2017 BMW 5-series Touring unveiled

BMW released photos of the new 5-series Touring before its official debut at the Geneva motor show in March. It is set to launch internationally in July.

The 5-series Touring is 36mm longer, 8mm wider, 10mm taller and has a wheelbase that’s 7mm longer than the outgoing model. Passengers, therefore, get more head, shoulder and legroom. BMW claims that the new model also has enough space for three child seats to be mounted across the rear bench.

The new car gets a 570-litre boot and, with the rear seats folded, it can be expanded to 1,700 litres. The rear bench has the option of a 40/20/40 split. A power-operated tailgate comes as standard but ‘hands-free’ opening is an option.

The car is bigger but about 100kg lighter than the outgoing model. It will be available with the option of four engines. Of those, the two diesels are a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, 191hp 520d and a 3.0-litre straight-six, 265hp 530d. The latter gets the option of BMW’s xDrive, a four-wheel-drive system. The two petrols on offer are the 530i with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder 251hp unit and the 540i xDrive with a 340hp straight-six. The 540i get xDrive as standard and is the fastest option at launch. It accelerates from 0-100kph in a claimed 5.1sec.

The 520d get a six-speed manual as standard and an eight-speed Steptronic as an option. All other models get the automatic transmission as standard.

As standard fitment at the rear axle is air suspension, which means that the new car can carry loads of up to 730kg as opposed to the 610kg its predecessor could. It will also get the option of dynamic damper control, roll stabilisation and active steering, as well as M Sport suspension on xDrive models.

The cabin gets an 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen system with BMW’s latest iDrive software, which can be controlled via touch, gesture or voice commands. All its kit is the same as that on the 5-series sedan like the inductive phone charging point, Apple CarPlay, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and more.

Keeping occupants safe are driver assist features that include collision warning and pedestrian warning with city braking, cross-traffic warning, active side-collision protection and lane-control assistant, which maintain the car’s path in a motorway or autobahn lane at speeds of up to 209kph.