BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A BMW 5 SERIES FROM OSV: https://bit.ly/2OLF5nG

Market and Model

Prices start at around £37,500 for the base 520i petrol model. There are three trim levels: SE, M Sport and M Sport Edition. The Touring estate body style requires an extra premium of £2,250. M Sport trim adds a premium of £3,500 across the range. As for the freshly added variants, the 545e xDrive costs from around £55,000, while the M550i xDrive costs from around £68,000 - which makes it around £30,000 less expensive than the top M5 Competition model.

Even base SE models are, as you would expect, very well equipped, featuring alloy wheels of between 17 and 19-inches in size, Dakota leather upholstery, a Sport leather steering wheel and heated front seats. Freshly added to SE trim are features like power-folding mirrors, front electric lumbar support for the seats and BMW's Parking Assistant package. M Sport trim adds alloy wheel designs in 18, 19 and 20-inch sizes, plus the M aerodynamics body styling packages. Inside, there's an M leather steering wheel, front sports seats, an anthracite headliner and a distinctive instrument panel finished in Sensatec artificial stitched leather. Top M Sport Edition trim gives you 20-inch alloy wheels, Adaptive LED headlights, red brake callipers and sun protection glass.

Cost of Ownership

The 5 Series has always been impressively frugal for a car of its size. The four cylinder 520d diesel, for instance, can deliver well over 55mpg on the WLTP combined cycle and around 130g/km of WLTP CO2. And across the range, things have taken a turn for the even better with the addition of BMW's latest 48V mild hybrid technology for the mainstream four and six cylinder petrol and diesel engines. This consists of a 48-volt starter generator that enables particularly intensive braking energy recuperation along with an additional battery to store the electricity that's generated in this way.

The 48-volt battery not only supplies the electrically operated vehicle functions, it also makes its energy available to generate additional drive power. For this purpose the current flows back to the starter generator, which now takes on the role of an electric drive. This reduces the load on the combustion engine, allowing it to run as often as possible in an efficiency-optimised load range.

If you want something more sophisticated than mild hybrid tech, you'll want to look at the two plug-in hybrid petrol variants. The 530e four cylinder model can offer a WLTP electric driving range of up to 42 miles. For the six cylinder 545e, it's up to 35 miles.

Summary

The whole point of a mid-cycle product refresh is to give the car in question the feel of an all-new model - and that's the case here. The looks have more attitude, the engines have the required dose of electrification and there's now less of yawning gap between the mainstream models and the fire-breathing M5.

Are there issues? A few. BMW's decision not to develop the kind of full air suspension system you'd find as an option on a rival Mercedes E-Class means that a Merc with that set-up has a small edge if your over-riding priority is ride comfort. A 5 Series with optional 'VDC' 'Variable Damper Control' gets close though. Without 'VDC', some might find its damping a little too firm. We can't find much else to grouse about though. There's premium pricing of course, but that applies to most comparable rivals. At least with this BMW, you feel that money's buying you a car that showcases the current state of the automotive art. Whether you prioritise clever gadgetry, hi-tech engineering or sharp running costs in your full-sized Executive car, this BMW operates from an agenda that will certainly impress. Conservatively styled it may be: conservative in outlook it certainly isn't.

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