Autocar has pitted the BMW 530d Gran Turismo against its rivals - and these are some of the best pictures from the five-car test.
The rivals are the Mercedes E350 CDI Avantegarde, Land Rover Discovery 3.0 TDV6 HSE, BMW 530D SE Gran Turismo, Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 TDI and Lexus RX450H SE-L.
See the BMW 5-series GT v rivals pictures
However, it should be noted that - due to photographic deadlines - the car you see in these pictures is the Mercedes E200 CDI. However, it was the E350 CDI tested.
The conclusions? The BMW has its strengths - particularly the most spacious and best-finished interior. However, it fails to match its own claims to having grand touring ability, comfort and versatility.
The best all-rounder in the test is deemed the Audi, but it only finishes fourth overall - ahead, only, of the Lexus - as it doesn't excel in any area.
Instead, it's the Mercedes and Land Rover that do that. If you want an SUV with huge versatility then the Discovery is the car for you, but overall we have placed the Mercedes first; it doesn't sit you up high, but as a method of transporting you and your family it is unmatched.
The full test story is in this week's Autocar magazine, on sale now.
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Re: BMW 5-series GT v rivals - pics
Re: BMW 5-series GT v rivals - pics
I don't know if the good chaps and chappesses at Autocar hate BMWs (I'd like to think they are all objective and even-handed motoring journalists), but there does appear to be a recent pattern of initial favourable reviews on BMWs, such as the latest 7-series, Z4, X1, X6 etc only for those impressions to be largely contradicted in subsequent tests.
The GT has also suffered the same fate. The main gripe against the GT in this comparison test seems to be its ride comfort. However, as you say, the initial drives all gave it the thumbs up.
Heck, Hilton Holloway even did a full piece on the GT (it was a magazine article a few weeks ago) where he took it all the way from Europe through to Moroco on all sorts of terrain, which one would imagine would've been worse than anything UK's roads can throw at you, and he thought the car was an excellent drive and very comfortable. And indeed articles from other publications still attest to GT's fine ride. But alas Autocar has done u-turn on its view here. Whether there's something wrong with the suspension of the car in the latest, I don't know, but there you have it.
The new E-class does seem to be a really excellent exec saloon though and the new 5 saloon will have its work cut out to beat it (and while on the subject, what are the chances of the Autocar initially praising the new 5-series saloon, only to put it down later? :) ).
Re: BMW 5-series GT v rivals - pics
I'll second that. It's like the reviewer didn't get the GT breef. He still thinks it's a sedan. He totally missed the fact that it's not supposed to be a hot hatch athletical racer. Funny, how the initial reviews were so positive...? Then all of a sudden - BAM! "We must remember, we hate BMWs, cause they're making new sort of cars that we don't get...!"
Really Autocar, I'll repeat, get your act together!