• Petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid options
• Most offer strong performance
• The driving experience is fantastic

Petrol engines

There are two petrol engines available in this generation of BMW 5 Series Touring, a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder unit and 3.0-litre, six-cylinder motor, both turbocharged. There are, however, three badges to pick through. We give a summary of them here and you can find more detail in our specs pages.

Entry point to the range is the 520i, which produces 184hp and 290Nm of torque. It has to work pretty hard to haul the car’s not inconsiderable bulk along, even with just the driver on board. Add passengers and luggage to the equation and it can start to struggle. A mild-hybrid system was added in 2020, which marginally improved efficiency.

The 530i also has the 2.0-litre engine, producing a more muscular 251hp and 350Nm of torque. It feels sprightlier, but efficiency suffers for the extra horsepower.

Top of the tree and using the 3.0-litre engine is the 540i. In its original guise it produced 340hp and 450Nm; in later years with a mild-hybrid system, output dropped to 333hp. Either way, it’s a fast car, 0-62mph taking around five seconds. The engine is smooth and refined when driving slowing and sounds great when you put your foot down.

Diesel engines

As with the petrol engines, diesels come in 2.0-litre, four-cylinder and 3.0-litre, six-cylinder form, and there are three badges to choose from. We only have space for an outline here, so check out our specs pages for more detail.

The 2.0-litre options are the 520d and 525d. The 520d has power ratings of 190hp and 400Nm; a mild-hybrid system was added to the mix in 2020 to improve efficiency. It’s impressively smooth and quiet for a four-cylinder diesel, delivering perfectly acceptable performance and flexibility. But the power plateaus at high speeds as the engine starts to struggle with the car’s weight.

The 525d was only available briefly from 2017 to 2018 and wasn’t especially popular. With 230hp and 500Nm of torque, it’s offers perfectly good performance and acceptable fuel economy, but it sits uncomfortably between the 520d and more powerful 530d.

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That 530d has the smooth, refined 3.0-litre engine, producing 285hp and 650Nm of torque – that’s a lot of torque. It turns the 5 Series Touring into a genuinely quick car, though it builds speed in a rather relaxed manner, rather than pushing you back in your seat. That makes it an effortless cruiser. One with mighty overtaking ability that can shrug off heavy loads. The mild-hybrid system fitted to post-2020 cars has no effect on performance.

Plug-in hybrids

The 530e plug-in hybrid pairs the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and a biggish battery to produce a total of 291hp and 420Nm. It was bought almost exclusively by company car drivers for its tax-busting CO2 emissions. As a used buy, the potential for diesel-like fuel economy and an electric range of over 20 miles certainly has an appeal. The engine feels reasonably powerful and smooth, and performance is strong.

What’s it like to drive?

• The nimblest large executive estate
• Comfier than you might expect
• Optional adaptive suspension is worth having

The BMW 5 Series Touring driving experience is tilted more towards comfort that outright dynamic prowess, but it’s still a deeply satisfying car to drive. It feels surprisingly agile for such a big thing, grips strongly and rides smoothly.

The steering has a pleasant weight to it, though some of our testers thought it’s a little too light in 520d models. There’s precious little feel through the steering in any model, though we can level that criticism at all of the Touring’s rivals – particularly the Mercedes E-Class.

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Still, you get enough sense of what is going on underneath the car and the work it’s doing for driving to be an involving experience. You feel like you’re making it do what it does. Body control is resolute, as well. There’s little body lean in corners, and the car isn’t flustered by big bumps and compressions. You can make extremely rapid cross-country progress if you’re inclined to.

xDrive all-wheel-drive is fitted to some models. Most of the time, hardly any power is sent to the front wheels, but it’s redirected to the wheels with the most grip in slippery conditions. It feels very reassuring but impacts fuel economy quite significantly.

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The 5 Series Touring really shines on the motorway. It’s so safe and stable that it’s deeply relaxing to cruise along in. Some of our testers covered huge distances in it and were rather disappointed when they had to stop. We tried cars fitted with the optional adaptive suspension. There’s a pleasant gentle, controlled lull to suspension movements in Comfort mode and the car feels better tied down in Sport. It also helps mitigate the harshness caused by bigger wheels.

Add it all together and the 5 Series Touring provides by far the best driving experience of any large executive estate.