A tester for the Touring (station wagon) version of BMW’s next 5-Series has provided us with a glimpse of the executive model’s interior.

German carmakers with their propensity to scale the same design themes have become as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Whenever they come up with something fresher or even slightly different from what they’ve been doing, you can bet your best t-shirt that they’re going to replicate it on all of their cars.

This holds true with the upcoming replacement for the 5-Series that scales down the interior design traits and cues of the latest 7-Series right up to gear lever, the twin central gauges flanked by half-moon instruments and the free-standing touch-screen for the infotainment system. Much like Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming 2017 E-Class that does the same exact thing with the S-Class, the 5er will be a little less luxurious and premium than its bigger brother, or at least it will be if you avoid the urge to splurge through the options list.

Having said that, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that if you closed your eyes and imagined the front and rear ends of the new 7-Series crafted onto the body of the current 5-Series, chances are, you wouldn’t be too far away from reality…

As with the 3- and 7-Series sedans, the next 5-Series will don crispier and slimmer headlights extending to a bolder and wider version of BMW’s double-kidney grille, while the Touring model pictured here will keep the current car’s no-frills estate shape with a sloping rear window offering increased boot space over the sedan.

Powering the new 5-Series will be a mix of turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four and 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesels and petrols, together with a newly developed V8 petrol for the 550i and a plug-in hybrid unit sourced from the X5 xDrive40e combining a 240hp 2.0L engine with a 111hp electric motor.

There will be a choice of two ‘M’ prepped models, an M Performance M50d that is believed to get a new quad-turbo straight-six diesel, and, of course, a replacement for the M5 equipped with an improved 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8, which for the first time, will be offered with both rear-wheel drive or optional xDrive all-wheel drive.

The new 5-Series, codenamed G30, will arrive in sedan trim next summer, with the Touring to follow in the fall, but at this time, we have no indication that the latter will be offered in North America.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops

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