During the global debut of the G60-generation BMW 5 Series, it was confirmed that the car would be offered in both sedan and wagon forms, with the former available with both internal combustion engine (ICE) and all-electric powertrains. However, it looks like the German carmaker will also be making the BMW i5 Touring, its very first all-electric wagon in history.
Yes, BMW indeed has made touring variants of its 5 Series in the past, but this will be the first time there has ever been one that doesn’t run on fuel. There have been spy shots of the wagon taking laps on the Nurburgring shared online, and it looks like the wagon essentially shares a similar front look with the i5 sedan.
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From the shadowy teaser image released by BMW, which shows a side shot of the upcoming wagon, we can also see the i5 Touring sporting a horizontal rear light design, just like its sedan sibling. However, we still need to wait till its official debut to get a full view of the i5 Touring’s rear end.
BMW also mentioned that the i5 Touring will be sharing the same powertrains with its sedan sibling. We can probably expect a shorter electric range with the wagon due to its extra weight.
Still, we can’t help but wonder whether the i5 Touring could be carrying a higher capacity battery than its sedan counterpart. First and foremost, it is understandable that electric vehicle (EV) batteries are stored between the car’s wheelbase, and considering that both the i5 sedan and i5 Touring will share the same wheelbase, it is likely that the wagon will have the same battery capacity as its sedan sibling.
Still, BMW could be pulling off something smart by packing the i5 Touring with some extra batteries behind its axles for example. We will have to wait and see.
As for the internal combustion engine (ICE) powered variants of the BMW 5 Series Touring, they will also be offered with mild hybrid (MHEV), as well as plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains, just like the 5 Series sedan.
Just in case you are finding the “regular” BMW i5 Touring not exciting enough, BMW is apparently cooking a new M5 Touring behind its doors too. It will be the German carmaker’s third M5 Touring in history (after the E34 and E61), and will also be its very first M5 Touring in a while. To spare you from what will become a lengthy sales pitch on how much we love wagons, you may read more about the car over here.
At the end of the day, Malaysian fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high, as the BMW i5 Touring will most probably not be making its way to the Malaysian market, let alone the 5 Series Touring. What you would get though is the BMW i5 sedan, which has been confirmed to be available with both the eDrive40 and M60 xDrive forms in our market.
Registration of interest (ROI) for the all-electric luxury sedan has also been open in Malaysia since March this year. We have detailed specifications for both variants of the G60 BMW i5. You may check the article out here.
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