BMW 5 Series review

Broadly speaking, the BMW 5 Series is priced a little lower than its closest rivals, the Audi A6, Jaguar XF and Mercedes E-Class. The 520d (a mild hybrid 2.0-litre diesel) is by far the most popular version and emits as little as 108g/km of CO2. That's quite a bit better than the E220d.

Then again, the 530e is the best for company car users, with CO2 emissions of just 36g/km. However, when the battery pack is depleted and you're running on the petrol engine, you're likely to see lower fuel economy than you would in a diesel; we managed around 33.1mpg on test.

The desirability of the BMW badge helps keep other costs down. Resale values are among the best in the class, so if you're a private buyer you'll get back a decent chunk of the list price when selling your car on. Leasing and PCP finance rates are usually highly competitive, too, and discounts are available if you're prepared to haggle. Or, to avoid haggling and get a good discount, check out our New Car Buying pages.

Entry-level SE trim is the one we’d go for, because it’s the cheapest and still comes with plenty of luxuries. These include leather seat trim, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, ambient interior lighting, cruise control, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, 17in alloy wheels (18in on the more powerful engines), along with the infotainment system, LED headlights and front and rear parking sensors we mentioned earlier. We'd add a few options, though, such as the adaptive suspension, front seat lumbar adjustment and split-folding rear seats.

M Sport trim is extremely popular, thanks largely to its more aggressive body styling and bigger alloys, but you don't get a lot extra of substance and a stiffer ride. As we said, you can delete the M Sport suspension and have the standard suspension instead for no extra cost.

In the 2019 What Car? Reliability Survey, BMW finished 21st out of 31 manufacturers – way below Lexus, but above Jaguar and Mercedes. That was for the brand overall, but when singled out, the current 5 Series has proved pleasingly reliable for its owners.

Thankfully, should something go wrong, all 5 Series come with a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty, which is similar to the cover provided by most rivals.

All models come with a minimum of six airbags and a host of electronic driver aids, including stability control. Automatic emergency braking (AEB), with pedestrian detection, is also standard to reduce the chances of you accidentally running into the car (or person) in front.

Optional safety kit includes lane departure warning, automatic high-beam assist for the headlights, a driver fatigue detector and speed limit recognition. We’d recommend considering the Driving Assistant option, which bundles together all of the key active safety aids for a reasonable price. In 2017, the 5 Series scored the full five-star Euro NCAP rating for safety, but it had a poor score for driver leg protection and weaker scores for child chest protection than either the Volvo S90 or Mercedes E-Class. Pedestrian protection was deemed better for the 5 Series, though.

An alarm, engine immobiliser, deadlocks (which prevent a door being opened, even if the window is smashed) and locking wheel nuts are fitted to every 5 Series to ward off thieves. Security expert Thatcham awarded the car five out of five for its resistance to being stolen and four out of five for its resistance to being broken into.

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