IM Motors IM5 review: China’s crabby reply to Tesla

[SINGAPORE] My time with the IM Motors IM5 got me more than a few lingering looks from pedestrians. Either I’ve still got it (unlikely, since I never had it in the first place), or the test car’s gleaming jet black paint really showed off its sleek lines and wind-cheating shape.

If the IM5’s voluptuous body is eye-catching, the badge on its nose might be head-scratching. Just half a decade old, IM Motors was incubated by SAIC, China’s largest carmaker, working alongside tech giant Alibaba and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech, a business park developer.

In other words, this isn’t a startup knocking electric vehicles (EVs) together in a shed, but a well-funded, tech-heavy effort aimed squarely at buyers who are open-minded about what to drive, so long as it feels fairly premium inside.

On the outside, the IM5 is a full-sized electric sedan measuring just over 4.9 metres long and nearly two metres wide. That’s enough size to give it more presence than, say, an Audi A5, and you can have one in three flavours.

There are two Category B versions with more power and range, but I tested the Category A Luxury variant, which trades horsepower for affordability. Its single rear motor produces a modest 145 horsepower but a hefty 450 Newton-metres (Nm) of torque. A 75-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery delivers a claimed range of 440 kilometres, just about enough to make a spontaneous jaunt to Kuala Lumpur seem feasible.

The Category A positioning means the Tesla Model 3 finally has a credible rival, although at S$218,888 with Certificate of Entitlement (COE), the IM5 still costs S$31,000 more than its American foe.

Yet, the IM5 does manage to make the Model 3 feel primitive in some ways. Its screens are vast (one measures 26.3 inches), it has a 360-degree monitor, and an array of cameras lets it show you what’s going on outside the car. IM thinks the rear-view mirror is such an anachronism that you can fold it away altogether and rely instead on a rear-facing camera, which feels slightly odd, yet is oddly workable.

Slightly odd, too, is the IM5’s ability to crab-walk slowly. That unusual trick is down to its four-wheel steering system, which also makes the turning radius impressively tight for such a large sedan. It’s a useful feature in cramped carparks, but out on the open road it gives the car agility in slow corners and stability on fast expressways, so I’d call it a boon.

The cabin is full of soft-touch surfaces and organically smooth lines, giving it a calm, modern aesthetic that makes the IM5 a nice place to spend time in. Rear passengers get plenty of legroom, though the boot is merely adequate (at 457 litres, growing to 1,290 litres when you drop the rear seatbacks). It lacks basics such as grocery hooks or a luggage cover, but the consolation prize is an 18-litre frunk, handy for odds and ends.

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Annoyingly, the panoramic sunroof doesn’t come with a proper shade (or even an improper one), and you need to jab the touchscreen to aim the air-con vents. The screens themselves are sharp and bright, but the user interface can be confusing because controls are scattered across a vast digital canvas. Over-the-air updates haven’t been rolled out locally, so you won’t wake up to find clever new features beamed to your car overnight.

It’s hardware that IM does well. While the IM5 is too big and heavy to feel truly sporty, it’s as athletic as its looks suggest. The acceleration tapers off early, but there’s definitely enough oomph to chirp a rear tyre and even get the tail to wiggle briefly before the traction control steps in to restore order.

To be sure, the Model 3 actually drives beautifully, with balanced and responsive handling. And even with all four wheels steering, the IM5 doesn’t fundamentally redefine the chassis game. It just plays it well enough to remind you why sedans still have a place in our world.

As for IM Motors’ place, the brand is – let’s be honest – largely unknown for now. I suspect the IM5 will stay novel and sensual-looking enough to draw stares for some time, and if you want a full-sized electric sedan that doesn’t wear a Tesla badge, here’s your chance. More so if one of the reasons you fancy a new car is to be noticed. When was the last time you looked twice at a Model 3, after all? 

IM Motors IM5 EV Luxury RWD Motor Power/torque 146 hp/450 Nm Battery type/Net capacity Lithium iron phosphate (LFP)/75 kWh Charging time/Type About 8.5 hours (11 kW AC), 25.5 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (153 kW DC) Range 440 km (WLTP) 0-100 kmh 10.1 seconds Top speed 180 kmh Efficiency 19.3 kWh/100 km Agent Eurokars EV Price From S$218,888 with COE Available Now