2024 BMW 5-series

Starting at $59,000 est

Illustration by Christian Schulte|Car and Driver

Select a year

Overview

The 5-series has long served as BMW's middle-child sedan, offering just-right proportions for buyers who can't fit a 7-series in their parking spot and for whom the 3-series feels a bit too cramped. The forthcoming new generation of 5-series shouldn't deviate from this Goldilocks storyline, and we're expecting a spacious cabin filled with luxuries, some of which may be lifted entirely from its recently revised larger sibling. We expect to see a digital dashboard featuring BMW's iDrive 8 interface and the introduction of the company's new hands-free driving system. Our chief complaint about the previous-generation 5 was that it lost some of its athletic road manners in the name of comfort, but if the new 7-series is anything to go by, BMW has figured out a way to engineer some of that driver-first ethos back into its larger sedans. Although the current 5-series is still relatively fresh, receiving its most recent revision only a couple of years ago, a ground-up redesign will keep it relevant among rivals such as the Audi A6, the Genesis G80, and the Mercedes-Benz E-class—the last of which is also due for a full redesign.

What's New for 2024?

BMW is preparing the next-generation 5-series sedan in lockstep with an all-electric i5 variant as well as a performance-oriented M5 sports sedan. We expect to see the new four-door debut sometime in late 2023 and go on sale in mid-2024.

Pricing and Which One to Buy

Although the 5-series will be redesigned for 2024, we expect to see familiar powertrains and trim levels, starting with an entry-level 530i model and culminating in a more powerful M550i trim. The plug-in hybrid 530e is likely to return too, but our favorite setup in the last generation model was the inline-six 540i.