• Loads of space for four
• Boot unaffected by PHEV tech
• Stacks of safety equipment

How much space is there?

Loads – so, if you’re shopping for your next family car, you might want to reconsider opting for an SUV. The new BMW 5 Series is longer and wider than the car it replaced – and that means there’s more room inside for both passengers and luggage.

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Even with our test car’s optional sunroof fitted, our six-foot tester had a good two inches of headroom in the rear of the car. Legroom is even more impressive, with our tester finding six inches of kneeroom behind his own driving position and ample foot space.

Boot space and storage

BMW has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to storage. Because the new 5 Series is built on a platform that was designed to be compatible with an electric powertrain, there’s a cavity under its cabin designed to hold a big battery pack.

BMW used that space to storage the 550e plug-in hybrid’s battery pack – and that means it has the same 520 litres of luggage space you get in the petrol-powered 520i. Critically, that gives the Beemer a significant edge over its closest rival, the Mercedes E 300 e, as it sacrifices 180 litres of boot space to house its battery pack.

Cabin storage is good, too. There aren’t any particularly clever cubbies (like you’ll find in the Skoda Superb), but the storage bins that are there have been intelligently designed. For example, the wireless charging pad is big enough to hold even the largest flagship smartphone and the drinks holders in the doors can swallow litre-sized water bottles.

Is it easy to park?

Oh yes. The new 5 Series might be larger than the car it replaced, but it’s fitted with enough equipment to compensate for the added bulk. You get parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard. The latter system is particularly impressive, as it features a tiered series of virtual barriers to warn you of how close you are to obstacles.

Plus, if you’re prepared to spend a bit more money, you don’t even need to park it yourself. Splash out £2,000 on BMW’s optional Technology Pack, and you’ll unlock an auto parking function that can steer the car into parallel and end-on spaces. We’ve tried it – and we were flabbergasted by how accurate it was.

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The 5 Series’ new-found heft becomes even easier to manage if you spend even more money on BMW’s rear-wheel steering system. At low speeds, the technology can swivel the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts by up to 2.5 degrees. That carves 0.6 metres out of the car’s turning circle, trimming it down to 11.7 metres.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP score
• Loads of safety equipment
• None of which is invasive

The 5 Series achieved a five-star rating when it was crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2023. The testers were particularly impressed by how well the car shielded its child occupants in an accident. It scored full marks in the category with both the six-year-old and ten-year-old dummies emerging from their wreckages without any serious injuries.

Naturally, the 5 Series is loaded with safety equipment, including cruise control, a speed limiter, a lane-keeping assist system that can react to potentially hazardous oncoming traffic and an automatic emergency braking system that can respond to cyclists and pedestrians when you’re turning into junctions.

None of the technology is particularly draconian but, if you’d rather not use it at all, the 5 Series’ safety assist menu pops up on the infotainment screen at the start of every drive, allowing you to switch it off with a couple of prods.

Watch the BMW 5 Series Euro NCAP crash test video