Currently reading: BMW 5-series Touring revealed
New larger boot capacity than the model it replaces when it reaches British showrooms in September

This is the new BMW 5-series Touring, the load-carrying variant of the new 5-series that will have a larger boot capacity than the model it replaces when it reaches British showrooms in September.

Priced from £30,380, it will join the new saloon and GT in the 5-series line-up and compete head on with the recently released Mercedes E-class estate.

See the official BMW 5-series GT pics

The new Touring’s boot capacity with the rear seats up is 560 litres — 60 litres more than the outgoing model’s. Seats-down capacity is up 20 litres to 1670 litres. Despite these increases, the BMW’s load capacity is still dwarfed by the cavernous 695/1950 litres of cargo space offered by the E-class.

All Tourings feature 40/20/40 flat-folding rear seats and an opening rear window to help with the loading of smaller items.

At launch there will be two petrol and two diesel engines on offer. The biggest seller is expected to be the entry-level four-cylinder diesel 520d, which produces 181bhp and 280lb ft. This model has combined economy of 54.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 137g/km. Completing the diesel range is the six-cylinder 530d, with 242bhp and 398lb ft. A 535d is expected to follow later.

The six-cylinder petrol range consists of the naturally aspirated 201bhp/199lb ft 523i and the range-topping 302bhp/295lb ft turbocharged 535i. The 535i can crack 0-62mph in 6.0sec and reach a limited top speed of 155mph. All engines have a six-speed manual ’box as standard. An eight-speed auto is optional on all variants.

Each Touring also comes with self-levelling rear air suspension to improve ride and handling when carrying heavy loads. An optional Drive Dynamic Control system offers four modes — Normal, Comfort, Sport and Sport + — that alter steering and throttle responses and damper settings. BMW’s four-wheel Integral Active Steering is also optional.

 

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The BMW 5 Series offers a compelling blend of all-round abilities, but wants specifying carefully

Mark Tisshaw

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Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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JacobE 18 March 2010

Re: BMW 5-series Touring revealed

MrTrilby wrote:
JacobE wrote:
Of course, a whopping 2 inches longer and 2 inches wider. It is most suited to being operated only at the runway at Heathrow with those dimensions.
I agree. Compared with my E60, those 2 inches now mean it's too large to fit in my garage, and will be even more hassle to squeeze into the ludicrously narrow parking bays found in the UK. Too big for me I'm afraid - yet another reason to keep my E60.


I was actually being sarcastic. I drive a Jag XJ in central London and don't have problems apart from it sometimes being tricky to squeeze into spaces when parallell parking. I think that if your garage can't fit a mid-size exec then the garage is very small. I never understood what it is with people who have problems driving slightly larger cars. It's not that difficult...
MrTrilby 18 March 2010

Re: BMW 5-series Touring revealed

JacobE wrote:
Of course, a whopping 2 inches longer and 2 inches wider. It is most suited to being operated only at the runway at Heathrow with those dimensions.
I agree. Compared with my E60, those 2 inches now mean it's too large to fit in my garage, and will be even more hassle to squeeze into the ludicrously narrow parking bays found in the UK. Too big for me I'm afraid - yet another reason to keep my E60.

JacobE 18 March 2010

Re: BMW 5-series Touring revealed

Of course, a whopping 2 inches longer and 2 inches wider. It is most suited to being operated only at the runway at Heathrow with those dimensions.