Can I fit child seats and a buggy in the F10 BMW 5 Series?
Parents shouldn't struggle to get a buggy or fold-up pushchair in any 5 Series, as the saloon has a basic 520-litre boot. Both the Touring (560 litres) and the Gran Turismo (500-650 litres, depending on how far forward you slide the rear row of seats) are also capacious, but bear in mind that the 5 Series saloon had a smaller boot than any of its obvious rivals like the Audi A6 and Mercedes E-Class of day. Perhaps the negative to note here is that the 5 Series didn't come with split-folding rear seats as standard (they were a cost option), so you will likely find some used examples with a fixed back bench.
Similarly, because it's a big, luxurious executive car, there's a good chance three slim child seats could be fitted across the second row in the BMW, but it will depend entirely on the size of the child seats themselves as to whether this will work. Also, there are only two ISOFIX points in the rear of the vehicle, rather than three, but there's a full complement of three-point seatbelts - which is why you might be able to get three of the right type/size child seats in the back of the 5 Series.
How safe is the F10 BMW 5 Series?
While the BMW 5 Series picked up the full five-star EuroNCAP safety rating when tested in 2010, even registering a perfect 100 per cent for the then-newly-added safety assist section, it's worth bearing in mind that active safety systems and EuroNCAP's stringency of testing have both moved on since the F10 received such marks. Nevertheless, it's a big, sturdy car and with other section scores of 95 per cent for adult occupant safety, 83 per cent for child occupant safety and 78 per cent for pedestrian safety, it's a car you can buy second-hand with plenty of peace of mind. BMW did start filtering more and more of its active-assist safety equipment to the F10 throughout its life, so later, post-facelift cars will be more technologically advanced in that regard than the early models.
Click here for the full EuroNCAP report on the F10 BMW 5 Series