BMW shows the new 5 Series

In the fall, BMW will be launching the new 5 Series, which will be available in a wide range of powertrain and body styles. In addition to the classic petrol and diesel engines, there will also be a plug-in hybrid and a purely electric variant called the i5. BMW is planning it in at least two versions, both with rear-wheel drive (250 kW/340 hp) and with all-wheel drive (440 kW/600 hp). With a good 80 kWh, the battery should enable a range of almost 600 kilometers and can be charged with more than 200 kW.

The combustion models will initially be offered with four- and six-cylinder engines and as a plug-in hybrid, with a V8 engine to be available again later. The 5 Series will initially be launched as a sedan, but there will also be an estate version (Touring), which for the first time can also be operated electrically.

This is the BMW 5 Series

The successor to the “New Class” has been rolling off the assembly line since 1972 in seven model generations to date. With it, BMW introduced its model designation, which was new at the time and is still valid today, which was then rolled out to the rest of the range (1 Series, 3 Series, 7 Series, etc.). In addition to the sedan and station wagon, there was also the hatchback variant GT (“Gran Turismo”) between 2009 and 2017. Its successor rolls off the assembly line as a 6 Series GT. To date, around eight million 5s have been built.

Autonomous driving on a new level

Of course, BMW also promises the famous sheer driving pleasure for the eighth generation of its 5 Series. Nevertheless, the variety of assistance systems has grown again. For example, the Driving Assistant Professional is available for the first time in Germany. It should allow the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel and their feet off the pedals on the freeway, as long as they keep their eyes on the road. Cameras monitor his attention.

Production starts in the summer at the BMW plant in Dingolfing (Lower Bavaria), and the market launch begins in October. There is no information yet on the future 5-series prices. Currently they start at 54,600 euros for the sedan, the station wagon costs at least 56,800 euros.

The fully electric BMW 5 Series in the first test

BMW is working on a new generation of the 5 Series. In addition to diesel and petrol engines, the car also comes as an i5, i.e. with a purely electric drive. AUTO Bild has already tested the prototype – with rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.

We didn’t experience the most important thing about this new BMW, we felt it. We got on our knees in front of him and used our fingers to feel the film that is supposed to cover the whole car. And spontaneously applauded with joy. Nah, the upcoming 5 Series doesn’t get the huge double kidney of the 7 Series. He should please, not divide.

AUTO BILD in Miramas in southern France. Here, on its own test site, BMW puts all its prototypes to the test and gives them the finishing touches. And on the 5 they did a lot of grinding. In the fall, the eighth generation of the luxury class is to go on sale, initially as a notchback sedan with diesel and petrol engines and as a pure electric vehicle. The station wagon called Touring will follow in spring 2024. Also as an electric car!

BMW and E. They build both under one shell. It was first with the 4 Series (BMW i4) and most recently with the 7 Series (BMW i7). So now, in addition to the 520d and 530i, there is also an i5. Although we are already in the middle of the story.

New BMW 5 Series with the XXL display from the 7 Series

Yes, the old one also had a lot of space. But now that nobody’s looking, let’s lift the blanket they’ve put over the dashboard. They have given the 5 series the curved XXL display from the 7 series and Co, 1-a graphics, right part for touching and with a new structure called “Quick Select”: If desired, the navigation map is always the largest element, to the left there are tiles to scroll down for radio, telephone, car information. Of course, the voice control in the iDrive generation 8.5 also works great, and luckily they left the controller in the center console, so the 5 series can be operated in three ways.

Autobahn Assistant automatically changes lanes

And while we’re on the subject of electronics, let’s drive a stretch of the Autobahn. In the passenger seat Daniela Kern, Head of Integration for Automated Driving, she wants to know how I find driving assistants. Me: “I always turn this beeping off!” Then we drive 110 km/h, turn on the “Autobahn Assistent Plus” on the steering wheel, I take my hands off the wheel.

The car stays in its own lane and overtakes if I look longer in the mirror. So I look left in the mirror, i5 blinks and overtakes. I look to the right, i5 blinks, cuts in again. This should work independently up to 130 km/h. After the trip, the engineer asks me how I can find assistants now. “Well, I wouldn’t switch off this system,” I say, “it’s not annoying, it helps me.”

The 340 hp of the i5 eDrive40 are more than enough

But we’re still at BMW, and you’re asking yourself: How do we bring emotion into electric cars? They give us the eDrive40 with 340 hp and a motor on the rear axle. Sufficient completely, has a pleasant punch and fine comfort. But now you’re sitting in this M60 xDrive, 598 hp, four-wheel drive, the load is longer than its predecessor (4.94 meters), weighs an estimated 2.3 tons. And you’re thinking: how the hell do they make a piece of exercise equipment that feels a class down from so much bulk?

An M4 drives ahead on the closed track, makes pace. On bumpy slopes, our i5 cushions the frost as if it were mouse teeth and not asphalt craters. When we drive over a small bridge with 140, wave, behind it a left turn, the M4 lifts its hind paw, our 5er springs out and back in and stays confidently on the road, as if to ask: Was what? It’s this active balancing act that they have managed really well at BMW, the combination of agile curve robbers and comfortable gliders.

How did they do it, on the well-known CLAR platform? More rigidity and a clever combination of all control systems. E-cars and plug-in petrol engines always have air springs at the rear, they also gave our test i5 a sports chassis with roll stabilization, variable rack and pinion steering, which is even more direct than its predecessor, and they also made a trick to improve steering and chassis precision to perfect: The battery housing is connected to the axles, contributing to the rigidity of the body.

“The i5 comes from Dingolfing, and as a Lower Bavarian I fought with all my heart to make it good,” says 5er project manager Andreas Holzinger. He succeeded: fill up with electricity, drives great!

The market launch of the new BMW 5 Series/i5 is in autumn 2023

Oh yes, the price: What will this 5er probably cost? Let’s take a look at the direct competitor Mercedes EQE. It starts at 66,402 euros. Somewhere in this direction they will also go with the i5. A current 520d with four-cylinder diesel starts at 56,800 euros. So the new 5-series fun should also start in this price range from autumn 2023.