Review
BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo hatchback
Price: £45,590 - £59,520
/5
- Pros:
- Loads of front and rear cabin space
- Excellent build quality and neat design
- Comfortable cruiser
- Cons:
- Opinion-dividing styling
- Expensive
- Difficult to manoeuvre in small spaces.
reviewed by Carbuyer
"There's nothing quite like the 5 Series Gran Turismo, with its huge cabin, luxurious drive and hatchback versatility."
"There's nothing quite like the 5 Series Gran Turismo, with its huge cabin, luxurious drive and hatchback versatility."
At a glance
- The greenest
- 530d Executive GT 5dr
£46,325 - The cheapest
- 530d SE GT 5dr
£45,590 - The fastest
- 550i Executive GT 5dr
£57,005 - Top of the range
- 550i M Sport GT 5dr
£59,520
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Part off-roader, part giant hatchback… No other car on the road can quite match the blend of space and versatility offered by the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo (GT). It's based on the BMW 7 Series chassis, and is built for space and comfort. It has a ‘twin hinged’ boot that aims to make it easier to load small items, while allowing the entire rear screen to be lifted up – hatchback style - for extra accessibility. In reality, this is not as useful as it might sound. What the GT does very well indeed is offer space for its occupants, front and rear – there's about as much room as you’ll find in the more expensive BMW 7 Series. Four or five-seat layouts are available, and all four engine choices are powerful and refined. Its looks divide opinion even in sporty M Sport trim, though – and it's not the finest car to drive, either.
Drive
The 5-Series GT is built primarily for comfort
Unlike most BMWs, which focus on performance, the 5 Series GT is built primarily for comfort. It aims to combine the best traits of a 4x4 and a saloon: a high driving position, but with most of the driving agility of a regular 5 Series. It partly succeeds, and is certainly a relaxing car, with excellent all-round visibility and smooth, powerful engines. However, its sheer size makes it feel clumsy in tight spaces, and it doesn't feel as stable during braking and cornering as most BMWs. It's a car best suited to long motorway drives.
Comfort
There’s loads of room, even for the tallest passengers
From the back seats, it's a spacious and relaxing car to travel in, especially with the two separate rear chairs of the Executive model, as they recline independently. There's loads of room, even for the tallest passengers. The ambient cabin lighting makes it a soothing place to sit at night. The high-set driving position and range of adjustment mean it's relaxing for the driver, too. That said, at lower speeds and on poorer road surfaces the car tends to ‘bounce’, which can make it feel unsettled rather than smooth like a luxury car should be.
Reliability
The GT is based on tried and tested technology
The 5 Series GT is still a relatively new model, released in 2009, so it's too early to talk about reliability, although many of the GT's parts are shared with the bigger 7 Series saloon, and are tried and tested.
Practicality
The full tailgate is very heavy
We are not convinced by the ultimate practicality of the clever, twin-hinged boot. However it's dual operation means a smaller, lighter door can be opened into the boot, which is good for dropping small items into. The full tailgate, which includes the glass rear screen, can also be opened, but is very heavy. The boot itself isn’t huge – it's actually smaller than the 5 Series saloon's. But with the rear seats folded it offers 1,700 litres of space, which is more than the 5 Series Touring.
Value for money
Prices are close to the expensive 7 Series saloon
The Gran Turismo is pricier than the 5 Series saloon, although at the same time it offers space and build quality very close to the more expensive 7 Series luxury car. The four engines available are among the most powerful BMW makes, and the standard specification is high, too. The range starts with the 535i GT SE and ends with the 550i GT Executive. Neither of those make much sense though - it's the two diesels in the middle you’ll want, as they offer the best blend of performance and economy.
Running costs
The 535d returns 42.2mpg with very strong performance
Petrol models feel fast, but their fuel economy is so much worse than the diesels that they’re not worth looking at, as the diesels are just as powerful. The 535d returns 42.2mpg with very strong performance, which is helped by the eight-speed automatic gearbox that comes as standard on all 5-Series GTs. That might sound like a lot of gears, but it allows the car to use low revs at speed, which uses less fuel.
