BMW 5-Series Saloon (03-10) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on
Last Updated: 30 July 2008
BMW has a strong reputation for building cars that are rewarding to drive and the latest 5-Series lives up to that status. The sports saloon comes with a wide choice of engines all of which offer strong performance while the sharp steering, strong brakes and excellent body control give it class leading handling. The trade off is a firm ride, which along with the standard run flat tyres, can make the 5-Series unsettled on uneven roads. In 2007 a fuel-saving program called Efficient Dynamics was introduced to all models - but it works in the background so drivers won't notice any differences. Spacious, comfortable and superbly built, the BMW remains the best executive saloon on the market.
4.5 out of 5

Other BMW reviews

3.5 out of 5

Running costs

The 5-Series has class-leading resistance to depreciation, but servicing isn't cheap. When buying new, customers can choose a fixed-price servicing pack to cover the car for five years/60,000 miles. Not only does this guarantee against future rises in servicing prices but means owners don't have to worry about the cost for a few years. Most of the engines are pretty good for fuel consumption, particularly the diesels, however from May 2007 modifications to the engines have resulted in some very impressive fuel consumption figures.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,659 - £2,455 *

Diesel

£1,165 - £1,831 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

According to on-board computer.

Warranty

Mechanical three years, bodywork six years.

Road tax (12 months)

£120.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

2 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
    136
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
    267

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

Thanks to the Efficient Dynamics program the 5-Series is now a fairly green saloon - emitting just 188g/km of CO2 compared to 212g/km beforehand. This is even more impressive given the fact there are two high powered V8 engines in the range. Economy is okay - the range averages 39mpg but the diesels are impressive and the newer version of the 520d returns an excellent 55mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2