The pricey M5 Touring is out of reach for most people, so what’s the next best thing? We argue it’s this – the new 550e xDrive Touring. It too is a plug-in hybrid but it eschews the big V8 in favor of an inline-six. The combustion engine punches out 313 horsepower and 450 Newton-meters (332 pound-feet) of torque while the electric motor delivers an extra 197 hp.
With the power of the two combined, the large electrified wagon delivers a total system output of 489 hp. It’s enough hybrid muscle for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in only 4.4 seconds. That makes it just 0.8 seconds slower than the M5 Touring. That’s not too shabby for a large and heavy BMW wagon that’s not even an M Performance model.
At €79,300 in Germany, the new 550e xDrive Touring is a whopping €66,700 more affordable than the “G99” flagship. The massive gap between the two begins to narrow once you start adding options. Go for the M Sport Package Pro and the six-cylinder hybrid wagon starts at €84,350. Even so, we reckon it’s an appealing alternative for those who can’t fork out so much money for the M5 Touring.
There’s another benefit to getting the 550e since it has a higher electric range. BMW says the wagon can cover 57 miles (92 kilometers) in the WLTP cycle without sipping any gasoline. The long-roof M5 will travel for 45 miles (73 kilometers) before the twin-turbo, 4.4-liter V8 engine kicks in. We should mention the 550e has a slightly bigger lithium-ion battery pack, 19 kWh vs 18.6 kWh.
On a related note, BMW is also adding a 520i to the “G61” lineup as a base model and the first gas-only version. In addition, the purely electric i5 Touring can now be had in an xDrive40 flavor. Its dual motors produce a combined 394 hp and 590 Nm (435 lb-ft) for a sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) in five and a half seconds. Flat out, it’ll do 134 mph (215 km/h). The EV gets an 81.2-kWh battery with up to 323 miles (520 km) of range.
You can already find these new additions to the lineup in the German configurator.
Source: BMW
