520i Touring a rare station wagon

Audi and Mercedes-Benz used to offer them in Singapore, but today, BMW is the only one, as seen in the 520i Touring

- Lee Nian Tjoe

The BMW 520i Touring is in a class of one in Singapore, being a large station wagon with a premium badge.

Station wagons, or estates as they are called in some places, are regular four-door saloon cars with roofs that are stretched to create more room for cargo behind the rear seats. They are relatively rare in Singapore. In 2024, sport utility vehicles (SUV) outsold station wagons by nearly 100 to one.

Audi and Mercedes-Benz used to offer them in Singapore, but today, BMW is the only posh German brand to have them. It is offering the 5-series Touring in three types of powertrains - the mild-hybrid 520i as tested, the electric i5 and the plug-in hybrid M5.

BMW used to offer the smaller 3-series Touring too, until recently.

Posh station wagons are a bit like SUVs in that they project the image of a more active lifestyle than conventional four-door saloons. As with other station wagons, the 5-series Touring is all business in the front, party in the back - if your idea of a party is having more cargo capacity over the saloon.

Although the brochure says the 520i Touring's boot can carry 50 litres more than the saloon with the rear seats in use, at 570 litres, the real-world capacity is probably more. This is because, when needed, it is possible to load things right up to the ceiling and not be limited to the height of the retractable luggage cover.