BMW 5-Series Touring

Whilst we've seen official pictures of the bigger, better 5-Series saloon lately, this footage shows a prototype of the Touring on the N�rburgring trying to escape from our lens.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By @Automedia

July 2003

It'll be officially launched in March 2004. Like the saloon, the Touring will share its front end design with the larger 7-Series, although the look has been tamed down. But still the rear will feature sharp light clusters, while the front is rather similar to that of the Z4 roadster.

The Touring will be bigger in every dimension - longer, wider, taller - with an emphasis on improved interior space, especially on the rear bench. Load space has not been a matter of improvement - after all, the 5-series Touring is a design-estate rather than a real load-lugger. To keep weight low, the entire body will be made of aluminium, though the chassis will be strengthened by steel elements here and there.

Inside, BMW has gone to great length to make seats and dashboard perfectly ergonomic. Standard will be a revised iDrive vehicle management system that's reportedly much easier to operate than that of the 7-Series. Fully adjustable air-suspension and variable dampers, both also available for the saloon, will be standard for the Touring. Both will be mounted on the Z-axle arrangement. This will also include the newly developed so-called Active Steering which, in emergency situations, automatically steers the wheels to correct the skid in far less time than the average driver could. While that's already good in a saloon, it's just perfect in an estate which is often loaded to the limit - sometimes even overloaded.

The 2004 5-Series Touring will be powered by 2.7-litre and 3.0-litre six-cylinder units with FSI direct injection technology. The more powerful version will be coming with 3.5- and 4.5-litre V8s taken from the 735 and 745i. The return of four-cylinder engines for the five-series will be limited to the saloon, of which entry-level models will be available with a 2.2-litre four-pot. Before new diesel engines will be ready, the Touring and the saloon will be offered with 2.0-, 2.5- and 3.0-litre oil-burners from the existing range.