The BMW 'i' brand launched a few years ago with the compact i3 hatchback and the mid-engined i8 supercar. With global acclaim but slow sales for both, 'i' hasn't really taken off for BMW they way they had expected it to. There was always a third more user friendly 5-door family car on the cards and now some leaked patent images confirms it. The new car, possibly called the i5 is essentially a lengthened i3 but with a lot of i8 cues and will be a 5-seater family car to take on the likes of the Tesla Model S and the Model 3.
(BMW i5 Concept Sketch)Although the car isn't really well detailed in these images, you can still see enough of the lines to see the continuation of the 'i' design language. In the front, the car has a very similar kidney grille as found on the i8 and the i3 with a set of angular headlamps that look heavily derived from the i8. The i5 as it could be called will mostly be a full electric car as it has just one charge port from these images and not a twin port setup (second for petrol) like you get in the i8 or i3 REx.
Although in terms of overall design, the i5 might not be much to look at, there are aspects of the design that we think look great. For example, the joined door handles indicate a suicide door at the rear and the mismatched C-pillar is quite an interesting design feature. Of course, in typically BMW 'i' design, the car will feature a dual-tone paintjob which will make it look quite attractive.
(BMW i5 Concept Sketch-Rear)The new i5 will go up against a slew of electric cars from around the world. With competition like the Tesla Model 3 setting records for electric cars in terms of pre-sales, the i5 will not have it easy to begin with. Also, with original reports indicating a 2020 launch date, the i5 (or whatever BMW decide to call this) is still a good three years away giving BMW a lot of time to make improvements and development.
