Written by Seth Walton Updated: 3 March 2025

Overview

Whether you love or loathe the design of the 2024 BMW 5 Series Touring – that’s BMW parlance for estate car – it’s not one you’ll likely miss when it zips by. With a length of 5,060mm, it’s longer than a standard-wheelbase Range Rover, while taller than an Audi Q2 compact SUV. When stood before you, the new 5 Touring looks utterly enormous. Is it too big? That’s also up for debate.

The last G31 BMW 5 Series Touring was the first in the model’s prestigious history to be sold as a plug-in hybrid, but this latest 5 Touring takes power unit options a step further. It’s now offered with petrol, plug-in hybrid or electric drive trains, though we’ve reviewed the latter, the BMW i5 Touring, separately.  

With more electric tech to be accommodated, the 5 Touring’s dimensions have swollen to class-leading proportions, but they’ve also granted more room to both rows of seats and a similar boot capacity to the last model, despite the bigger battery. 

16

Curiously for the future of this latest generation’s sales figures, the landscape on which it exists has changed in recent times. One of the 5 Touring’s old foes, the ICE-powered Audi A6 Avant, won’t be updated again until further notice. Instead, the newest large Audi estate car, the A6 Avant E-Tron, is available as an EV only.

The Mercedes E-Class Estate is still around and kicking, with plenty of power options for buyers to choose from including petrols, plug-in hybrids and a glorious 3.0-litre diesel halo engine. 

But enough about rivals. We’ve put the 530e Touring through its paces to find out how it stacks up. Read on for the full review from Parkers, or head over to our how we test cars page to find out how we reached our verdict. 

What’s it like inside?

Despite its lowly rank in the grade hierarchy, M Sport trim still feels luxuriously appointed, though frankly you’d hope it would at a starting price of £61,750 (530e engine). Build quality in the 5 Touring is class-leading – everything feels bullet-proof, from the wiper stalks to the glossy centre console, with no squeaking or flexing at all. 

The whole cabin has a classy ambiance to it, emphasised by the comfort of the seats and the quality of materials. However, BMW seems to have cut corners in certain ways quite peeving at this price point. For example, though they are comfortable, our M Sport test car’s front seats are manually adjustable forward and back.

16

They’re electrically adjustable in other directions, but I had to reach all the way down pull a release leaver beneath the seat, just so I could slide closer to the steering wheel. I know, what a revoltingly strenuous labour… but again I must remind you of the £60k-plus price tag. I don’t loath manually adjusting seats as much as I do poor value for money. 

I’m also slightly disappointed by the amount of room offered in the 5 Touring. It’s perfectly spacious enough in the front, and rear shoulder room is decent, but as a six-foot-plus adult I didn’t quite feel as accommodated for in the back as I would’ve liked.

Leg room is okay, but my knees were still a little cramped behind the driver’s seat, and the complete lack of foot space under the seat seemed like an oversight. Despite its enormous length, the 5 Touring still isn’t the executive limo of a 7 Series, so size up if you want to really impress your adult passengers. 

A useful bi-product of the larger dimensions is the wider boot opening at the back. The sill remains quite high to accommodate for the battery underneath but loading items in and out of the boot is a doddle.

16

All models have a capacity of between 570 and 1700 litres depending on the configuration of the seats. That’s the same as you’ll find in the G31 Touring, though the plug-in hybrid G31 can only manage 430 litres with the seats up. 

As for the infotainment system, it’s been around for a few years now and I’ve come to enjoy the details. For a start, the graphics are among the crispest and clearest you can find on the market. The screens are big and easy to reach, though the random collection of widgets can be difficult to navigate through on the road. 

Comfort

The 5 Series Touring’s cabin is a sumptuous environment and a highly comfortable space to sit. The front seats have three heating levels as standard, and the leather-trimmed bolstering provides ample support.

16

Seat ventilation, rear-seat heating and steering wheel heating are also included as part of the comfort plus pack for £4,600 extra. Opt for the Front M Multifunctional Seats for the greatest amount of adjustability, paired with the black merino leather trim at an additional £2000 premium. 

Safety 

The saloon version of the latest BMW 5 Series was crashed tested by the car safety standards organisation Euro NCAP. It achieved a five out of five-star rating, scoring especially well in adult and child occupant tests. The Touring version comes with BMW’s driving and parking assistance as standard, the latter being one of the best and clearest parking systems in the business. 

Cruise control and a speed limiter are included as standard, along with lane-departure warning, Frontal Collision Warning and blind sport detection. Radar-controlled cruise control is a part of the optional driving assistance plus pack, which seems unfair for a £61,000 car.

What’s it like to drive? 

Our test car was the 530e Touring – the weakest plug-in hybrid model offered, though not quite the weakest engine as the new 5 Touring is also available with a 520i straight petrol. 

The 530e felt perfectly fast enough without straying into the realms of exhilarating. The electrical drive assistance played its part well in helping the enormous car to get going -0-62mph takes 6.4 seconds, which is 1.4-seconds quicker than in the 520i. The surge of power I receive by planting my foot in the accelerator was smooth and linear. It felt like a distinguished and well-refined push, which aligned with this version’s unofficial title as the sensible option in the range. 

16

The 530e has a total system output of 374hp. Given the chunky weight of the 5 Touring, the baby hybrid can’t lay down its power with the thrill factor of the M5 Touring or even the 550e, but it can at least get going at pace. If you need a 5 Touring primarily to ferry the family and a pair of dogs around in comfort, the 530e will do just fine.

Ghostly light steering made light work of tight manoeuvres around town, but it weighted up nicely at higher speeds. I was truly impressed by how comfortable the 5 Touring was on the road, wafting along with a deft composure, though some clever suspension tech and tight body control also helped it to get around corners. Turn in was dignified, though ultimately there was no masking the overall size, shape and weight of the car. It doesn’t want to be hustled about, and that’s fine.

As for mpg, BMW claims a wildly unrealistic range of between and 313.9 − 403.5 mpg. Such figures would only be achievable if you near exclusively ran the 530e one electric power. With a dead battery, the 530e managed a figure closer to the low 30s, which isn’t too bad for a car of its size.

What models are available?

The 5 Touring starts from £54,165 for a 520i in M Sport trim, though the M Sport 530 spec of our test car starts from £61,705. Moving up the engine order, the 5 Touring is also available with a six-cylinder plug-in hybrid option, the 550e. It has a total system output of 489 hp, as well as BMW’s xDrive all wheel drive system.

The petrol and plug-in hybrid 5 Tourings are available in one of two trims, M Sport or M Sport Pro. The latter adds several aesthetic upgrades including a black grille outline, bigger wheels and uprated upholstery for an additional £3000.

The comfort pack, which adds a heated steering wheel and USB C ports for rear-seat passengers will set you back an extra £1,200, while the technology plus pack costs £3,300. The latter includes the adaptive cruise control function with stop and go, so could be worth considering if you often drive in urban environments.