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By Jonathan Crouch

The G61-era BMW 5 Series Touring is familiar - yet very different. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 66

Big estate cars have come a long way from their utilitarian roots and the G61-era BMW 5 Series Touring is a good example of just how far. It's the first BMW estate to ever offer a full-electric drivetrain option. And, the brand says, the most versatile station wagon it's ever made. Plus the smartened styling has definite elegance. It may even be sharper than the saloon's.

Backgroundword count: 153

BMW paints a not unrecognisable picture of the executive estate market before the arrival of its 1991 first generation 5 Series Touring. Before that car, big estates were pared-back workhorses to their sportier and more sophisticated saloon counterparts. After it, they were positioned more equally with equivalent design and driving dynamics. Today, many even see the estate as a more stylish alternative to the straight-laced saloon, with its extra practicality coming as a handy bonus. The G61 model 5 Series Touring is a worthy successor to successful previous generation models and just like most of its predecessors, it has the Audi A6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate to contend with. BMW's latest electrified drivetrains may help here, as will the more versatile luggage space on offer. If all of this can shroud a car that cossets its passengers while still rewarding the driver at the wheel, then quite a contender is in prospect.

Driving Experienceword count: 299

It was brave of BMW to ditch diesel with the saloon version of this model. And even braver to do the same with this estate, given the overwhelming emphasis on black pump sales with previous generation models. Instead, this was the first all-electric BMW estate - though you don't have to have it in that form. There's a base 520i variant, which uses a four cylinder 2.0-litre petrol engine featuring 48V mild hybrid assistance and offering up to 208hp. Alternatively, there are three PHEV models. Starting with the rear-driven 2.0-litre four cylinder 530e sDrive, which has 299hp and uses a larger 19.4kWh battery than its previous generation counterpart, allowing the 530e to go up to 60 miles on battery power. There's also a six cylinder 550e xDrive 4WD model, using a 3.0-litre unit putting out up to 489hp and making 62mph in just 4.4s. The ultimate PHEV 5 Series Touring is the M5 Touring, which has a 4.4-litre V8 with up to 727hp. That only leaves the all-electric i5, which like the saloon is available in two forms: the rear-driven eDrive40 with 340hp (62mph from rest in 6.1s en route 120mph) giving up to 348 miles of range. Or there's the four-wheel drive M60 xDrive, which mates its stablemate's rear motor with an additional one at the front, creating a combined output of 601hp (so 0-62mph in 3.9s en route to 143mph, with up to 314 miles of range). Firm M suspension is the standard ride set-up with the 'M Sport' trim most will want, which suggests a driver-orientated vibe. You can option that up to 'Adaptive Professional' suspension, which gives you adaptive dampers and rear wheel-turning 'Integral Active Steering'. The top set-up is 'Adaptive M Professional' (standard-fit on the M60), which combines rear-wheel steering with active roll stabilisation.

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