New BMW 5 Series v E-Class v A6: Which is best?

When it comes to choosing a new posh, mid-range saloon, it doesn’t get any better than these three - the New BMW 5 Series, the Mercedes E-Class, and the Audi A6.

The question is if you want to get your hands on one, which should you choose? Well, Mat’s on hand to put all three cars through a series of rigorous tests to find out which one comes out on top!

So let’s take a closer look at the three. First up we have the New BMW 5 Series. It’s unmistakably a BMW from the exterior, although we’re still not sure about the load of straight edges and creases across the front and rear. Thankfully it’s not followed the route of the 3 Series and added the huge kidney grille design! Step inside and the cabin is full of soft-touch materials along with a huge infotainment and digital dial screen.

When it comes to performance, the car we have is the 520i. It comes with a 2-litre turbo petrol engine that sends power to the rear wheels only, and it puts down 208hp. It comes with a price tag of around £64,000.

Then we have the E-Class. It’s probably the most stylish, luxurious-looking car from the outside. There are even some trim options available to make it look like the S-Class! The interior is also easily the most luxurious of the three cars. There are soft-touch materials everywhere, and even the opportunity to have three screens in the front! The seats are also super comfortable.

The car we have here is the E300e, which comes with a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, and it’s also a plug-in hybrid, so it comes with a small electric motor too. It can put down 313hp and this edition costs £77,000.

Then we have the A6. It had a small facelift last year, but it’s still been around for absolutely ages! It still looks pretty smart on the outside, although we would rather choose one of the other two instead. The interior is nice, with soft-touch materials throughout, but it’s easily the most basic of the three cars here. Then again, given the age it’s also the cheapest, so it’s not too bad a deal.

The car we have here also comes equipped with a 2-litre turbocharged engine along with an electric motor, so it can put down 299hp. It’s also the only car here that comes with all-wheel drive! The specific model we have is the 50 TSIe Quattro in S-line trim, and it costs around £66,000.

So will the newer BMW come out on top? You’ll need to stick with Mat and see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:24 Price
03:40 Design
05:53 Interior
07:48 Storage
09:37 Infotainment
12:23 Voice Controls
17:59 Bad & Good Features
20:32 Engines
21:13 Drag Race
23:18 Every Day Driving
27:29 Country Road Driving
31:52 Back Seats
33:13 Boots
35:06 Verdict

[milantomicc]

That BMW looks like a GTA car that was based on BMW but they had to change it up a bit so they don't get sued.

[giorgio]

I've always been a BMW guy and still own a 5 series, but that new design just hurts me. Mercedes now looks chinese and Audi did a good job keeping things nice and classy.

[AM-xfmu]

The previous generation of all these cars I feel like was their golden moment

[betterbeavailable]

If "dated" means no insane size screens that have replaced the knobs and buttons then I'll take the A6 thank you.

[g_webb]

All three of these are good but the price keeps increasing while the engines keep decreasing in size😭

[labibmanzar]

I know the audi is the oldest but it looks like an actual good looking car out of the 3

[aqu.a]

Audi A6!
Clean and simple modern design...
Didn't actually aged much. Its just that competition (Merc/BMW) are now full of gimmicks.

[PaulWinkle]

0:45 those pictures in my head wont never go away 😢

[orkungkalp]

Its incredible A6 came 6 years ago. Still seeing 2018 A6’s everyday and look classy.

[theshadow]

as a huge bmw fan id pick that a6 any day of the week

[jamal-iqde]

I also did not like the idea of touch sensitive buttons on the mercs steering wheel but I had an opportunity to use it as my father has one and I can say that it does a pretty good job. I drove about 10k miles in it and I didn’t have a single situation where I pressed something unintentionally. Surprisingly even the volume button works really good.

[adriandluzniewski]

I never expected the new 5 series to look like that

[christiantan]

As old and FWD as the A6 (Quattro) is, it's the only car out of the three that hasn't been hit with the ugly stick.

[Ignat]

I love the amount of humour in this video, keep it up😂

[charleschin]

That eye test is a first I'm seeing a video with it been done as for the BMW I agree with Matt about the front view one thing for sure the infotainment inside is alot more nicer than the other 2 cars Good review Matt 👍👍

[AM_]

The A6 still holds up pretty well. Will be interesting to see what Audi come up with the new generation.

[Olliebobalong]

Had my a6 since 2019, bought it through carwow. It’s done 65k miles. It’s the best car I’ve ever had and I still absolutely love it. It’s so quiet and refined, genuinely beautiful to drive. I’d say the interior quality and ambience is leaps ahead of the others and it’s going to age very well. I paid £33, 800, brand new. This was when the world was normal, in 2019. I’m never going to get that value in a car ever again.

[amsakharov]

The voice recognition test is the greatest part. You should do this for every vehicle.

[Carfan]

Is it just me or does the inside of the new 5 series look significantly cheaper than the old one

[nastyscorp]

Isn't 65k too expensive for 2.0 engines ?