New BMW i5 Touring revealed: BMW’s attempt at the ultimate electric estate

Almost a year following the debut of the all-electric BMW i5, the Munich-based marque has revealed a more practical estate variant

On sale now with prices starting just shy of £70,000, the BMW i5 Touring is one of a growing number of electric estate cars now on sale, stretching from the budget MG5 EV, all the way up to the high-performance Porsche Taycan – the mainstream Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric and Peugeot E-308 SW sit somewhere in-between, too.

The i5 Touring looks to be even more practical that all of them, though, as BMW says it boasts a roomy 570 litres of boot space – up from 490 litres on the i5 saloon – which can be extended to a cavernous 1,700 litres by folding the rear row of seats down. In comparison, the Astra ‘only’ offers 516 litres of boot capacity.

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One unfortunate omission is that of the separately-opening rear windscreen found on the old hybrid-powered 5 Series, which made loading smaller items much quicker and easier than waiting for the powered bootlid to open. That said, BMW has filled the i5 Touring’s loading area with handy hooks to help tie down loose luggage.

Aside from its raised roofline, the BMW i5 Touring looks and feels a lot similar to its saloon counterpart; it gets the same blanked-off version of BMW’s iconic kidney grille, as well as the brand’s latest dual curved screen infotainment setup.

At launch, two powertrains will be offered: the rear-wheel drive eDrive40 and the high-performance, four-wheel drive xDrive M60. The former gets a single electric motor mounted on the rear axle for an output of 334bhp and, thanks to a rather large 81.2kWh (usable) battery pack, is capable of up to 344 miles on charge, depending on spec – only round 10 miles less than the saloon.

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Speaking of specifications, the BMW i5 Touring eDrive40 is available in three trim levels: Sport Edition (£69,945), M Sport (£76,355) and M Sport Pro (£79,355). Given the saloon is only available in M Sport guise and above, the i5 Touring Sport Edition actually comes in cheaper than the cheapest version of its less-practical counterpart.

Despite its lower price tag, standard equipment is strong – as it should be for a car costing around £70k – with all models getting LED exterior lighting, metallic paintwork, leatherette upholstery, heated front seats, a Harman Kardon sound system, a wireless phone charging pad and a reversing camera. 

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Stepping up to the M Sport car adds a racier bodykit, larger wheels and sports seats, plus stiffer M Sport suspension and upgraded brakes. M Sport Pro cars take things a step further with even larger wheels, gloss black exterior detailing and an illuminated kidney grille.

The BMW i5 Touring xDrive M60 sits at the pinnacle of the line-up and gets an additional electric motor on the front axle for a combined 592bhp; thanks to four-wheel drive grip, 0-62mph takes 3.9 seconds, which is roughly the same as the Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo. Range doesn’t take too much of a significant hit, either, with BMW quoting a maximum WLTP figure of 310 miles.

Starting at £99,995, the hot i5 estate costs just a fiver shy of six figures, so inevitably comes with a lot of extra equipment to justify its lofty price tag. Highlights include an M-specific illuminated kidney grille, four-zone climate control, a Bowers and Wilkin sound system and adaptive suspension.