BMW i5 Touring is BMW’s largest, most comfortable and most expensive wagon

The BMW 5-series Touring has been the vehicle of choice for decades when it comes to carrying loads of stuff in style. From the very first generation, it has been setting the benchmarks against which other premium wagons were measured. Understandably then, the arrival of its first fully electric version is a big deal.

The all-new BMW i5 Touring is part of the 6th generation of the 5-series and there’s no hiding the fact that it is an absolute beast. Stretching to 199.2 inches with a 117.9 inches wheelbase it is by far the biggest wagon in its class, and just like its sedan sibling, it offers oodles of space. The rear legroom and shoulder room remain ample, while the trunk that expands from 20.1 ft³ all the way to 60 ft³.

The all-electric i5 Touring models sit at the top of the range. The entry models come with diesel and diesel-hybrid powertrains, while the top shelf is reserved for the two battery-powered models. As you can expect, the new i5 comes with bags full of new tech and performance to tick every box but it all comes at a price. Quite a steep one at that.

The first model to launch this spring is the i5 eDrive40 Touring with an asking price of $77,500 in Germany. While that sounds like a lot, you indeed get a lot for your hard-earned money. Powered by a single, 340 hp electric motor sitting on the rear axle, this Touring deals with the 0 to 62 mph spring in 6.1 seconds. If those stats sound familiar to you, then you're absolutely right - the i5 eDrive40 sedan has the same powertrain.

The 81.2 kWh battery pack promises to deliver enough charge to keep the new i5 Touring going for 348 miles on a single charge. The smaller 18” wheels with narrower tires probably have a lot to do with the impressive range, the 50:50 weight distribution should afford decent handling and the rear air suspension will make that fully loaded rear feel light as a feather.

If you fancy some extra speed, the i5 M60 xDrive Touring packs enough punch to make the older M5 Touring models blush. Powered by two electric motors, pushing 601 hp to all four wheels and as much as 605 lb-ft of torque (with M Sport Boost activated), this wagon makes the 0 to 62 mph a 3.9 second blur. Once dispatched with the sprint, it plows on to its electronically limited top speed of 143 mph in a style that belies its size.

All that fun though will set you back $108,900 in Germany - and that’s before you start piling on optional equipment. This being BMW, ticking all the boxes will pile on the equivalent of a well-equipped iX1 eDrive20. We shouldn't be too upset by the price though, the i5 M60 xDrive sedan with its $106,800 price tag had a few months head-start to prepare us for the shock.

Equipped with the same 81.2 kWh battery pack, the M60 version manages to achieve up to 314 miles driving range in a WLTP cycle. That’s only possible if you treat the go pedal with utmost care - enjoying the power and torque of this beast will require far more frequent charging stops.

Since both the models share the same battery, they both support up to 22 kW optional AC charging. The standard version comes with 11 kW domestic charging. When it comes to fast DC charging, both cars are capable of juicing up at 205 kW and have the battery conditioning as standard. An interesting bit is that the new Connected Home Charging service can take advantage of a dedicated solar charging setup while supporting the usual load and cost-optimized functions.

BMW i5 M60 xDrive Touring

While the eDrive40 comes with rear air suspension, the M60 adds an M Sport suspension, improved M Sport brakes, and the Adaptive Chassis Professional with adjustable shock absorbers, active steering, and optional lateral dynamics management. Another option for the M60 is Active Roll Stabilization and Active Roll Control.

Once inside, we are greeted by the BMW’s latest curved screen combining the instrument cluster and control screen. Powered by the latest BMW OS 8.5, the infotainment comes with the Quick Select access function and the virtual assistant. The cloud-based BMW Maps software is standard while the optional Professional package adds the head-up display with an augmented view - either of the control or cluster display.

BMW i5 M60 xDrive Touring

Finally, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported, and YouTube and Video apps come with international options and country-specific content as well. Streaming videos and playing games is a cinch courtesy of the AirConsole platform. The i5 has two 5G antennas as standard, and as an option it can have 4 of them, making sure the mobile signal is as strong as it gets for those movie sessions and Zoom calls.

It’s a big day for the company and for BMW fans. There was a lot of apprehension before the i5 sedan launched, and the all-electric wagon created as much buzz. The 5-series Touring has been a benchmark for decades, and creating an electric version of it that raises the bar even higher was not an easy task. It seems BMW has pulled it off - at least on paper. The new all-electric i5 ticks all the boxes - it has performance to spare, more room than anyone will ever need and it doesn’t have the controversial grille that some of its siblings have to put up with. That’s a win in our books. And the price? Well, it’ll take a while to get used to it but the shock will eventually wear off - and BMW knows it.

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