BMW 5-series review – is this still Munich’s anchor model?
The 5-series remains a core car for BMW – a model upon which the marque's credibility still depends
Saloons for BMW are like sports cars for Porsche; they’re what the brand is defined and measured by. Even if the myriad SUVs bulk up the profits, they do so only with the badge credibility that its core models have earned over numerous generations. That’s why the new 5-series must be a standard-setter as all previous generations were, diminished (in the mid-teens of percentage) though its role is in terms of raw sales volumes.
The eighth generation is the latest 5-series, designated G60, arriving first in 2023 in saloon form before the touring joined. It launched with the all-electric i5 and petrol (four-cylinder) 520i. The Touring and plug-in hybrid (four- and six-cylinder) models followed shortly thereafter. A pair of diesels have been hinted at but as yet, have not reached UK shores. For now, plenty of bases are covered, in a segment that, like the industry as a whole, is being squished between the unstoppable force of legislative pressure and the immovable object of buyer sentiments.
As such BMW has had to be pragmatic with its updates of the CLAR modular platform, to make it a jack of all powertrains and make electrification no longer a tack-on or token engineering effort. The downside? All new 5ers (including infamously the M5), are weighty things, that start at 1800kg and balloon as you climb the range, to in the region of 2.5 tons at their heaviest. In fairness, that’s also in part because the new 5-series is a physically broader machine than the one it replaced – too broad by our reckoning.
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The result is as you might expect, a 5-series that puts distance between the driver and the traditional BMW driving experience, which is still there if you go digging for it. There’s inherent balance, a quality chassis and feeling of refined engineering, whether you’re pressing on or at a cruise. Digitised ergonomics, massive proportions and upped weight aside, the G60 ought not feel totally alien to the 5-series faithful.
The design is, to put it charitably, a curiosity, too, the latest 5-series facing the unenviable task of straddling BMW’s outgoing design language and a near-future lineup of handsome ‘Neue Klasse’ machines. There’s more than a little E60 in it, to our eyes, so perhaps we can blame the fact it seems to be growing on us on some sort of perverse nostalgia.
BMW 5-series: in detail
> Engine, gearbox and technical highlights – The 5-series in the UK combines petrol, PHEV and electric offerings, with all but the i5 using the eight-speed automatic transmission
> Performance and 0-60 time – All but the entry-level 520i feel brisk enough, with the 550e possessed of the broadest range of performance
> Ride and handling – The G60 is a larger, heavier 5-series, especially in PHEV form. Inherent balance is good, even if it has a softer-focus than before
> MPG and running costs – BMW’s engines remain efficient and even in cold temperatures, the PHEVs deliver useful electric driving range
> Interior and tech – Curved display, fewer physical controls and the new steering wheel layout slightly corrupt the previously common-sense 5er
> Design – The most challenging 5-series to look at since the E60 is also the largest yet. It’s growing on us nonetheless
Prices, specs, and rivals
The BMW 5-series is a more expensive car than it’s ever been, starting from £51,015 for the most basic 520i, although even that’s an M Sport, the new base specification. The 530e M Sport saloon starts from £59,455, while the 550e xDrive M Sport starts from a much sturdier £76,605. In the same region is where prices for the i5 begin, at £74,105 for the eDrive40 M Sport. The M Sport Pro specification of each will raise the price still further by £3000. Prices rise for every respective 5-series by £2000 to £2300 for the equivalent Touring
The 5-series as it ever was is BMW’s mid-sized executive car, facing off against ever-present rivals in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6. Change is in the air, though, for what up to this point has been a rigidly traditional segment. 2025 sees Audi split its entry into this segment in two, with the all-electric A6 and A6 Avant to fight BMW’s i5 and the forthcoming A7 and A7 Avant to satisfy demand for internal combustion models.
Like BMW, Audi has a solution for all tastes, albeit with much more distinct models than the 5-series and near-identical i5. Mercedes’ approach went a bit too far down the route of distinct models, with the amorphous EQE falling well short of expectations. Here’s hoping Audi’s A6 is a more thoroughly thought-out machine. The E-class remains as it ever was – the alternative to the 5-series that majors on plushness and luxury, rather than dynamism.
