Model reviewed: 530i Touring
“The 5 Series Touring remains one of the best options for those looking for a car which will travel great distances with little fuss, while transporting its occupants in great comfort.”
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Score: 8.4 / 10
“Just as the latest contenders from rival brands almost catch up, the BMW 5 Series eases ahead again. This is still the car that everyone else has to beat.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 10 / 10
“Terrific to drive and packed with the latest tech, the supremely capable BMW 5 Series is better than ever.” (Paul Adam)
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre petrol/electric plug-in hybrid Touring estate
Score: 8 / 10
“BMW refined the formula for its plug-in hybrid 5 Series estate with model year updates adding more tech. But fundamentally the 530e Touring is as good as ever, blending superb refinement and driving dynamics with usable all-electric range, strong efficiency and great cabin quality. Practicality takes a hit, but not by much, given the benefits elsewhere.”
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Model reviewed: M550i saloon
Score: 9 / 10
“The M550i is the least sensible variant of the updated 5 Series line-up. We’d recommend the more modestly priced yet equally polished options further down the range, but every version benefits from impeccable build quality, superb engines, strong refinement and tech, and tidy handling.”
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Model reviewed: 3.0-litre petrol-electric plug-in hybrid 545e xDrive
Score: 9 / 10
“The new plug-in hybrid BMW 545e xDrive combines a 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine with an 11.6kWh battery and electric motor.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 10 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series Touring is at the top of the executive estate car class, thanks to a perfect blend of performance and practicality. There’s a range of economical engines and it’s great to drive, too, with sports car-like dynamics and limo levels of luxury and refinement.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“The executive saloon class is extremely competitive and filled with truly excellent cars from all the premium players. Even with that caveat, the BMW 5 Series is an exceptional piece of kit and a masterclass in style, technology, luxury, handling and comfort.”
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Model reviewed: 545e
Score: 8 / 10
“It is spacious and classy; well stocked with technology; refined and slick in operation; and capable enough as a short-range EV to meet the short-hop needs of a great many owners.”
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Model reviewed: 530d Touring
Score: 8 / 10
“The BMW 530d xDrive Touring estate serves up more than enough space, is beautifully built inside and out, and is powered by a truly excellent six-cylinder diesel engine.”
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Model reviewed: 4.4-litre petrol automatic M550i xDrive saloon
Score: 9 / 10
“The famous M5’s move into track-focused territory leaves room for the reappearance of this refined, classy but still hugely quick twin-turbo V8-engined sibling.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel (mild hybrid) automatic 520d M Sport Touring (estate)
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series Touring still the best to drive, still has the nicest cabin and so is still the pick of the bunch. And with that massive boot, there’s a very real argument that it’s still all the car you could ever need.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 9 / 10
“An aptly business-class rendition of the showier 7 Series, BMW’s model of midway compromise starts to look very much like its maker’s current summit.”
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Model reviewed: 530e M Sport saloon
Score: 8 / 10
“Except for the rocket-propelled M5, the 530e probably boasts the sweetest steering connection of any BMW 5 Series, but its reactions are undermined by the additional bulk of the battery packs. We are talking forensic levels of scrutiny here, and judging the 530e by BMW’s lofty benchmark.
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 10 / 10
“The 520d is still the sensible model that does everything well, but if you’ve got the cash, go for the 530d xDrive. It feels effortlessly eager, smooth and isn’t guaranteed to cripple you financially in fuel costs.”
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Model reviewed: 530e iPerformance saloon
Score: 10 / 10
“Providing you don’t live too far from work and are able to keep the thing charged, the 530e makes a great case for itself as a surprisingly cheap-to-own company car.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“Crossovers and SUVs might be stealing the limelight, but the BMW 5 Series Touring continues to impress. It’s comfortable, spacious, highly refined, nicely put together and well-equipped.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 10 / 10
“As an all-round executive car, the BMW 5 Series remains unbeatable. Its mix of quality, sportiness and comfort are unmatched, even next to accomplished rivals such as the Mercedes E-Class.”
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Model reviewed: 530e plug-in hybrid
Score: 8.2 / 10
“The BMW 530e is everything you’d expect of a 5 Series but with extra economy and improved running costs”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 9.2 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series has reclaimed its place at the top of the executive saloon class.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 9.6 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series Touring makes a powerful case for the traditional estate against the SUV, and is an almost perfect family car”
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Model reviewed: Touring estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series Touring comes with a futuristic cabin and boatloads of high-tech features but its conservative styling means it isn’t as distinctive as the Mercedes E-Class Estate.”
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Model reviewed: saloon range
Score: 8 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series comes packed with more high-tech features than ever before but looks more conservative than the Mercedes E-Class.”
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Model reviewed: 520i Touring
“The Company Car Today CCT100 Award-winning BMW 5 Series is still great in petrol form, but isn’t quite enough when you do the maths to coax sensible high-mileage company car drivers out of the excellent 520d.”
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Model reviewed: 520d M Sport Touring
“More practical and more tech-packed than ever. It’s not cheap, but the BMW 5 Series Touring is about as good as all-rounders get.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 8.5 / 10
“The consummate executive saloon package that combines excellent refinement, driving quality, industry-leading tech and excellent residuals values”
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Model reviewed: 545e xDrive hybrid
Score: 9 / 10
“It’s not even that much more expensive than the four-cylinder 530e, particularly from a company-car tax or PCP finance point of view. It should prove a popular choice.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 9 / 10
“BMW’s most complete 5 Series ever, there are almost no compromises in this exceptional executive.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“In Touring form the latest BMW 5 Series is as impressively capable as it is as a saloon, regardless of the engine powering it and the extra weight sitting over the rear axle.”
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Model reviewed: 545e plug-in hybrid M Sport saloon
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW 545e xDrive M Sport Saloon PHEV combines tradition with the future. The overall driving experience is traditional BMW: rewarding handling, good ride quality, responsive performance, and a dashboard that is functional for the driver. However this base has been supplemented by the addition of an electric powertrain that can provide up to 30 miles of driving range.” (Paul Clarke)
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Model reviewed: 530e iPerformance saloon
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW 530e M Sport iPerformance Saloon is, without doubt, another BMW engineering triumph. The majority of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars on sale are efficiency-focused; the 530e offers performance – and the potential for efficiency – for keen drivers.”
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Model reviewed: 520d saloon
Score: 9 / 10
“From the point of view of the motorists who travel many miles up and down the nation’s motorways on business, the BMW 520d has to be one of the most comfortable, convenient and efficient ways to do this; it doesn’t feel anything like a diesel car did even just a few years ago.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 10 / 10
“Be in no doubt, the BMW 5 Series is a brilliant executive saloon. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class may have a slightly more luxurious feel to its cabin, but the BMW is the more involving to drive. It means the BMW is very easy to recommend, though you may want to try the Merc just to make sure.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 10 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series is a superb executive saloon, with top-notch refinement and quality throughout. BMW’s trademark driving enjoyment shines through on a challenging road, although some might feel that the interior feels a little flat against the equally excellent Mercedes-Benz E-Class.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 10 / 10
“It’s hard to find fault with the BMW 5 Series Touring – it does everything you ask of it impeccably. The ultimate estate car? We’d find it hard to argue with that.”
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Model reviewed: 530d Touring
“Once I really got to know the G31 530d it’s probably the most satisfying car I’ve ever driven.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series is a quality machine and yet another step on from models of old. Being brilliant to drive is the icing on the cake.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series manages to toe the line between stylish and over-the-top well. There’s no mistaking it as anything but a BMW—the huge kidney grilles up front speak for themselves – but it’s a well-executed design.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 9 / 10
“Benchmark premium executive saloon”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8.2 / 10
“Has BMW created the perfect estate car? Looks that way…”
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Model reviewed: M550i xDrive saloon
“There’ll be no smoking antics despite the M Sport differential at the rear – the four-wheel-drive system always pulls the car straight. But for covering vast distances at speed and in great comfort, I know of no better car for the money.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
“The new BMW 5 Series has hit a sweet spot which other executive motors just can’t reach.”
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Model reviewed: 530d xDrive Touring
Score: 10 / 10
“No other car does everything so well” (Jeremy Clarkson)
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Model reviewed: 530d M Sport saloon
Score: 8 / 10
“A great car underneath some clever-clever electronics” (Jeremy Clarkson)
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Model reviewed: 520d M Sport saloon
Score: 8 / 10
“Still the leader of the pack”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic 520d M Sport Touring (estate)
Score: 10 / 10
“The latest BMW 5 Series is predictably brilliant. Granted, the same caveats apply as before, which are that it’s best served in its simplest form; as an SE with the more comfortable suspension, or if you must have an M Sport, then at least with the standard wheels.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 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.”
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Model reviewed: 530e iPerformance saloon
Score: 6 / 10
“While the 530e is without doubt an accomplished plug-in hybrid and the numbers are sure to appeal to company car drivers, it isn’t quite as good to drive as other models in the BMW 5 Series range. A good car, then, but not a truly great one.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“Is the BMW 5 Series the best car in the world? Certainly it’s a strong contender thanks to a combination of ride comfort, performance, luxury and technology that edge it ahead of its key rivals. By any measure, it’s a truly outstanding machine.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“It’s a BMW 5 Series: very refined, great to drive and features loads of high-tech”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 9 / 10
“It’s comfy, it drives well, it’s got performance *and* eco options… There’s really not much to criticise.”
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Score: 10 / 10
“Few cars have such a broad a range of talents as the BMW 5 Series.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 10 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series Touring is quiet, smooth, classy, comfortable and well equipped. It’s also very practical, although it can’t quite match the enormous boot that you get with a Mercedes E-Class Estate.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
Score: 10 / 10
“The BMW 5 Series is a brilliant, classy and wonderfully refined luxury saloon, with surprisingly low running costs.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
“This is one of the most impressive luxury estate cars on the market. The BMW 5 Series Touring retains all of the saloon’s driving sharpness and is a comfortable, refined companion on long journeys. The boot may not be the biggest in its class but overall this is a pretty practical car.”
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Model reviewed: Saloon range
“The latest BMW 5 Series is something of a triumph: it’s among the best luxury cars in its price bracket. It drives very well indeed, is luxurious and comfortable, and has lots of space for front and rear passengers, plus a big boot. It’s a Which? Best Buy.”
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