Published:
17 April 2012Classy design touches leave you in no doubt that this BMW 5 Series GT is a luxury car. A backlit matt silver insert that runs the width of the dash and a blank, satin black fascia that lights up with crisp digital dials supplement the familiar, uncluttered BMW dash design. A standard panoramic sunroof adds to the high-class ambience.
The 5 Series GT continues to impress when viewed from the rear seats, where there is leg room to rival the more expensive BMW 7 Series, if slightly less head room due to the sweeping, coupé-like roofline. It is also worth noting that although seatbelts are provided for three rear passengers, the middle seat is good for only occasional use.
Sit in any other seat, though, and the GT is an exceptionally comfortable and aesthetically pleasing place to spend time, rivaling plenty of cars from higher classes.
The driving position is excellent, too, with the seat offering a wide range of adjustment. Visibility isn’t great, though; it’s difficult to judge where the extremities of the car are, due to its design and size, and wide D-pillars and a narrow rear windscreen limit visibility for lane changes.
For a car that is longer than a Land Rover Discovery to offer just 440 litres of boot capacity with the seats up is less-than impressive, and the dual boot opening is also a little limited in terms of practicality. The vast tailgate is useful enough, but the curving roofline will limit carrying capacity and the saloon opening reveals a letterbox-style slot that you can’t see into unless you bend down to just above bumper level.
