Many estate car buyers go for turbo diesels, and customers for the 5-Series Touring are no exception. But the top of the range models - in SE and Sport specifications - are also available with one of BMW's majestic petrol engines, the all-aluminium 4.4-litre Valvetronic V8 which was voted as International Engine of the Year in 2002.The power output is close to 330bhp, and while there's no doubt that for low-end torque petrol engines do lose out seriously to their turbo diesel counterparts - well, the 545i has 331lb/ft at its disposal, although it reaches that figure when turning at what in a diesel context would seem a stratospherically high 3600rpm. Put against other petrol engines, though, the 4.4 V8 is a high performer in any conditions.It was new to the Touring range for 2004, and by the end of the year will almost certainly prove to have been the minority seller. In 2003, UK sales of the predecessor 540i Touring didn't get any further than 14, but you can't argue with prestige appeal, quality and top-class engineering, all of which the 545i delivers in bucketfuls.More stylish - as we've said before - than the saloon, the 5-Series Touring estate looks a superior conveyance while standing still, but there must be some concern about whether, when fitted with an engine of this size and power, the 545i is rather a handful off main roads and motorways. Experience on some well surfaced but sporting country roads suggests that there's nothing to worry about.The 545i may be able to produce blistering acceleration on demand - 0-62mph in just under six seconds with the manual transmission is the kind of thing you certainly know about in a car of this bulk, which is bigger in all dimensions than the previous model. But BMW has trimmed the weight as much as possible while not losing structural integrity. All the bodywork in front of the windscreen is of aluminium, which is also used for the platform and suspension components. Even the front and rear screens weigh less than on the previous model, and there can't be many 4.4-litre engines lighter than this one.Combined with the longer wheelbase and BMW's familiar insistence on rear-wheel drive with a 50:50 weight distribution, the result is impressive handling balance.Mainly in the interests of keeping a well-laden Touring on an even keel, the rear air suspension on all variants is self-levelling, and on the 545i I don't think I'd go for the firmer and lower sports suspension offered as an option. Dynamic Drive? Well, that maybe, because of the way it automatically controls the anti-roll bars to give an eerily level ride on corners.There's a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, the automatics at extra cost. The standard specification includes features like Cornering Brake Control, Dynamic Stability Control and various other systems usually referred to only by their initials, while there's a lot to be said in favour of the Active Steering option.All of this helps to ensure that the 545i isn't muscle-bound, but a large performance car which manages to retain an unusual poise when it's being hurried along roads of many varying kinds. It is not simply an outside-lane autobahn battlecruiser.As well as all that, of course, like the other models in the Touring catalogue it's a properly thought-out estate with a good easy-load luggage area plus many smaller stowage places around the cabin and under the load floor.I still can't work up much enthusiasm for the iDrive controller, preferring - despite anything the Munich experts may say - what they regard as an old-fashioned array of push buttons. Perhaps at some time in the future. I doubt it, though.That's a fairly minor gripe about a roomy, comfortable, well-built, lavishly equipped, genuinely high-performance prestige estate which also looks noticeably more elegant than its saloon counterpart. Engine 4398 cc, 8 cylinders Power 333bhp @6100 rpm Torque 331.9ib/ft @3600 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 25mpg / 274 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 5.9sec Top speed 155 mph Price From £43710.00 approx Release date 20/05/2004
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