It is the GT’s cabin, more than anything else in its arsenal, that will tempt buyers away from more practical rivals such as the Mercedes E-class estate. Classy design touches leave you in no doubt that this is a luxury car.
A backlit matt silver insert that runs the width of the dash and a blank, satin black fascia that lights up with crisp digital dials supplement the familiar, uncluttered BMW dash design. A standard panoramic sunroof adds to the high-class ambience.
The 5-series GT continues to impress when viewed from the rear seats, where there is leg room to rival the more expensive 7-series, if slightly less head room due to the sweeping, coupé-like roofline.
It is also worth noting that although seatbelts are provided for three rear passengers, the middle seat is good for only occasional use, the backrest (which doubles as the armrest) proving uncomfortable.
Sit in any other seat, though, and the GT is an exceptionally comfortable and aesthetically pleasing place to spend time, rivalling plenty of cars from higher classes.
Refinement is good, with little engine or wind noise, and tyre noise is no more than could be expected. The driving position is excellent, too, with the seat offering a wide range of adjustment.
Visibility isn’t great, though; it’s difficult to judge where the extremities of the car are, due to its design and size, and wide D-pillars and a narrow rear windscreen limit visibility for lane changes.
The biggest problem is that the space required to create such an opulent cabin has compromised boot space. For a car that is longer than a Land Rover Discovery to offer just 440 litres of boot capacity with the seats up is less than impressive. A current BMW 5-series estate (which is over 150mm shorter and 50mm narrower than the GT) offers 500 litres.
The dual boot opening is also a little limited in terms of practicality. The vast tailgate is useful enough, but the curving roofline will limit carrying capacity and the saloon opening reveals a letterbox-style slot that you can’t see into unless you bend down to just above bumper level.
Still, the rear seats fold flat with one pull of the same handle that allows them to be reclined, freeing up a reasonable 1700 litres of load space.
The 5-series GT is an excellent ownership proposition. For roughly the same initial cost as a high-spec 530d Touring you get a far superior interior and vastly more cabin space plus the eight-speed auto. A high standard spec should also help keep the initial buying expenses down.
Running costs will be good for business or customer buyers alike, with combined economy of 36.1mpg and CO2 of just 173g/km, promising low tax and fuel bills for a car of this persuasion, while residual values are also acceptable, if nothing unusual for a BMW.
