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Autocar has pitted the BMW 530d Gran Turismo against its rivals - and these are some of the best pictures from the five-car test.

The rivals are the Mercedes E350 CDI Avantegarde, Land Rover Discovery 3.0 TDV6 HSE, BMW 530D SE Gran Turismo, Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 TDI and Lexus RX450H SE-L.

See the BMW 5-series GT v rivals picturesRead the full article

 An oversized hatch vs 2 SUVs vs a saloon car vs a station wagon; mmmm...interesting.

What happened to the old days where it was the 5 series vs the XF vs the E class vs the A6.

Agreed - a strange mix of cars  

 

Roger Frost:

Agreed - a strange mix of cars  

 

I second that!. Still, next weeks group test should be better:

 Ferrari's new 458 Vs John Deere's W 650  Combine Harvester Vs Ducati's 1198 Vs The Queen Mary 2.

This week, which is best for a family of five to go to Alton Towers?

Another totally pointless and useless Autocar road test - an E-class saloon in the same group test as a Discovery?  Autocar please get your act together.

shortbread:

An oversized hatch vs 2 SUVs vs a saloon car vs a station wagon; mmmm...interesting.

 

Not really that strange - this probably resembles the shortlist of many people looking for family transport with a £40k or so budget.

I'm in a similar dilemma (although with more like £15k for a secondhand vehicle) really - a practical car with lots of space for the kids and associated paraphenalia, excellent safety, some image, but which isn't completely tedious for the times when I'm on my own.

In my case the shortlist looks more like E class estate vs BMW 5 series estate vs BMW X5 (all with large petrol engines - diesels in the £15k bracket are either interstellar mileages, low spec fleet specials or small engines - often all of the above).

shortbread:

An oversized hatch vs 2 SUVs vs a saloon car vs a station wagon; mmmm...interesting.

 

Not really that strange - this probably resembles the shortlist of many people looking for family transport with a £40k or so budget.

I'm in a similar dilemma (although with more like £15k for a secondhand vehicle) really - a practical car with lots of space for the kids and associated paraphenalia, excellent safety, some image, but which isn't completely tedious for the times when I'm on my own.

In my case the shortlist looks more like E class estate vs BMW 5 series estate vs BMW X5 (all with large petrol engines - diesels in the £15k bracket are either interstellar mileages, low spec fleet specials or small engines - often all of the above).

The new Merc E class is really a stunning drive. It is a huge leap forward compared to the old one and in a completely different league than the BMW 5 (the old one). The new 5 must be hugely better than the old one if it wants to be an opponent to this new Merc. If I was choosing it would be Mercedes all the way.

 *Waiting for Capslock to start going on about the olyimpics!*

I agree with many others this is a very random test Autocar. 

shortbread:

 An oversized hatch vs 2 SUVs vs a saloon car vs a station wagon; mmmm...interesting.

What happened to the old days where it was the 5 series vs the XF vs the E class vs the A6.

I agree, but I think the test was to try and verify if the BMW can be all things to all men.  Combine all the characteristics of all the cars into one vehicle.

Considering that BMW have completely invented a class of car and there has never been an executive hatch before then no wonder Autocar couldn't find similar cars to pit the 5-Series against.

I think BMW should be applauded for revolutionising motoring with this unique concept.

Nb. Apparently the Rover SD1, Ford Granada III, Citroen XM, Rover 800 Fastback, Renault 25, Renault 20 etc, etc were all produced by use of time travel and are actually copies of the 5-Series.

Jokers.

- i do not need to say a word about anything beginning with "o" why? well BM are cutting back on the racing work they are doing (read skint)

-they cannot push cars out any more that are good i.e. the PAS does not get its niche right (as can be seen from the test) - the test i thought was good, its all about real world selection

-the 7 cannot beat the S Class, the 3 series is being rushed out the door to try and inflate residuals (or at least keep them inflated) which means it will be comprimised.

-the average emissions across the a BM fleet fleet have been "roasted" by Nissan and Renault and the 3 series is about to get roasted by the Chevy Volt (which is on for being built in the UK unlike the 3 series)

- thus they cannot claim "efficient dynamics" or the ultimate driving machine! and i nearly forget, the mini is going to get really hindered by the 500, Alfa, DS and Audi A1 with the JCW being smashed by a four wheel drive A1.

-that merger is coming closer by the day! - no wonder they are trying to get into a massive PR phase! the BM world is shaking (nothing surer) to much product, not enough class leads, too much competition, not eough money, to little of the right technology and too much dull "same, same same" design - that merger or takeover is creeping up.

-i do not need to mention the "o" word, the articles today speak for themselves! i do not even need to mention Lord Coe must go! (sorry i mentioned it by mistake)

-have fun chaps! and bye bye!