Just another typical BMW 5 series diesel, or is this one worth the punt

At first glance, one may have to take a bit of a closer look at the 2017 BMW 5series touring to tell the difference of its predecessor. Wide kidney grills, aggressive but stylish bumper and the tried and tested 5 series iconic shape. Sporting a split tail boot and twin exhausts the styling is very German .

Take a step inside and have a look at some tech and we find basically a scaled 7 series, obviously is far from a downside. Packed to the brim with drivers aids and creature comforts such as the expected heated seats and multi climate control to the more advanced night driving assist, collision warning and pedestrian warning and city brake (that I shall not be putting to the test).

Being a 530d that we have to test the obvious question is what is it like on fuel and is it a big step down from a 530i. Both of are easy answers for me. A claimed 56.5 mpg and 309 bhp along with the smart weight saving using magnesium and aluminium and sporting help from a paddle wheel (jaguar forgot this) makes this no slouch of a car but treated nice and you will receive over 15 mpg over the equivalent petrol this is not a car to be turned away from.

Prices start at £38,385 for the 520d and creep up to just under £50,000 for a 540i xdrive and taking into consideration the performance and the technology, the extra space and the fact that this is a big powered BMW diesel, that gets a big tick from me.

William Wilcox