Here we have it, BMW’s all-new seventh-generation 5 Series, revealed overnight, that will be hitting the market early next year after its public premiere at the 2017 North American Motor Show in Detroit.
Seen in these images, all reports that had corroborated the narrative that BMW did indeed choose an evolutionary step in exterior design was true. In fact, all told, the new 5 Series looks an awful lot like a slightly shrunken 7 Series. Especially with that side sill behind the front wheels, the widened kidney grille, as well as the front fascia and illumination - which are now fully LED, front and back.
Midway through the car’s length, though, and the design returns to more familiar territory as cues from the F10 5 Series (its predecessor) make a return. In terms of variants, BMW has chosen to show us the 520d EfficientDynamics, 530e iPerformance, 540i, and M550 xDrive.
Of course, this new version, referred to as the G30, is far from just an exterior treatment. It justifies its status as a forward step in BMW’s overall vehicle prowess to create a consummate luxury saloon and also features a wider engine line-up as well as newly added semi-autonomous driving functions.
There wasn’t much wrong with the way the previous 5 Series looked. Even nearing the end of its production life, its age does not show nearly as evidently its contemporaries. With 2.1 million units sold through its life so far, it is BMW’s most successful 5 Series by volume, and a large swath of the population already regard that shape as a BMW.
There are some key changes, though. Dimensionally, the G30 5 Series has grown, with overall length increasing to 4935mm (up 36mm), wheelbase is up 7mm, while width is up 6mm to 1868mm and height climbing marginally by 2mm to 1466mm. This makes the BMW larger in every respect to the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W213).
As we’ve also seen before, BMW is testing the M Division’s interpretation of their premier sports saloon, which will spawn a new M5 (G90) later in 2017 following the introduction of the estate and GT body styles.
Like the new 7 Series before it, this 5 Series is built with BMW’s new Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform which incorporates a mix of high tensile steel, aluminium, and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), allowing the new generation to have better weight distribution, a lower centre of gravity, more durable and torsionally rigid shell, and an overall lighter weight by up to 100kg depending on variant, resulting in improved fuel economy.
Speaking of, the spread of tiers will follow its predecessor’s almost to a tee, and paired to the same engines as well, nearly all derived from BMW’s B-Series of powertrains. The base 520i (as well as the 530i and 530e iPerformance) will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 140kW while the 540i will use a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six.
These two engines, also arriving in diesel form and in various level of tune, will power the majority of the 7th-generation 5 Series. However, a powerful triple-turbocharged 3.0-litre diesel four-wheel driven M550d xDrive will headline the range.
That is, until the new M5 arrives with 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, also with four-wheel drive and a 7-speed M-DCT twin-clutch automatic. All other versions of the 5 Series will be mated to an updated version of the class-leading ZF 8-speed automatic used previously, although lower-end variants will reportedly come standard with a manual transmission.
Also interesting will be the ability to match four-wheel drive variants (xDrive) with BMW’s new four-wheel steering system. This will lead to increased agility and direction changes at lower speeds and improved high speed stability.
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