The CarBuzz spies have gotten several looks at BMW's refreshed M5 sedan and Touring wagon, even as BMW itself hasn't been sure where the car is going. We have brought you photos with a Neue Klasse face, then with a more conventional face. Now we're getting a look inside the new M5 Touring for the first time. And there are some notable changes, including the all-new Panoramic iDrive system that BMW will soon be installing in the production car. Somebody Is Going To Be In Trouble CarBuzz/Valnet Automakers work hard to disguise the exterior of prototypes like this one using vinyl camouflage wraps, heavy fabric coverings, and stickers that hide the key parts of exposed components like lights. Inside the car, they take even more comprehensive steps to make sure you can't see the details.Which makes it oh so very sweet when our spies get a look inside, like they've done on this M5. That sticker on the center of the steering wheel? It's a warning to drivers to fold down the covers when they're stationary and to attach the fabric steering wheel cover. Oops.CarBuzz/Valnet We'll start the interior preview with that wheel. It's a different shape from the one in the current M5. The flat-bottom is gone, and in its place is one with a slightly squared-off top. It's not exactly a squircle, as is becoming common, but it's not quite round.It's the wheel from the new iX3, essentially, with some M tricolor stitching. A larger airbag than the previous M5 and controls right beside the airbag are identical to that SUV's wheel. It even has the driver-facing sensor for advanced driver-assist controls. New iDrive Screen Ditches Conventional Dash CarBuzz/Valnet The dashboard screen isn't covered, it's gone. This M5 has the same canted-angle screen as you'll find in the iX3, though it does seem larger in this car, and it's proof that the new M5 will get BMW's Panoramic iDrive system. That puts the dashboard dials, like speed, economy, and more, on the bottom of the windshield. More in the driver's field of vision.BMW has added center console controls that, once again, are taken almost directly from the iX3. The center switch appears to be crystal, like you might find in an iX or 7 Series, and it controls what gear you're in. Other details are what you'd expect to find in a new M5: heavily bolstered sports seats, M-stitched seatbelts, and multi-tone leather seats and doors.CarBuzz/Valnet We don't expect significant powertrain changes. The car still has a charge door, a solid sign it will remain a PHEV. The current M5 delivers 717 horsepower from its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 and electric motor, giving it a claimed run from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It can do 190 mph flat-out with engine and motor, or it can drive around 25 miles on battery power alone at speeds up to 87 mph.No word on when the new M5 will be revealed or go on sale. We do expect it later this year, and that both the sedan and wagon will continue to be offered in the US. BMW took a chance offering the Touring here, and says it paid off. The M3 Touring could follow because of the success of its larger sibling.2027 BMW M5 Touring LCI spy photo (13)
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