BMW E34 Five Series Touring

Tourings were available from 1991. This means they were all made after the switch to M50 24 valve engines. Diesel and V8 versions came out as those engines were brought to market. There even an M5 version. This was BMW's first planned touring, the E30 version was very much a happy accident.

I remember having a loaner 520i from John Clark in Aberdeen and taking a few colleagues who owned Volvo estates for a drive. They were very impressed by the handling and even the acceleration of the 150bhp car (which didn't impress me much!).

 

 

Unlike the E30 the E34 touring had a 60/40 split rear seat and the whole unit folded in a more conventional manner than the E30. You also didn't need to remove rear headrests to fold the seat any more. The load bay was very generous and just huge with the seats down. Another improvement was the separate opening glass panel. The removable load bay cover could come with an optional dog guard which pulled up and anchored in roof brackets.