In-depth reviews

BMW 530e hybrid reliability & safety rating

Safety and reliability are both BMW 5 Series strong points, and the 530e plug-in hybrid is no different

Overall rating

4.0 out of 5

Reliability & safety rating rating

3.5 out of 5

Euro NCAPAdult protectionChild protectionSafety assistance
5 stars (2017)91%85%59%

The BMW 5 Series didn't do brilliantly in the 2022 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. It came 47th out of the top 75 models rated, with servicing costs and reliability cited as concerns by owners. In better news, safety standards for this car are very good, but there are some optional driver aids that should really be standard at this price point.

BMW 530e hybrid reliability & problems

This generation of BMW 5 Series came 47th out of the top 75 models rated in the 2022 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, with servicing costs and reliability cited as concerns by owners.

A middling 23% of BMW owners reported a fault within the first year of ownership, although this isn’t specific to the 5 series or 5 series plug-in hybrid model. With a new model on the way – including a pure-electric i5 – BMW will be hoping its rankings can improve in the coming years.

Safety

Safety isn’t a concern with the BMW 5 Series – despite the fact a new car has been revealed with more driver assistance tech than ever before.

The outgoing car was awarded the maximum five stars in Euro NCAP crash tests in 2017 and managed impressive scores of 91% for adult occupant protection, 85% for child occupant safety and 81% in the pedestrian protection category.

It didn't do so well in the Safety Assist category, though, as it's a bit light on standard advanced driver aids. While basic autonomous emergency braking and cruise control are standard, you have to add an optional Driving Assistant pack to get lane-departure warning, and alerts for oncoming traffic as you reverse out of a space.

This can be bolstered even further with Driving Assistant Plus, which adds active cruise control and autonomous emergency braking that senses pedestrians and bikes as well as cars. A tyre-inflation kit is standard on the 530e, while run-flat tyres are optional, but there's no space-saver wheel available.

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