New BMW i5 M60 Touring Is A 593-HP Electric Wagon We Won't Get

Another day, another piece of wagon-shaped forbidden fruit. BMW’s newest debut is the 5 Series Touring, the longroof version of the eighth-generation midsize sedan. Beyond our general penchant for wagons, what makes this latest 5 Series Touring even more enticing are its lineup of powertrains, which includes a fully electric model for the first time.

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The 5 Series Touring will be available with a number of internal combustion motors, including diesels and plug-in-hybrid gas engines. The 520d has a turbodiesel inline-4 with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, and a six-cylinder diesel will come later this year. The 530e PHEV pairs a gas turbo four with an electric motor for 295 horsepower and 60 miles of electric range; choosing all-wheel drive brings that range down by a bit.

Photo: BMW

But the electric i5 versions are what we’re really interested in. The base i5 eDrive40 has one electric motor at the rear axle that produces 335 hp and 317 pound-feet of torque, with a 6.1-second 0-to-62-mph time and a range of up to 348 miles on the optimistic European WLTP cycle. More exciting is the top-end i5 M60 variant. Like in the sedan, the M60 features a dual-motor powertrain that makes 593 hp and 605 lb-ft and can rocket the wagon to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, just a tenth off of the sedan’s time. BMW says the M60 has up to 314 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. Both i5 variants have an 81.2-kWh battery pack that can be fast-charged at up to 205 kW.

BMW says the 5 Series Touring has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and PHEV and EV models have rear-axle air suspension with automatic self-leveling. The M60 comes standard with adaptive dampers, a sportier suspension setup and bigger brakes, and options include electronically controlled shocks, variable-ratio power steering, “new lateral dynamics management,” and the Adaptive M Chassis Professional that has active anti-roll stabilization.

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Photo: BMW

I’m already a fan of the new 5 Series’ design (controversial, I know), and I think the Touring looks even better. Everything from the B-pillar back is unique to the Touring, and it’s 3.8 inches longer, 1.3 inches wider, 0.7 inches taller and rides on a 0.8-inch-longer wheelbase than the outgoing Touring.The sharply raked rear glass, hatch spoiler and angular Hofmeister kink at the kicked-up D-pillar all give the Touring an athletic silhouette, and the slim taillights flow nicely with the lines of the hatch.

Cargo space is pretty much the same as the outgoing 5 Series Touring, splitting the difference between the Audi A6 Avant and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon, and the PHEV and EV’s battery packs don’t cut into cargo space. Sadly, it seems as if the old 5 Series Touring’s separately opening hatch glass wasn’t retained for the new generation. The Touring’s interior design is identical to the sedan, with a large curved display and BMW’s animated Interaction Bar spanning the dash. The interior comes with vegan upholstery as standard, but leather is still available, and a huge panoramic glass roof is a new option.

As with the past few generations of 5 Series Touring, this new model won’t be coming to the U.S., at least not in these guises. Rumors have been persisting for a while that not only will BMW make an M5 Touring for the first time since the V10-powered E60 generation, the new M5 wagon will actually be sold in America. It will use a version of the V8 PHEV setup that’s found in cars like the XM, with more than 700 hp and an electric range of a few dozen miles. Expect the M5 Touring to be unveiled later this year.