BMW’s electric wagon will bring practicality and supercar-beating performance.
The new BMW 5 Series is a significant moment in the model’s 52-year history, being offered in ‘i5’ all-electric guise for the first time. Now the range is set to grow again with the arrival of the BMW i5 Touring wagon.
BMW has recently shared a few teaser videos of the i5 Touring, which will be revealed in spring 2024 according to the German brand. We’ve seen it testing plenty of times and we expect that it won’t look different from the saloon version, until you reach the back end that is.
These latest teaser videos confirm that the rear lights are bespoke to the estate, with a slightly different signature to the saloon’s. The ‘M Model’ BMW refers to in the other video is the M60 variant, which will receive the same exterior tweaks as the M60 saloon. As we’ve seen in previous teaser images, the angle of the rear window also looks more rakish than on the outgoing G31-generation BMW 5 Series Touring.
The front end of the BMW i5 Touring will feature a blanked-off grille for improved aerodynamics, but overall it’ll look familiar to the internal-combustion engined 5 Series.
We expect the i5 Touring’s lineup to mirror the saloon’s. That means we’ll see a rear-wheel drive i5 eDrive40 at the bottom end of the range.
BMW’s boss of M division, Franciscus van Meel has said the hot M60 xDrive Touring range-topper will arrive in the spring. It’ll offer M5-rivalling performance from a dual-motor four-wheel drive powertrain powered from the same 81.2kWh battery as the eDrive40. 0-100km/h takes just 3.8 seconds in the M60 sedan. BMW claims a maximum range of 515km for the M60 i5 in sedan form so a figure nearer 480km is likely for the hot wagon.
The interior of the i5 Touring will also share its layout and technology with the all-electric saloon. We’ll see a 12.3-inch driver’s display and a curved panel connected to it on the dash featuring a 12.3-inch touchscreen with BMW’s latest iDrive infotainment system.
The outgoing 5 Series Touring has one of the biggest boots of any estate with 570 litres. We’re yet to see the boot capacity for the upcoming 5 Series Touring but in saloon form there’s no difference between the new ICE 5 Series and the EV at 490 litres.