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The X6 is all well and good, so is the 7-series and so is the 5-series Touring. BMW insists, though, that if you make a triangle out of those three cars, the car that fills the space in the middle will be perfect for a lost generation of potential buyers who want some of each car, but not all.

So the 5-series Gran Turismo was built specifically to mop them up and, BMW evangelistically claims, to create an entirely new market segment – something the car industry ...Read the full article

Sounds like yet another great car from BMW. I was expecting autocar to shoot it down as it is an easy target with the huge amount of pro-British, anti-BMW readers of Autocar. It looks like just as with the X6, BMW has made yet another winner here. Yeah, you are complaining about high fuel consumption yet you were doing 124mph!

blasos1983:

an easy target with the huge amount of pro-British, anti-BMW readers of Autocar.

Quite right!  I'm so pro-British I last bought a British car in 1990!  That said, at £40,810  this is still a crock of sh*te; it'll sell by the ship load...

Stick £40k in Autotrader and see what stunning cars you can get instead.

Surely I'm not the only one to notice the apparent need for a rear facing periscope on your new GT?   The rear window (slot!) looks incredibly difficult to see out of when reversing... or is there a rear mounted camera lens mounted in the rear hatch?

I will believe everything that the tester says about the driving experience of this GT 530d, but does it really add anything that is not within the remit of the current 5-series Touring, let alone the next one (2010?).  The comment on it's short range (in a Grand Tourer? and fuel thirst, remind me of the X6 - perhaps that is the strand of X6 DNA that is included in this car!

Come on BMW!  I love most of your cars and have owned a number (E34 535i, E34 M5, E36 M3 Coupe, E46 330i Coupe)and currently E39 M5).  This pastiche I do not think I will like at all...

PS:  Stylistically it reminds me of a rather bulky copy of a Rover SD1, or do I mean a Rover 820 Hatchback? 

Good thing the dash is absolutely gorgeous and inside is a nice place to be because once you have parked the car and stepped out you will be reminded how cr*p this car looks!

What a waste of resources! It won't be long until BMW start producing cars that fill the points of the triangle! It is actually ridiculous. Im sure BMW could produce a convertible van that is equally as comfortable on the racetrack as it is four wheel driving that has great driving dynamics but that doesnt mean it is a great car. Regardless of how it drives, it is utterly pointless.

Well, I suppose BMW cannot resist all this marketing speak! It's a 5 series hatchback with raised suspension!

Hype aside, good for them if the Germans have identified a new niche to exploit.

wallabytoo:

Stylistically it reminds me of a rather bulky copy of a Rover SD1, or do I mean a Rover 820 Hatchback?

Yep, they must have pulled out some old drawings!

With Audi doing a five door hatch, lets hope the other manufacturers don't try to jump on the non existant band wagon

It's an expemsive pointless car

OK - so I've actually seen and sat in one of these. In the metal it looks fantastic and the interior is simply stunning.

Until you have seen on - reserve judgement, trust me!

Another car iteration from BMW, another luxury 5 door hatch from the Germans, ie including Audi. Is it a new idea and a mould breaker? no, Rover's SD1 was here 30 years ago, I suppose this is BMW's updated version of the SD1 and may even have worn a Rover badge if they still owned them, likewise Audi had their own 100 Avant hatchback in the '70s. So they weren't wrong in the 70's. Both cars are are beautifully engineered versions of their current cars, interior looks nice in this BM but will reserve judgement about the looks until I see one on the road, like the current 5 series saloon and a lesser extent the front of the Jag XF, they do grow on you when you see enough of them. There will probably be a market for these cars. I can't wait for spy Autocars' spyshots of VW's Bentley Mulsanne and BM's Rolls Royce Ghost hatch/touring/CC/Speesdsters appearing soon!!

Caution! Panzer attack!

 BMW, the war is finished!

 No comment...

 For blasos1983 :

I like BMW, finally the true BMW...

These crazy Germans! They sure know how to create a niche which no-one else really thought about or resurrect an old idea!

• Merc CLS - 4dr coupe
• Merc R-Class - Luxury MPV/Crossover thingy
• Audi A5 Sportback - 5dr coupe
• BMW X6 - Coupe 4x4
• BMW 5-Series GT - Urm