2009 BMW 5 Series Sports Wagon

We found no complaints about passenger room or comfort with the BMW 5 Series wagon (Edmunds.com calls the seats "sublime"). Critics appreciate its clean exterior styling and precise interior design. But what they really love is its performance, which experts say far outclasses other top-of-the-line luxury wagons.

"The 535xi is a deeply satisfying vehicle," writes Alex Dykes at The Truth About Cars. In his head-to-head test, wagons from Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Volkswagen can't break seven seconds in a zero-to-60 sprint; the BMW 535xi Sports Wagon does it in 5.8 seconds. Other wagons wallow or protest in tight curves, but the BMW "hikes up its flared fenders and carves up the road."

The BMW 5 Series is one of the most expensive station wagons you can buy, critics note. However, its safety ratings lag behind almost all other wagons'. In side crash tests at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (conducted using a 5 Series sedan), the 5 Series did a poor job protecting the driver's torso. "Rib fractures and/or internal organ injuries would be likely in a crash of this severity," testers concluded after simulating a pickup hitting the BMW 5 Series side-on at 31 mph. "A fracture of the pelvis would also be possible."

When the federal government safety-tested the BMW 5 Series station wagon, it was the frontal crash that caused problems. In a 35 mph head-on collision with a similar car, the driver of a 5 Series wagon would have a 21 to 35 percent chance of serious injury, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found. With many other wagons -- including the much less expensive, all-wheel-drive Subaru Outback (*est. $$22,295 to $32,095) -- the chance of injury is 10 percent or less.

The BMW 535xi Sports Wagon comes with a 300-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-6 engine and the choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Fuel economy is an EPA-estimated 19 mpg in combined driving with the automatic (16 mpg city and 24 mpg highway) or 18 mpg combined with the manual (16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway) with premium fuel. The 535xi is covered by BMW's four-year/50,000-mile warranty.

Luxury wagon shoppers will probably find The Truth About Cars' review most helpful. It tests the BMW 5 Series wagon alongside three of its top competitors, covering every major aspect of the cars and issuing clear buying advice. A review at Edmunds.com also provides a good overview of the BMW 5 Series wagon, but it doesn't compare the car to other models. We did find a direct comparison between the 5 Series wagon and the Audi A6 Avant wagon at AskMen.com, but it needs to be updated for 2009. The best sources for fuel economy and safety scores are the original sources: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. J.D. Power and Associates bases its ratings of the BMW 5 Series on owner feedback. Cars.com's review of the BMW 5 Series wagon does the best job outlining what is new for 2009.