BMW 5-series Touring: Test Drive (continued)

Date: 08 May 2007   |   Author:

Category: Executive Prices: £28,990-£67,075 Key Rival: Audi A6 Avant

The advances, a combination of engineering innovations such as reusing the energy generated under braking, low-resistance tyres and high-precision fuel injectors, are undetectable on the road, and the first an uninformed driver will know about them is when their tax bill plunges compared with the previous 5-series.

More impressive than the CO2 reduction itself is that there's no performance price to be paid. In fact, the BMW has found the holy grail of more go for less fuel, lifting the power by 13PS, although the lowest of the German brand's petrol-engined models is still a little short on shove because of the hefty weight it has to carry. It's not underpowered, but you notice the extra PS as you try the larger-engined cars.

Otherwise, it's pretty much business as usual for the 5-series, eight times winner of the our executive car of the year prize. The controversial iDrive controller gets a soft-touch surround, and there are a couple of other interior tweaks, but the BMW maintains the qualities that make it a BusinessCar, and a business car, favourite, while making more financial sense to drivers, although the cost per mile figure places the 523i SE Touring behind rivals from both Volvo and Audi thanks to significantly worse depreciation figures. So while it makes more sense for the company to run one of the BMW's rivals, drivers might not agree.

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