Yahoo News BMW 5-series Touring review: can this truly great estate take top honours?
The latest iteration of the BMW 5-series saloon is an outstanding all-rounder. However, if you yearn for more space to carry a dog or a bicycle you’ll need to instead opt for this estate version, called the Touring.
Aside from the lack of a plug-in hybrid variant, the Touring is available with the same petrol and diesel engines as the 5-series saloon. All models come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and buyers can choose between having rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The car’s biggest rivals are the Audi A6 Avant, Mercedes E-class Estate, Volvo V90 and Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Can it outshine them to become the executive load-lugger of choice?
Space 8/10
Not the biggest boot in its class
The 5-series Touring has long been outgunned for boot space by the Mercedes E-class Estate and so it remains with this latest model. As such, while you can easily fit a baby buggy, some golf clubs or a couple of dogs in the boot without fuss it doesn’t ever feel like you’ve got quite the endless load space of the Mercedes. There’s also very little in the way of underfloor storage, and certainly no option for an additional two seats like you get in the Mercedes.
The low loading lip and flat floor are useful though, as are the remote switches for lowering the rear seats.
Space for those in the back is slightly better than in the Mercedes if not a match for the Volvo V90. That said there’s still easily enough room to seat one tall adult behind another. With a firm centre backrest and a large lump in the floor to straddle, this middle perch is definitely the short straw as far as passenger comfort goes.
Storage is excellent, whether it’s the large door bins or numerous cubby holes and trays for keys, wallets and phones.
Comfort 10/10
An outstanding way to transport a lot of stuff
Even when weighed town with four people and a weekend’s camping equipment the 5-series Touring has a calm and controlled ride. That even applies when riding on 19-inch wheels, although if you do specify rims this large we’d also advise ticking the box for the Variable Damper Control (VDC) adaptive suspension which helps to take the sting out of bumps in the road.
Regardless of engine choice the Touring is also supremely quiet when accelerating, and isolates occupants supremely well from road and wind noise.
BMW has gone to town with the seats too, and so in addition to the very accommodating standard and even better Sport items, you can specify an optional massage function that turns every journey into a trip to a luxury spa.
Dashboard layout 10/10
Looks great and is easy to use
The dashboard of the 5-series Touring is identical to the saloon’s, which means the quality of the construction and materials is first class. We wouldn’t bother with the optional gesture control, but otherwise BMW’s 10.2-inch iDrive infotainment system is superb, combining lots of features with an easy-to-navigate interface.
Another feature well worth considering is the excellent head-up display, which projects a full colour representation of the speedometer and satnav on to the windscreen, minimising the need to take your eyes off the road.
Easy to drive 9/10
Smooth controls – and it can even park itself
Ultra-smooth controls make the 5-series Touring very easy to drive for such a large car, and even the smaller engines have easily enough oomph for overtaking slower traffic. Visibility is also relatively good, but you’ll still no doubt welcome that front and rear parking sensors are fitted to all models.
The standard eight-speed automatic gearbox is superb, and the option of having xDrive four-wheel drive turns the 5-series Touring into a true all-weather machine.
If you raid the options list you can even specify the Touring with a remote control parking function that lets you drive the car forwards or backwards when you’re not in it by using the key - helpful for getting into tight parking space, or simply impressing your friends.
Fun to drive 8/10
Satisfying, if not outright fun
The 5-series Touring has lost a little of the handling delicacy of its predecessors, but it is still a very satisfying machine to drive. That’s particularly the case if you order it with one of BMW’s six-cylinder engines, which combine a smooth soundtrack with very strong performance.
Models fitted with Variable Damper Control can also be put into a Sport setting which makes the suspension firmer, helping the car to resist body lean in corners. At the same time steering weight increases and the gearbox holds on to gears for longer, allowing you to make the most of the BMW’s performance.
Reliability 6/10
BMW’s recent record could be improved
The latest 5-series is too new for any model specific data to be available, but BMW as a brand didn’t perform at all well in the 2017 JD Power UK Vehicle Dependability survey, finishing dead last out of the 25 manufacturers included, just behind Audi and Jaguar and some way off Mercedes and Volvo.
You do at least get a warranty that lasts for unlimited miles over its three years. This matches Mercedes and beats Audi, which limits its warranty cover to 60,000 miles.
Fuel economy 8/10
Impressive considering its size
The 5-series Touring is at its most efficient in 520d guise, in which it returned more 65mpg in EU fuel economy tests. True, you should expect closer to 45mpg in normal use, but that still places it in the same ballpark as a similarly powerful Mercedes E-class Estate and ahead of the Volvo V90.
The six-cylinder 530d can still be made to return more than 40mpg on a long run, which is impressive considering the performance on offer.
Affordability 7/10
A Volvo V90 is cheaper to buy
The 5-series Touring was never going to be a cheap car, but neither are its rivals. Indeed, BMW has kept prices in line with offerings from Audi and Mercedes, although the Volvo V90 is still several thousand pounds cheaper than all of them. Strong resale values do though help to keep leasing costs competitive.
The Mercedes E-class Estate remains the class leader when it comes to CO2 emissions, but with an output of just 114g/km the 520d isn’t terribly far behind. Whatever 5-series Touring you buy, expect it to trip over £40,000 which in turn means you’ll need to pay an additional £310 per year in road tax between years two and six of the car’s life.
Safety 9/10
Excelled in independent crash tests
The BMW 5-series scored the maximum five-star rating when crash tested by Euro NCAP. All models have six airbags and an autonomous emergency braking system that can automatically apply the brakes if it thinks you are going to collide with another vehicle or pedestrian.
BMW’s Driving Assistant option then bundles together most of the safety features you could wish for, including lane departure warning, blind spot monitors and a function that closes the windows and sunroof in an emergency braking situation to ensure occupants are protected as much as possible.
Standard spec 9/10
Well equipped, but the options list is still very tempting
The 5-series Touring range starts with the SE, which includes 17in alloy wheels, heated leather seats, the 10.2in touchscreen with satnav, front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights and dual-zone climate control among its long list of standard equipment.
M Sport adds larger wheels, sportier suspension and more aggressive body styling, none of which do anything to help ride comfort.
However, just because the 5-series is well equipped as standard, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still huge scope for adding expensive optional extras.
Our favourite version
520d SE Touring, list price £39,035
Options you should add: Metallic paint (£675), head up display (£995), variable damper control (£985), sports seats (£475), Driving Assistant (£895), reversing assist camera (£375), BMW display key (£195), remote control parking (£395), Apple CarPlay preparation (£235)
The verdict 9/10
The BMW 5-series Touring is every bit as impressive as the saloon, only with the added versatility that comes from having a larger boot. True, a Mercedes E-class Estate can carry more still and Volvo’s V90 is cheaper to buy, but as an all-rounder the BMW still edges ahead of rivals.
For more tips and advice, visit our Advice section, or sign up to our newsletter here
