After five years of the third generation of the 5-Series, BMW introduced the station wagon version for its mid-size sedan.
It was hard to take the decision, but it was a successful one.

In the mid-’80s, the only premium station-wagon for the mid-size segment was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The general idea was that the premium segment customers don’t buy station-wagons. But the segment started to pick-up and BMW management decided to take a piece of the market.

The third generation of 5-Series was launched in 1987 but it wasn’t until 1994 when they launched the station-wagon. It looks like the design team waited to see how the three-box model will be received by the market and only after that they started to work on the project. The cars were identical up to the B-pillar. Even the lower part of the rear doors was the same. But what happened above the beltline was a different story. The longer roof and the bigger trunk added practicality. The German car-manufacturer already had some experience with that type of bodywork from the smaller BMW 3-Series Touring. The individual opening of the rear window feature was added to the 5-Series as well.

Inside the vehicle, there was the same interior as in the sedan version, but the rear seats were folding type in a 60:40 split.

For the engine compartment, the four-cylinder units were deleted from the option list and only inline-six and V8s were installed. It also had the all-wheel-drive system on the 525iX (2.5-liter engine).