2027 BMW i3 Touring (NA1): Lineup, Specs, Launch Date

On the very finish of the i3 sedan’s world premiere on March 18, former BMW CEO Oliver Zipse let a shadowy silhouette flash throughout the display screen behind him. BMW had simply confirmed that the 3 Collection Touring isn’t going away, and that its first absolutely electrical model is coming.

That automobile is the BMW i3 Touring, internally coded NA1. It’s the sensible sibling to the NA0 sedan that simply went on sale in Europe, and it’s shaping as much as be the automobile a selected type of purchaser has been ready years for: somebody who desires the Neue Klasse’s vary, charging pace, and software program, however refuses to surrender a wagon’s load flooring to get it.

Coming in 2027

The i3 sedan enters collection manufacturing in Munich this August, with European deliveries following this fall and the US getting its first vehicles in 2027. The Touring shares that manufacturing line, however BMW has solely mentioned it gained’t begin rolling off the road earlier than the second half of 2027 “on the earliest.”

There’s a one other story behind the timing, too. Munich is in the course of changing into one among BMW’s first absolutely EV-dedicated vegetation, a transition that completes by the tip of 2027. That’s additionally why a combustion 3 Collection Touring (G51) gained’t be constructed there, however quite in Dingolfing and possibly Mexico. The historic manufacturing unit that’s spent a long time constructing 3 Collection wagons with engines below the hood is about to cease doing that completely, and the i3 Touring is among the vehicles taking its place.

Borrowing The Sedan’s Face, Maintaining The Wagon’s Silhouette

No one exterior Munich has seen an actual i3 Touring but, however the teaser BMW confirmed wasn’t obscure sufficient to depart a lot guesswork. Rendering artists all converge on the identical learn: the Touring carries the sedan’s design wholesale as much as the B-pillar, then finishes all the pieces behind that as a correct long-roof wagon.

Meaning the identical four-eye face, the identical illuminated kidney remedy with out a bodily encompass, and the identical shark-nose entrance finish. The place it diverges is the rear, and that’s the half truly price caring about. The slim, full-width taillight graphic from the sedan carries over to the tailgate, however the roofline drops into the type of near-vertical rear finish each 3 Collection Touring because the E30 has used, the higher to load a stroller or a canine crate with out folding your self in half.

The Lineup: i3 30, i3 40, i3 50, and i3 M60

The Touring is anticipated to launch with the identical trim construction BMW is constructing for the sedan, simply unfold throughout a wagon physique:

• i3 30 — the entry level, nearly definitely single-motor and rear-wheel drive with the smallest of the obtainable battery packs.
• i3 40 — a step up in battery dimension and possibly the model most consumers would need on account of value.
• i3 50 — the quantity mannequin, and the one we even have exhausting numbers for, as a result of they arrive straight from the sedan. BMW’s i3 50 xDrive makes use of two motors producing 463 hp and 645 Nm of torque, a 108.7-kWh internet battery, and 400 kW peak DC charging good for a 10-80% top-up in 21 minutes. The sedan is rated at 906 km WLTP in First Version trim and 912 km in commonplace type. So anticipate related rankings and figures for the touring mannequin as properly.
• i3 M60 xDrive — the efficiency flagship, rumored at round 630 hp, sitting on the top quality as a preview of the electrical M3 (ZA0) nonetheless to come back. The sedan model is anticipated to enter manufacturing round March 2027, so the Touring’s M60 is realistically a 2027-or-later proposition both manner.

None of that is formally priced but. For reference, the sedan’s i3 50 xDrive begins at €65,900 in Germany as soon as the First Version launch run wraps up, undercutting the equal iX3 50 xDrive by almost €9,000. Count on the Touring to land near that determine plus no matter BMW’s traditional wagon premium finally ends up being, although no one exterior Munich has confirmed a quantity but.

BMW Already Proved It Received’t Shrink The Trunk

Probably the most reassuring knowledge level for anybody cross-shopping an property doesn’t come from the i3 in any respect. It comes from the i5 Touring, which carries 570 liters of cargo area with the rear seats up and 1,700 liters folded, similar to the combustion-powered 5 Collection Touring it shares a physique with. BMW didn’t quietly trim the i5’s trunk to make room for batteries, and there’s no cause to anticipate a distinct method right here. The present 3 Collection Touring (G21) holds 500 liters up and 1,510 liters folded, which is the real looking ballpark for the i3 Touring as soon as it arrives. The sedan’s 420-liter trunk and tiny 31-liter frunk merely aren’t the related comparability for anybody truly cross-shopping a wagon.

Who Is The Purchaser For The i3 Touring?

The i3 Touring exists for a purchaser the sedan can’t absolutely serve: somebody offered on Neue Klasse’s vary and charging numbers however unwilling to commerce away a flat load flooring to get them. It’s additionally, by chance or design, the clearest sign but that BMW isn’t able to let the Touring nameplate die with the combustion engine, whilst Munich shuts the door on constructing one other gas-powered one. It’s additionally for individuals who love wagons as a result of they’re merely cool.

[Renderings by @theottle]