What’s new: BMW has slotted its new 2.0-litre 177PS engine into the 5-series and fitted it with its Efficient Dynamics package.
Excellent: An engine that can sprint to 60mph in 8.5secs and reach a top speed of 144mph while producing 136g/km CO2 is, frankly, fantastic. The equivalent Audi A6 takes 10.3secs and produces 160g/km CO2.
Good: We managed over 47mpg, which is very impressive as that included both motorway and inner city roads. This will help keep costs down to the predicted 35.1ppm.
Average: At 521 litres, the big saloon’s boot is by no means small, but an inability to fold the back seats prevents the carrying of longer loads.
Poor: We were unable to test the all-controlling iDrive system on our 5-series as it managed to break down just before a long – and therefore quiet – motorway trip to the Midlands.
Verdict: A relatively high P11D of £27,025 is offset by fantastic performance and economy figures.
