What Car? names expensive hybrid BMW 5 Series its used car of the year

With huge demand for used cars pushing values of second-hand vehicles far higher than usual, recommendations for which models to consider during a cost-of-living crisis will be welcomed by many motorists.

However, the motor selected as What Car?’s 2022 Used Car of the Year might not be for everyone.

The consumer title’s team of motoring experts has selected the pricey plug-in hybrid version of the BMW 5 Series its stand-out second-hand motor for this year – though drivers will need to hand over around £20,000 if they want a used version of this luxury family saloon.

Used car of the year: What Car? has named the BMW 530e plug-in hybrid the best second-hand purchase of 2022. But do you agree, considering its high price during a cost-of-living crisis?

The annual What Car? award highlights the best used models across eight categories, from hatchbacks to SUVs, with an overall winner chosen from the category champions.

Launched in 2017, the 530e is a plug-in hybrid version of the highly regarded BMW 5 Series luxury car range – which has won What Car? accolades in previous years.

It has been crowned this year’s winner thanks to its ‘driver appeal, luxurious interior and class-leading refinement, as well as for its potential for great fuel economy and its terrific value on the used market’, the consumer title said.

It beat a host of excellent cars to this year’s prize, including the Audi A3 Sportback, Mazda CX-5 and Volkswagen Passat Estate.

While it might offer lots of appeal to those who can afford one, many drivers will question whether it’s the right choice of second-hand motor to be recommending at a time when purse strings are tighter than ever.

With the cost of food, fuel and energy soaring and interest rates forcing mortgage outgoings higher, some motorists might have been hoping for a less-expensive car to get the thumbs up from road testers.  

It acknowledges the fact consumers are facing a cost of living crisis and ‘looking to get the very best value’, adding that this makes ‘What Car?’s used car recommendations more important than ever’.

What Car? awarded it the gong for its ‘driver appeal, luxurious interior and class-leading refinement’ as well as ‘great fuel economy and ‘terrific value on the used market’. The cheapest model we could find was over £16,000…

Using battery power alone, the BMW 530e can be driven for a claimed 29 miles – which should be enough to cover the school run for at least a week

A quick search of Auto Trader reveals that the least expensive examples on the market are close to £17,000, and these are all models with higher than average mileage.

For a 2017 car with 60,000 miles on the clock, drivers will have to pay north of £21,000 for a used example of the luxurious Beemer.

While What Car? says the second-hand market is showing signs of softening, the latest data from Auto Trader says the average price of a used car listed on its website rose £370 between August and September, standing at £17,409. 

This is 35 per cent higher than September 2020 and a whopping 42 per cent up on pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Commenting on its crowning, Mark Pearson, used cars editor at What Car?, said: ‘The task of picking just one overall winner usually gets more and more daunting with each passing year. But this time the BMW 530e stood out from all of the other contenders.

‘It might look, at first glance, to be just another large and opulent car that, with a few miles under its belt, has become decently cheap to buy, but when we delved deep into its long list of attributes it became apparent that it was not only a really desirable car, but also a terrific used buy.

‘It was the exceptional value that it offers that ultimately gave it the victory. Simply put, nothing else offers so much for so little.’

Tesla’s Model 3 (pictured) was named the best used electric car of 2022, while the Audi A3 won the gong for best hatchback

The latest What Car? Used Car of the Year Awards also proved successful for Audi, which won three of the eight categories, with the Audi A3 taking the Used Hatchback of the Year title, the Audi A4 Used Saloon Car of the Year and the Audi TT Used Sports Car of the Year.

Other winners included the Mazda CX-5 (Used SUV of the Year), Peugeot 5008 (Used Seven-Seater of the Year), Tesla Model 3 (Used Electric Car of the Year) and Volkswagen Passat Estate (Used Estate Car of the Year).

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk