standard safety equipment, most of which isn’t too invasive. You get a tyre pressure monitoring system, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert and an automatic emergency braking system for the front and rear of the car.

However, BMW likes to bundle its technology into option packs and charge its customers extra for them. So, if you splash out on BMW’s Drive Assistant Professional package, you’ll gain a traffic jam assist function that can stop and start the car, a function that can point out pedestrians and cyclists during turns and a semi-autonomous lane-change system.

We’ll keep an eye on Euro NCAP’s testing records and update you as soon as the i5 has been smashed into a thousand tiny pieces in the name of safety and science.