The upcoming all-electric BMW i5 Touring was just spotted in Germany during some testing trials. The first-ever electric 5 Series Wagon is going through the usual test stages before landing in customers’ hands in 2024. Since all the new 5 Series variants (G60 sedan and G61 touring) are built on the same flexible CLAR platform, the body style won’t vary much.
As seen in these spy photos, the BMW i5 Touring can easily be mistaken by a “regular” wagon, if it wasn’t for the lack of tailpipes and a closed-off kidney grille. Looking at this car’s kidney grille, you can see that it’s shaped normally and is completely blacked out, just like the BMW i4. Again, no engine means no frontal cooling. Of course, another giveaway is the subtle sticker on the test mule which reads “Electric Test Vehicle.”
Two Initial Variants – i5 Touring 40 and i5 Touring M60
Production date for the BMW i5 Touring seems to be set for Spring 2024 when BMW is likely to introduce two all-electric wagons: the i5 eDrive40 and i5 M60 xDrive. Of course, the engine lineup mimics the one found in the i5 sedan. Naturally, there also will be several combustion-powered models available, with different powertrain options. So we expect to see a combination of four and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel models, alongside a wide range of plug-in hybrids (530e, 550e).
The rear-wheel drive BMW i5 eDrive40 (single-motor) is expected to make at least 335 horsepower. Its companion, the i5 M60 with a dual-motor will deliver somewhere around the 600 horsepower mark. As the top-dog M Performance model, the BMW i5 M60 should be close to the real-deal M5, in terms of straight-line speed, especially since it will be electric. EVs tend to have better off-the-line acceleration than even more powerful hybrids, due to their added instant torque advantage over internal combustion engines. So even though it will be down on power, the i5 M60 should be able to keep up with the new M5 Sedan and M5 Touring.
Therefore, we expect the BMW i5 Touring to be among the brand’s most popular electric vehicles, due to its practicality, its new shape and performance. Unfortunately, the rumormill churns out that the 5 Series Touring might not come to the United States.
[Rendering by motor.es]