BMW 5 Series Touring estate (2010 – ) expert review

BMW 5 Series Touring buyers tend to be around five years younger than their saloon-buying counterparts according to the Munich-based manufacturer. And based on this it wanted to give them a car which looked sporty as well as delivering the goods in terms of being the load-shifting member of the 5 Series family.  Thus the Touring takes on a curvier look than its predecessor and is a far cry from the boxy estates which many of those buyers will have grown up with.

The BMW’s interior combines class with comfort. The central armrest is home to the iDrive, BMW’s information and entertainment interface, housing the sat-nav, audio and air conditioning controls. The optional Head-up display allows you to view essential info including speed and junction details from the sat-nav while still looking ahead and, if you have the budget (£940 at the time of launch), is money well-spent. The multi-function steering wheel also helps keep the driver’s eyes on the road. A full-length sunroof is a further option which is worth serious consideration, especially for brightening the journey for little ones onboard.

The 5 Series Touring offers 560-litres of boot space. Fold the rear seats and this space can be expanded to 1,670 litres. Each of the rear seats can also be folded individually. The rear window can be opened independently of the tailgate for when you simply want to throw in a bag of shopping, while an extra 30 litres boot space can be claimed by adjusting the rear seats through seven lockable settings. However it falls short of the class leader, the Mercedes E-Class Estate with its 695-litre boot.

The 5 Series Touring serves up a superb combination of comfort and responsiveness. Our test drive from the south of Germany to London included several hundred miles of high speed driving on the carpet-like Autobahns as well as the somewhat more variable conditions of a tourist trail (the Romantic Road which runs from Fussen to Wurzburg). The car’s smoothness and comfort were impeccable on the German motorways while being more than able to lay on some fun for the driver along more demanding passages of the journey. The comfort is partly thanks to the extended wheelbase – the 5 Series is the longest car in its class – while the optional Drive Dynamic Control helped put a spring in our step thanks to the ability to toggle between four chassis-altering settings: Normal, Comfort, Sport and Sport+. In short, when your eyes are focused on what’s in front of you it’s completely possible to forget you’re driving an estate at all.

The 5 series touring offers a choice of seven engines, with three petrol engines and four diesels in the line-up. While the 520d is predicted to be the best-seller, its big brother, the 530d, offers sports car-like acceleration and lots of pulling power, appealing more to the enthusiast.  Standard specification sees each model apart from the 535d equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. The 535d comes with an eight-speed automatic, bringing smoother changes and improved response and can be specified as an option on all the other models.

All models feature BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology. This will help make the 520d the most popular model, partly thanks to CO2 emissions of 135g/km which helps keep the insurance rate low and an average fuel consumption of  55.4mpg to keep the trips to the petrol station down. Emissions for the 530d are 169g/km and fuel consumption 44.1mpg. The petrol models will be more to run owing to frequent fuel top-tops and insurance costs.

As Deputy Editor Stuart Milne wrote of the 5 Series Saloon “BMW consistently engineers its cars to a high degree and has built a superb reputation for reliability. The fit and finish of parts which are visible inside and out is first rate.”

The BMW 5 Series scored a full five-star rating in the EuroNCAP crash test programme. Standard kit includes driver, front passenger, front and side airbags; whiplash-reducing headrests, cruise control with brake function, anti-lock brakes, traction, stability and cornering brake controls systems and a bonnet which pops-up to minimise injuries to pedestrians. The car also features an all new pedestrian impact protection system which, in the event of a collision at between 12 and 34mph, raises the bonnet to reduce the risk of injury through impact with the engine.

BMW offers what it says is its highest ever level of standard specification including leather upholstery and dual-zone climate control.

Individual options which can be specified include the aforementioned eight-speed automatic gearbox, Park Assist, Adaptive Drive, Integral Active Steering, Surround View Camera System, Head-up display, Night Vision with pedestrian recognition, lane departure warning, Lane Change Warning and Speed Limit display. The 5 Series Touring can be specified in SE trim or M Sport guise which brings its features, such as different aerodynamics and specific suspension set-up as well its own alloys, seats, steering wheel and gear knob.

You can have fun in the BMW 5 Series Touring, it’s very practical and if you choose the right one, needn’t be expensive to run.