Review of the new BMW 5 Series Touring

BMW thinks it originated the executive estate car that is both practical and fun to drive. Granted, this doesn't rank alongside the wheel, the internal combustion engine or the airbag in the pantheon of automotive inventions but you'd have to say that has caught on. The latest 5 Series Touring is set up to continue in the mould of athletic versatility that BMW pioneered with the original 5 Series liftback 1991. It doesn't have the market cornered, however, and will need to be fully on its game to outdo rivals in the battle for sales.

The German marque paints a not unrecognisable picture of the executive estate market before the arrival of its 1991 first generation 5 Series Touring. Before that car, big estates were pared-back workhorses to their sportier and more sophisticated saloon counterparts. After it, they were positioned more equally with equivalent design and driving dynamics. Today many even see the estate as a more stylish alternative to the straight-laced saloon, with its extra practicality coming as a handy bonus. The 5 Series Touring of today is BMW's fourth and just like most of its predecessors, it has the Audi A6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate to contend with.

Under bodywork that's generously extended to the rear, the 5 Series Touring shares its mechanical make-up with the saloon version. It's the largest 5-Series yet with a 2,968mm wheelbase and the usual 50:50 weight distribution is intact, until you hoist that flat-packed wardrobe into the boot. The power steering is electronic and speed-dependent, varying the amount of assistance to provide security at speed with a light touch around town. The suspension uses double wishbones at the front but unlike the saloon, the estate gets self-levelling air-suspension at the rear, helping it cope with those weightier loads.

".the latest 5-Series 5-door has an array of capabilities that few cars of any description can match"

In the engine department, BMW appears to be attempting its old trick of comprehensively overshadowing rivals. As usual, the model names are familiar but you can bank on the powerplants they refer to reflecting the current state of the art. Highlights include the big selling 520d with its 2.0-litre common-rail diesel generating 141bhp and a huge 380Nm of torque. 0-60mph can be covered in 8.1s and this is the entry-level 5-Series. Six cylinder power begins with the 525d offering 204bhp, plus there are 245bhp 530d and 300bhp 535d options. Most choose the 530d which offers a crushing 540Nm from just 1,750rpm: it can hit BMW's 155mph speed limiter and do the 0-60mph shuffle in 6.4s only half a second slower than the 535d. With M Sport trim, it's even more desirable. There's also the option of xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive to get all that power onto the tarmac more effectively.

The petrol range is similarly packed with quality. The 535i is the first engine to use BMW's High Precision Direct Injection Valvetronic valve timing and a turbocharger. The result? 306bhp, 400Nm of torque and a 6.1s 0-60mph time. Below that, the 523i has 204bhp and 8.4s 0-60mph performance.

People said the 5 Series was too dull so BMW developed a more adventurous styling theme for the previous generation car. People said that was too outlandish so today's 5 is back on a subtler path in terms of the way it looks. It's important to note that sales remained highly buoyant throughout, suggesting that the complainants were still stumping up the readies at BMW dealerships. The package looks a shapely and elegant one with the longer roofline of this Touring version making it appear lower and sleeker than the saloon. Short overhangs, even at the rear, contribute to an athletic stance on the road, ensuring that the estate is in no way the frumpy cousin of the four-door car. Chrome-lined side windows and matt aluminium roof rails are standard to further embellish the estate.

To many eyes, the Touring will be a more attractive car than the saloon but most buying decisions will still hinge around what extra practicality that boot space can offer. At 560 litres, the Touring has 60 litres more luggage capacity than the saloon and its space is accessed through a wide, high lifting tailgate. The rear window also opens automatically in a feature we're more used to seeing on 4x4s. This means smaller items can be dropped in without raising the big back door in its entirety.

The rear seats are split 40/20/40 and drop down flat to the floor for a 1,670 litre capacity. There's also extra versatility courtesy of the Extended Storage option which includes rear seat backs that can be positioned more vertically to add an extra 30 litres behind. This option pack also adds rails, nets and other load securing options inside.

The days of poorly specified entry-level BMWs appear to be at an end with all 5 Series Touring models receiving two-zone air-conditioning and Dakota leather upholstery. Six speed manual gearboxes come as standard with the Touring but many will look to the options list and either the eight-speed automatic or the Sport automatic which also has eight speeds but gains steering wheel paddle shifters. Also on the options list are such temptations as an automatic parking system, four-wheel-steering, a 360-degree camera system and a head-up display that projects important into on to the inside of the windscreen and makes you feel a bit like a fighter pilot.

At the top of the range, the balance between dynamism and comfort is managed by the DDC Driver Dynamic Control system, with its Normal, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ settings. It can act on the steering, throttle, gearbox and the adjustable dampers to create the right driving experience for a given situation.

The running costs of the 5 Series will be integral to its success or failure in a market sector that still largely hinges on the whims of fleet managers. BMW has left little to chance with its EfficientDynamics fuel-saving technology tweaked to new heights of parsimony. The 520d returns nearly 54mpg on the combined cycle with 137g/km emissions. It's startling stuff for a car the size of a 5 Series Touring and even the muscular 530d manages 44mpg with 169g/km of CO2. On the petrol side, the 523i manages 36mpg combined and even the 535i comes close to that figure with 33mpg and emissions of 201g/km. The automatic option actually makes the car more efficient, but only by a fraction.

Aside from the advanced combustion systems whirring away within the engines, there are a number of clever features grouped under the EfficientDynamics banner which help achieve these returns. The 520d features Auto Start-Stop as standard to cut the engine when it's stationary in traffic. There's an optimum gear shift indication with all the manual models, brake energy regeneration recovers kinetic energy to charge the battery and active aerodynamics help with the car's efficient movement through the air by sealing off the front grille at speed. Low rolling resistance tyres also play their part.

Why would you choose the estate version of an executive car over the saloon? A few years back, you'd have wanted the additional boot space and would have been willing to make some compromises to get it. Today, cars like the BMW 5 Series Touring combine the technology and driving experience of the saloon version with real additional versatility and sharp looks that many will actually find preferable. Whichever way you look at it, the latest 5-Series 5-door has an array of capabilities that few cars of any description can match.

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