BMW 5 Series Touring estate - Reliability & safety

The saloon version of the BMW 5 Series was awarded five stars in Euro NCAP crash-testing shares the same sophisticated safety features as the Touring model. Owners seem to be reasonably happy with their 5 Series Tourings on the whole, according to our annual Driver Power survey.

BMW 5 Series Touring reliability

BMW finished 21st out of 32 manufacturers in our 2023 Driver Power poll, which is fairly consistent with the last few years of results. BMW finished ahead of rivals Mercedes and Audi, which were 25th and 30th respectively, but none of the German premium brands covered themselves in glory, and all have considerable room for improvement. The 5 Series itself finished in 47th place out of 75 cars in the best cars to own category – a single spot behind the smaller 3 Series – demonstrating that 5 Series owners are generally positive about their ownership experience in this model. Areas of frustration were the slightly high running costs, and BMW’s move to putting some features on a subscription model that requires additional payment.

Safety

When the new 5 Series saloon underwent crash safety testing by independent experts Euro NCAP, it was awarded a five-star rating, with an excellent adult occupancy safety score of 91%. An 85% score was given for the way child occupants were protected. The organisation was also impressed by the effectiveness of the car’s autonomous emergency braking system.

This is part of a Driving Assistant pack, which also includes a lane-departure warning system and rear cross-traffic alert, which functions to prevent a collision during reversing manoeuvres. Spending extra cash turns this kit into the Driving Assistant Plus, which adds features like adaptive cruise control for semi-autonomous driving.