The next-generation of the 5 Series will be the most technologically advanced yet.
With less camouflage than before, our latest glimpse of the next BMW 5 Series undergoing its testing regime is our best yet, and it suggests a full reveal of BMW’s executive sedan could be imminent. With the current 5 Series going on sale back in 2017, it’s due a revamp and the newcomer is expected to launch sometime in 2023.
A new BMW 5 Series will arrive to continue the decades-long battle with the Mercedes E-Class – also due to be replaced next year – and the Audi A6, which will be facelifted in 2023. The upcoming seventh-generation car, codenamed G60, will be one of the brand’s final new models before its Neue Klasse-generation vehicles begin to arrive in the middle of the decade, likely led by all-electric replacements for the 3 Series and the X5 SUV.
Although the next 5 Series can be thought of as a swansong for the current-generation BMW line-up, it will still mark a huge departure from the current car and will introduce a nameplate that has been the subject of on-and-off speculation since the introduction of BMW’s ‘i’ model line-up.
As part of BMW’s ‘Power of Choice’ strategy, the new 5 Series will offer multiple powertrain options, including the option of a fully electric version, which will take on the i5 name. A new M5 flagship will also be introduced, and for the first time it will be electrified. However, a core line-up of petrol and diesel models will still be the big sellers, making up the majority of the range.
We’ve spied the new 5 Series testing multiple times, including the hot M5 variant. It looks like BMW will play it safe with the standard 5 Series, employing a more conventional design than on some of its other recent cars.
Unlike the polarising grille found on the latest 7 Series and XM, the 5 Series will continue to offer a smaller design. The new 5 Series will also offer a single headlight cluster rather than the split arrangement found on the 7 Series and X7. The latest spies show the production headlight unit, with an LED signature made from two lights. Below we can see side air intakes and a wide lower grille for the radiator.
To the rear, we can see a horizontal rear light cluster that is slimmer than the outgoing car’s. The rear lights also overlap onto the bootlid. The rear bumper is smoothed over, but expect a faux diffuser to appear with exhaust tips either side.
Spy images show how larger headlights and more traditional trademark kidney grilles when compared with the 7 Series will crown a sportier-looking front end. After all, the 5 Series is the executive saloon that’s set the class benchmark for driving dynamics for decades – a 7 Series-based look would likely not cut it with the car’s usual customers.
To create more space inside, the new 5 Series will grow slightly compared with its G30-generation predecessor, but its balance of proportions will remain similar. This visual transformation is previewed in our exclusive images. An estate-bodied Touring version is almost certain to return to the fold as well, and may even appear in M5 Touring guise.
Inside, it’s highly likely that the new 5 Series’ cabin design will take inspiration from the latest models in the company’s line-up, with a clear advance when it comes to the technology on offer, too.
Like the newly-facelifted 3 Series, the 2023 5 Series will embrace a new-generation cabin architecture that will probably adopt inspiration from the new 7 Series and the iX all-electric SUV. A pair of gently curved screens will blend seamlessly into each other, spanning the area in front of the driver and the centre of the dashboard. And it’s likely that the new car’s switchgear and controls will appeal to newcomers and BMW traditionalists, combining the brand’s iDrive rotary dial with the new touch-sensitive BMW Interaction Bar introduced on the latest 7 Series flagship.
Ultimately, the arrival of the all-electric i5 model will catch the headlines at launch; just as the brand pushed the i7 to the front of stage when it revealed the new 7 Series earlier this year, the firm’s Mercedes EQE rival will be the big draw.
That’s not to say that the internal combustion-powered options will be a side show. In fact, it’s possible that the newcomer will arrive heralding a new generation of engines, mooted as being in development by executives earlier this year.
Given this next-generation 5 Series will probably be the last pure-combustion-powered model sold, it will have to face stricter emissions legislation in the future, so big efficiency gains have been targeted for the new version. The line-up will rely on four and six-cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesel engines making use of 48-volt mild-hybrid technology.
Alastair Crooks