BMW 5 Series Touring confirmed for Aus

BMW Australia has announced that it will officially bring the wagon version of the all-new 5 Series into Australian showrooms in the second half of the year, following the arrival of the sedan which lands next month.

Speaking at the BMW Australia 2017 range day media event, BMW Group Australia CEO Marc Werner confirmed that the 5 Series Touring would make it Down Under despite the pressure on wagons in the face of increasing interest in high-riding SUVs.

“In recent years, wagons have been fighting with SUVs for customer consideration in the Australian market,” he said.

“However, last week BMW announced the new wagon variant that might just change many people’s minds.

“This beautiful vehicle, the all-new BMW 5 Series Touring, has such an elegant and classic profile that we couldn’t resist, so we will be bringing these online in Australia in the second half of the year.”

The 5 Series Touring is set for its global debut at the Geneva motor show next month, and in Europe will be offered with four powertrain options, comprising of 2.0- and 3.0-litre engines in petrol and diesel form.

What engines make it into the Australian version remains to be seen, but the outgoing 5 Series range offers two Touring variants – the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder 520d and the 3.0-litre turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder 535i variant.

It is likely that the new-generation 5 Series Touring will mimic that line-up, with the diesel in the 520d capable of putting out 140kW/400Nm and the 540i (name change from 535i) delivering 250kW/450Nm.

Boot space in the new Touring is 570 litres with the 40:20:20 folding rear seats upright – a 10L improvement over the outgoing model.

With the seats folded that increases to a roomy 1700L, representing a 30L improvement.

Mr Werner said the 5 Series sedan, which lands next month, would take the fight up to the tech-laden Mercedes-Benz E-Class which launched locally late last year.

“We can’t wait to release it next month, and there’s no doubt in our minds that it is a fantastic car which will give our colleagues at Stuttgart some food for thought,” he said.

The 5 Series Touring will find itself in a segment uncontested by Mercedes-Benz, with the car-maker eschewing the regular versions of the Estate wagon in favour of the high-riding E-Class All-Terrain that will do battle with the likes of the Audi A6 Allroad and soon-to-be-released Volvo V90 Cross Country.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific senior manager public relations, product and corporate communications David McCarthy said that the business case for the Estate was not strong enough, and that Mercedes would be able to double the yearly sales output of the Estate when offered in All-Terrain guise.

“We think that anyone that’s bought an Estate, and there’s not a lot of them (less than 100 per year), we think that the All-Terrain will add volume to that,” he said.

“If you’re just after an E-Class Estate, I don’t think the All-Terrain will put you off.

“At this stage we’re sticking with All-Terrain, we’ll put our money on that and see how it goes.”

Mr McCarthy hopes that the All-Terrain, which arrives locally in May, will be able to sell up to 200 units per year, doubling the output of the Estate.

It will be offered in a single 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel E220d variant, with the possibility of a diesel V6-powered E350d variant if consumer interest is strong enough.

Australian pricing and specification for the 5 Series Touring will be released closer to its arrival date in the second half of the year.