2017 BMW 5 Series Touring wants to be the ultimate family hauler

Following the introduction of the 5 Series G30 Sedan in October 2016, BMW is now ready to show off the more practical Touring G31 wagon borrowing most of the design as well as the aluminum-intensive CLAR platform. An exact weight loss has not been mentioned, but expect a diet of up to somewhere in the region of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) as it was the case with the Euro-spec sedan. Since we've mentioned aluminum, we should point out the tailgate along with the suspension side members are now made from this type of metal.

As with all wagons, cargo capacity is of utmost importance. In this case, the new 5 Series Touring's trunk has a volume of 570 liters with the rear seats in place. Should you need even more space to carry items, fold down the rear seats and you will have 1,700 liters at your disposal. Improvements have also been made in terms of the permissible load, which has significantly increased by as much as 120 kilograms (264 pounds) to 720-730 kg (1,587-1,609 lbs), depending on model.

The versatility of BMW's posh midsize wagon is granted by an assortment of handy features, such as 40:20:40 split folding rear seats, separate rear window opening, electric remote backrest release via a trunk-mounted button, and an automatic tailgate function providing handsfree opening and closing of the tailgate.

Upon launch, the new 5 Series Touring is going to be available with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine delivering 252 horsepower (185 kilowatts) and 258 pound-feet (350 Newton-meters) of torque in the 530i model. A beefier turbo inline-six 3.0-liter will push out 340 hp (250 kW) and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm) in the 540i xDrive. Both engines are going to be hooked up exclusively to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

But we all know the diesels will represent the bread and butter, with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 190 hp (140 kW) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) in the 520d available with a six-speed manual and an eight-speed auto. The larger inline-six 3.0-liter will generate 265 hp (195 kW) and a torquetastic 457 lb-ft (620 Nm) in the 530d, which comes only in an automatic flavor and can be optionally had with grippy xDrive.

Regardless of the one you go for, all feature rear air suspension with automatic self-leveling as standard equipment. At an additional cost, BMW will be more than happy to throw in an M Sport suspension lowering the ride height by 10 mm, as well as dynamic dampers, an Adaptive Drive system with active roll stabilization, and the Integral Active Steering system now available on xDrive-equipped models.

BMW will celebrate the world premiere of the new 5 Series Touring in March at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, with sales to kick off from June. Additional versions with both RWD and AWD will be added later this year.