For around four decades, the BMW 5 Series has set the bar in the executive saloon class, and with the latest fifth-generation version it continues to do so. Larger, lighter and more advanced than any car to wear the ‘5’ nameplate before it, the new 5 Series is a tour de force in terms of technology, luxury and driving dynamics alike.
Following on from the saloon is the Touring estate version, and while it’s considerably more niche than its saloon counterpart it’s still an important car for BMW with approximately a quarter of all 5 Series models sold in the UK a Touring variant.
Currently, estates tend to be in a slightly tricky area of the market too. Typically, their larger dimensions and extra weight compared to their saloon siblings means that they can be less engaging to drive, while buyers who want outright practicality will these days tend to go straight for a big SUV.
The 5 Series Touring proves that that doesn’t always have to be the case with its perfect blend of performance and practicality, and a virtuosic breadth of abilities. In fact, it could be all the car you’ll ever need.
Performance
Six different engines are available with the 5 Series range, with a choice of three petrols and three diesels. Given the 5 Series’ size and its nature as an executive saloon, it’s the diesels which are likely to be the most popular amongst buyers and the entry-level 520d is touted to be the best seller.
Serving as the entry point to the range the 2.0-litre four-cylinder 520d isn’t huge on horsepower, with a total output of 187bhp. Not to worry though, as with a meaty 400Nm of torque it feels much quicker than the figures would suggest and is brisk enough for what most buyers will need.
It can sprint from 0-62mph in just 7.8 seconds, which means that it’s only 0.3 seconds slower than the equivalent saloon, and it’ll whisk you up the road smoothly, quietly and with minimal fuss before hitting a top speed of 139mph.
The 520d is impressively refined and hushed too, with silent road manners which make long-distance cruising a breeze. Given the choice, however, we reckon we might opt for the more powerful 261bhp 530d, which we feel suits the car just that bit better.
Although it’s pricier than the 520d, the extra power is welcome and makes overtaking and getting up to speed that bit more effortless. While the less powerful diesel needs a bit more persuading, the in-gear acceleration of the 530d is astonishing, while with the new VED rules there’s no extra cost to tax the more powerful option.
As standard, every 5 Series now comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. That’s hardly surprising given that a full 96 per cent of buyers opted for the automatic on the previous 5 Series, and with a big executive saloon like this one even die-hard driving fans will likely agree that auto is the way to go.
It suits the car’s demeanour well, with smooth yet fast shifts and it lacks the indecisiveness in low-speed and stop-start traffic that can plague other automatics, and which means that the 5 Series Touring makes for an ideal long-distance car.
Ride and Handling
If the performance of the 5 Series Touring wasn’t impressive enough, the way that it drives is simply just incredible. So it should be as well given that BMW's engineers have pulled out all the stops to make the car drive as well as possible.
Like its saloon counterpart, the Touring has had around 100kg of excess weight wicked out, thanks to an intensive use of lightweight materials. The Touring also gets a few bits and bobs that the saloon doesn’t, including self-levelling rear air suspension as standard and a ride height that’s been lowered by 10mm.
As well as that, BMW says that it has conducted a significant amount of its testing on UK roads in order to further hone the chassis, which is supposed to be more comfortable but also sportier and with better feedback.
Does it deliver? Absolutely it does, and in fact the 5 Series Touring is so well sorted overall that it’s scarcely believable. Lighter it may be, but it’s still a hefty machine and that just makes the way that it handles itself all the more remarkable.
Even without the optional xDrive four-wheel drive, which is a £2,000 add-on across the range, there’s so much grip that the car is nigh unflappable. The harder you push, the better it responds to the point where it feels like the car is three steps ahead of everything and anything you can throw at it.
Our test car came fitted with the M Sport suspension setup, which means that it can corner fantastically flat and without a whiff of either understeer or oversteer unless you really make a conscious point to try and bully it.
It’s supple, possesses fantastic poise and balance and yet retains an air of effortlessness and ease of use that makes high-speed driving feel as natural as simply pootling around town.
Even in its stiffest Sport mode setting, it glides over lumps, bumps and potholes exceptionally well, while the optional adaptive dampers are a worthwhile addition to really get the best from the car’s performance regardless of the surface you’re on or your driving style.
Like many modern BMWs, it still suffers from a slightly vague and gloopy electric steering setup that lacks in feedback, but when the rest of the car is as responsive as it is these complaints simply melt away. There are more fun cars out there as well, but are there better all-round cars?
Possibly not, as the 5 Series Touring retains all that’s great about the saloon and simply adds the benefit of additional practicality without detracting at all from the driving experience. The new Touring is probably the best driving large estate out there right now, and deservedly so.
Interior and Equipment
As is befitting the 5 Series range, interior fit and finish is exemplary with our test car fitted with glossy high-quality plastics and thick, luxurious leather upholstery. There’s also the option to spec your own car with all manner of different wood and metal trim inserts, plus various leather finishes to create a custom appearance.
We might avoid the cream leather in our test car for everyday practicality reasons if we were speccing our own, but every touchpoint in the car looks and feels fantastic. The design and control layout isn’t much of a departure from regular BMW fare and so could perhaps be accused of playing it a bit safe, but then that’s what buyers expect and it’s what they pay for.
Like the saloon, the 5 Series Touring comes with a whole heap of advanced equipment and inherits much of the technology that debuted on the flagship 7 Series. We’ve already written at length about the equipment available in the new 5 Series range, which you can read about here, but the Touring also gets some additional bits and pieces that will be added to the saloon range at a later date.
First and foremost is an update to the Personal Co-Pilot semi-autonomous driving system. As standard, the system allows the 5 Series to steer itself along motorways at speeds of up to 150mph, but the new update adds Automatic Lane Overtaking, which means that the car can now automatically overtake slower cars in front without any driver input.
As well as that, the Touring estate also gets an upgrade for its infotainment system which now boasts 4GB of RAM, meaning that it now has more computing power than many laptops.
The Luxury trim, which was available on the previous 5 Series, has been nixed in order to simplify the lineup, with buyers now able to choose from either SE or M Sport trims. Not to worry though, as all the kit that once featured on Luxury has been absorbed into SE, and historically most BMW buyers tend to opt for the M Sport trim anyway.
It’s worth noting, however, that some of the additional options can get extremely pricey. BMW has priced the 5 Series to tactically undercut the government’s new luxury car tax for vehicles that cost over £40,000, but a few choice extras can send the final figure far beyond that limit. Our test car came loaded up with all kinds of options, which drove the list price up by around £10,000.
Of course, key to the 5 Series Touring is its enhanced practicality over the saloon. There’s loads of legroom for rear passengers, and although the sloping roofline means that headroom isn’t quite as good as it perhaps could be, it’s still a comfortable car to sit in.
There’s also now space for three child seats to sit abreast in the rear, though it should be noted that only the two outside seats come with ISOFIX attachments. The boot is naturally much larger than that of the saloon, with a maximum cargo capacity of 1,700 litres.
That’s a little smaller than some rivals like the Mercedes E-Class Estate, but the 5 Series benefits from 40:20:40 splitting seats, its signature split-level tailgate and a new button in the boot which allows the rear seats to be automatically flipped down.
Cost
The 5 Series Touring range is priced from £38,385 for the entry-level 520d SE model, while upgrading to the M Sport trim will cost approximately £3,000 extra depending on the car’s exact specification. xDrive, which is available with certain engine options, is £2,000 across the board.
Claimed fuel consumption for the 520d is impressive as well, with the car able to return up to 65.6mpg on paper with 114g/km of CO2. In real-world driving you’re likely to get less, but you can still expect 50-plus mpg.
The 520d also makes an excellent option for business drivers given its low fuel consumption, low emissions and a BIK tax rate of 24 per cent. Residual values are likely to be strong too, though as with private buyers we’d recommend staying away from some of the pricier options.
Our Verdict
The new 5 Series’ breadth of abilities is nothing short of amazing, and the Touring version takes everything that’s brilliant about the saloon and simply adds to it with extra practicality but without sacrificing the luxury, comfort and drivability the 5 Series range is known for.
As an all-rounder, it’s as close to flawless as it’s possible for a car of this type to be, with the right blend of practicality and performance that’ll leave a smile on the face of business buyers, family drivers and keen motorists alike.
In summary, the 2017 5 Series Touring is a capable, practical and well-made car that does the luxury, the drivability and the technology all at once. Like its saloon counterpart, it’s the best car in its segment by a considerable measure.