Here’s the short answer: yes. The BMW i5 Touring should come to the U.S. Will it, though? That’s far more uncertain but, given what we know about BMW’s future U.S. lineup, it’s certainly a possibility.
We already know that the BMW i5 sedan is coming to the ‘States, which wasn’t necessarily a given. Here in America, we don’t always get cool electric BMWs. We didn’t get the BMW iX3 and we aren’t getting the iX1, for some inexplicable reason. The i5, though, we’re going to get and we should see it next year. When it does debut, it will be based on the next-gen 5 Series, on the updated CLAR platform, and will share its styling.
Another car the U.S. market is getting, which is genuinely shocking, is the BMW M5 Touring. That isn’t a typo and you didn’t read that wrong. A proper M5 wagon is coming to the ‘States for the first time in history. There have been M5 wagons before but they always stayed east of the Atlantic, never making their way to the U.S. Now, we’re going to be getting one and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
With the introduction of the M5 Touring, and the BMW i5, would it make sense to bring the i5 Touring here to America? Obviously, I think it would make sense. Then again, I’m a massive wagon fan and want all the wagons. However, from a practical standpoint, the i5 Touring would be more spacious and usable for families, which are exactly the sorts of people that will be buying i5s. And since BMW is going to homologate the body style for the U.S. anyway, it makes sense to make use of it and offer an all-electric version.
EV customers also seem to be more open to different body styles. Cars with funky shapes, such as the KIA EV6, Polestar 2, and even the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (tweener hatchback/crossover) are selling quite well. EV customers don’t seem shackled by the same preconceptions of what cars are supposed to be and I think an i5 buyer would absolutely buy a wagon version, as it just makes more practical sense. Plus, it will probably look better.
When the BMW i5 does come to market, you can expect similar powertrain options as in the i4, considering it’s also built on CLAR. So an eDrive40 model with over 300 horsepower will likely be the entry-level car and an M50 (or M60) model with around 550 horsepower will probably be the top-end model. Now, imagine a BMW i5 M50 Touring, with that much power and a wagon body style? Sounds like the perfect car.
As of right now, we have no idea if BMW will bring the i5 Touring to the U.S. market. Though, given that it’s bringing the standard i5 and the M5 Touring, it makes sense for an i5 Touring as well.
