• 530xi Sports Wagon – a format returning to the Series after two model years of Sedans only. While maintaining the Sedan’s innate sportiness and luxury, this 5-door wagon embodies a host of thoughtful features enhancing people- and cargo-carrying capabilities; xDrive endows it with remarkable traction and agility.
Sports Wagon interior and cargo area:
An abundance of thoughtful features
Up front, the Sports Wagon offers essentially the same accommodations as the Sedans. Front and rear leg room are identical for the two body styles; the Wagon offers 0.6 in. more head room and its standard split folding rear seats offer essentially the same functions and benefits as those that are optional in the Sedans.
The big difference, of course, is aft of the rear seats, where in terms of load-carrying ability and versatility the Sports Wagon offers advantages not only over the Sedans, but also over its predecessor, last offered in ’03. As always with a new BMW – and especially with a new BMW Sports Wagon – the 530xi abounds with rational design and thoughtful details:
• High-lift tailgate – almost 73 in. head clearance – with Soft Close feature. The tailgate is electrically released from the remote or an interior switch.
• Separately opening rear window, for convenient loading without opening the tailgate.
• Soft Close of tailgate: user closes gently, power mechanism draws it down.
• Fully lined cargo area – floor, sides, back sides of rear seats – with luxurious, yet long-wearing carpet.
• Wider than that in the previous Wagon, and with straight, essentially vertical sides, the cargo area presents loading capacity as follows:
• 17.6 cu ft. of volume with the seats upright and cargo loaded to the top of the rear seats
• 33.6 cu ft. with the rear seats upright and cargo loaded to the ceiling (the official EPA capacity)
• 58.3 cu ft. with the seats folded and cargo loaded to ceiling.
• Four tie-down hooks in the floor, at the front and rear corners of the compartment.
• A 12-volt accessory power outlet on the right-hand wall.
• An enclosed storage compartment on each side.
• Two storage spaces under the cargo floor, one lockable.
• Bag holders – a short strap on the left side, a longer one on the right.
• Instead of having to be hooked into its raised position, the floor rises, and stays in its raised position, once released via a convenient handle at the rear of the compartment.
• A cargo net, carried in a roller assembly, that can be mounted with the rear seats either upright or folded. At each side of the cargo area is a flat ledge on which this assembly can be slid rearward for removal from vehicle; one does not have to reach in awkwardly and lift the assembly out.
• A cover, concealing cargo when the seats are upright; automatically rises when tailgate is opened. The cover can also be removed from the vehicle.
• If, once raised, a rear-seat backrest is not fully locked into place, a red tab appears to help call users’ attention to it.
• Red light at bottom of tailgate, for safety; visible when tailgate is open.
Dual-panel Panorama Moonroof
Like the Sedans, the Sports Wagon comes standard with a power moonroof; however, the Wagon’s is a dual-panel Panorama Moonroof, a feature also seen in the X3 and X5 Series.
With its overall roof opening of 41.9 x 34.8 in., the power glass roof consists of two panels, both of which can be tilted up at the rear. The forward, larger panel can also be slid open; together, their glass area is almost 10 square feet. Although the glass is effectively tinted, there is also a power-operated interior shade; a wind deflector rises at the front of the opening to reduce wind buffeting when panels are open. All motions have 1-touch operation, including that of the interior shade.