Photo: Auto Motor und Sport
If you’re a family man and you want a powerful, spacious car, there are a couple of options available within the BMW range. Starting with the 3 Series Touring to the 3 Series GT, 5 Series, 5 Series Touring and the GT, you get about 5 models to pick from.
The most popular of the bunch, though, are the 3 Series and 5 Series Touring. The two have been around for quite some time now, proving themselves over and over again.
However, only in recent years they’ve been offered with similar engines, a fact that made people wonder exactly what’s the difference between the two if you get the same engine. The guys from auto motor und sport set out to find out.
They took two cars fitted with the same 4-cylinder turbocharged 2-liter engine making 245 HP and 350 Nm of torque: the 328i and 528i Touring.
The first difference you notice is the handling. The 3er is lighter by a good 200 kilos (440 lbs) and you’ll feel it on the road. It’s not that the engine can’t face the weight in the 5er, but that the cornering and dynamic capabilities are limited.
On the other hand, the 5er wins in comfort, sound proofing and ride quality, with optional air suspension on the rear axle, it makes you feel like you died and went to heaven.
Another plus for the bigger car is that it allows you to carry more groceries, with 65 to 170 liters more in the back, compared to the 3er, thanks to its longer wheelbase. That's also why you get more room in the back but you need to be more careful around tight city streets.
In the end, between the two, you get EUR7,000 in Europe (as the 5 Series Touring is not available in the US) and you should really put that extra cargo room to work if you want to justify that hefty difference. Otherwise, the 3 Series is the better car.
However, only in recent years they’ve been offered with similar engines, a fact that made people wonder exactly what’s the difference between the two if you get the same engine. The guys from auto motor und sport set out to find out.
They took two cars fitted with the same 4-cylinder turbocharged 2-liter engine making 245 HP and 350 Nm of torque: the 328i and 528i Touring.
The first difference you notice is the handling. The 3er is lighter by a good 200 kilos (440 lbs) and you’ll feel it on the road. It’s not that the engine can’t face the weight in the 5er, but that the cornering and dynamic capabilities are limited.
On the other hand, the 5er wins in comfort, sound proofing and ride quality, with optional air suspension on the rear axle, it makes you feel like you died and went to heaven.
Another plus for the bigger car is that it allows you to carry more groceries, with 65 to 170 liters more in the back, compared to the 3er, thanks to its longer wheelbase. That's also why you get more room in the back but you need to be more careful around tight city streets.
In the end, between the two, you get EUR7,000 in Europe (as the 5 Series Touring is not available in the US) and you should really put that extra cargo room to work if you want to justify that hefty difference. Otherwise, the 3 Series is the better car.
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