Estate or Saloon? Putting the BMW 5 Series Touring Through Its Paces on the Reading Run
Photo: Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Basingstoke-to-Reading corridor is one of Hampshire's most reliable commuter routes — a stretch that mixes the A33's open running with Reading's notoriously unglamorous final approach. It's also a route that exposes any car's weaknesses quickly. So when we handed one of our sales team the keys to a BMW 5 Series Touring for a working week, the brief was simple: find out whether an estate genuinely makes a better commuter than the saloon it's based on.
The Route That Decides Everything
Our tester lives in RG21 and works near Reading's eastern business parks — roughly 32 miles each way, with the option of the M4 for part of the journey when the A33 misbehaves. That means a genuine mix of 70mph cruising, stop-start town traffic and a few miles of Hampshire B-road either side.
Over five days, the Touring covered just under 330 miles. The 520d's trip computer settled at a real-world average of 51.2mpg — comfortably better than the official figures suggest is achievable, and a number that matters enormously when you're filling up twice a week. For commuters weighing diesel against petrol or plug-in hybrid, that consistency on longer runs is exactly why the 520d remains our best-selling 5 Series variant among Reading-bound buyers.
Comfort: The Underrated Spec
Commuting isn't about pace; it's about arriving composed. The 5 Series' standard seats held up well across the week, though we'd recommend spending on heated front seats and the lumbar support package — small money on a car of this calibre, and transformative by February. The cabin's sound insulation deserves particular mention: the M4's surface noise disappears almost entirely above 60mph, making phone calls genuinely usable.
Where the Touring quietly distinguished itself was in everyday ergonomics. The higher, more upright load lip made retrieving a laptop bag less of a stretch, and the panoramic visibility through the tailgate glass made parking in Reading's multi-storeys noticeably less stressful.
Boot Space: Estate vs Saloon in Practice
On paper, the Touring offers around 560 litres to the saloon's roughly 540 — a modest difference. In practice, the shape matters more than the volume. The square-sided load bay swallowed a week's worth of kit: a folded buggy, two holdalls and a sample display stand, with room left for the weekly shop. The saloon's aperture would have made the same job a juggling act.
For buyers whose weekends involve tip runs, dog transport or family kit, the Touring's practicality compounds. For those who commute alone and carry little, the saloon's slightly sleeker profile and lower list price remain entirely rational.
Does the Premium Earn Its Keep?
The Touring typically commands around £2,000–£2,500 over the equivalent saloon, and resale values historically hold up strongly — estates of this calibre remain sought-after on the used market. Add the versatility dividend and, for most households, the premium is defensible. For the solo commuter, it's a closer call.
Our verdict after the week: if your 5 Series has to do more than one job, the Touring is the version to buy. If it only ever carries you and a briefcase, the saloon saves you money without costing you comfort.
Both are available to test drive from our Basingstoke showroom — and we'd encourage doing exactly that, ideally on the A33, before deciding.
