SPIED: 2021 BMW 5 Series Touring PHEV appears on camera
Spy photographers have recently captured a camouflaged plug-in hybrid BMW 5 Series Touring LCI, set to go on sale this year as a 2021 model. We already know what the LCI 5 Series Sedan will look like, thanks the last week’s “leaks” detailed by us here and here. Until the scheduled online reveal takes place towards end of May, the G30/G31 LCI test prototypes continue the on-road FEP undeterred.
The LCI 5 Series Touring will incorporate the same restyled headlights and tail lamps as the Sedan counterpart, together with the more tridimensional kidney grille. The G31 was already a fashionable wagon, so the LCI model will look even crisper.
Lately, a minimally cladded plug-in hybrid Touring test vehicle was spotted in the Munich area (as we don’t own the spy shots, you can see them here). Depicted by the “Hybrid Test Vehicle” sticker on the front doors, this PHEV could likely be the 530e or the 545e, if there are any plans to offer this new motoring variant for the 5 Series Touring as well.
The 530e packs out 252 PS / 249 hp, with the peak output remaining unchanged for the LCI generation. I was hoping for a power increase up to 292 PS / 288 hp, like in the case of the 330e model, but it doesn’t seem to be the case for now.
The real novelty within the updated 5 Series lineup is the addition of the range-topping 545e version. The new PHEV 5 Series uses the same hybrid architecture as the X5 xDrive45e and 745e. The 545e will too feature a 3.0-liter, I6 petrol engine developing 286 PS / 282 hp.
The electric motor is good 83 kW / 113 PS (111 hp) and, thus, the maximum, combined output of the plug-in hybrid powertrain reaches 400 PS / 394 hp. We already reported that the 545e might not be coming to US after all, which is a bit surprising.
As in the case of the 530e, which is also available in xDrive configuration, the BMW 545e will too come with an optional all-wheel-drive variant. Other than the “e” letter in the designation and the flap covering the electric charging port on the front left wing, there is no other visual differentiation to signal the electrified powertrain.
As BMW wanted a seamless integration of plug-in hybrids within the model portfolio together with the conventional ICE variants, the iPerformance branding was demised. The recent BMW plug-in hybrids have lost the BMW i logos on the front wings and the eDrive emblems from the C-pillars, together with the BMW i blue accents in the kidney grille and the surrounding area of the centre wheel hub.
Given the LCI 5 Series generation gets a full integration of the latest BMW OS 7.0 infotainment interface, all models will offer the optional choice of the BMW Live Cockpit Professional.
On the 530e/545e, the eDrive logo will be displayed in the digital instrument cluster and, apart from that, it will also be found on all the door sills of the car.
The rear-driven 530e Touring should be capable to achieve an all-electric range of around 57 kilometers (according to WLTP), while the 530e xDrive should do just about 53 kilometers (WLTP). The beefier 545e will likely offer an extended pure electric range of at least 60 kilometers (WLTP).
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