2023 BMW 5 Series Sedan Interior and Cargo

There is a wide range of premium upholstery options on offer for 2023. The base model is offered in your choice of three no-cost perforated SensaTec leatherette options: Canberra Beige, Cognac, or Black. For an additional $1,500, you get Dakota leather with contrast stitching in Ivory White, Black, or Cognac. Nappa leather is offered at $2,500 and includes Ivory White, Black, and Mocha, all with contrast stitching. However, the Nappa leather will require you to add both the Convenience and Luxury Seating packages too, raising the price to more than $4,000. The M550i jumps straight in with Dakota leather and reduces the cost of the Nappa leather upgrade to just $1,000.

The base model features trim options such as fine wood open-pored Ash Grain with Pearl Chrome accents, Fineline Ridge wood, Fineline Cove matte-finish wood, Grey Poplar wood, and aluminum Rhombicle Smoke Grey. The latter requires the M Sport package, however. The M550i is also offered with an Individual Piano Black finish or Plum Brown wood for $1,080.

Carrying five adults is one thing, but the BMW 5 Series is also expected to carry all their stuff. The good news is that this German executive offers decent trunk space. At 14 cubic feet, the 5 Series has more space than the 13.1 cubes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and provides enough room for a couple of holiday bags for the family. The plug-in hybrid model loses four cubic feet of space due to the additional battery pack. Thankfully, the 40/20/40 split fold-down through-load rear seats offer even more space when the need arises.

In terms of small-item storage, the 5 Series provides the basics: you get some door pockets, seatback storage pockets behind the front seats, front and rear cupholders, a center console storage bin, and a glovebox.

BMW was not shy when it came to writing up the standard feature list for the 2023 5 Series. The base model is packed with premium features and includes a three-spoke leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster as part of the Live Cockpit Professional setup, dynamic cruise control, keyless entry, an engine start/stop button, 14-way power front sport seats, multi-zone climate control, ambient lighting, a universal garage-door opener, and a power glass moonroof. The M550i adds features such as remote engine start, leather upholstery, and three-stage heated front seats. The options list allows you to add a power trunk lid, heated front seats on the lower trims, heated rear seats on the M550i, and massaging front seats or a heated steering wheel on all trims.

Standard driver-assistance tech includes a rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors, frontal-collision warning, active blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning, and speed-limit info. The PHEV models get acoustic pedestrian protection additionally. A head-up display is available as an add-on on the M550i and the Driving Assistance Professional package will equip traffic jam assistance and radar-based driver assistance features.

The large 12.3-inch digital touchscreen display runs on BMW's iDrive 7.0 system and can be controlled via steering wheel inputs, the iDrive rotary knob, voice command, or by simply tapping on the screen. The system is easy enough to use and comes with all the modern necessities such as Bluetooth streaming and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. Navigation, Bluetooth, and over-the-air updates for map data are included.

The standard sound system consists of a 205-watt digital amplifier and 12 speakers, but the M550i gets a standard Harman Kardon surround-sound system with a 464-watt amplifier and 16 speakers. The premium sound system can be added to lower-tier models too, but only as part of the Premium or Executive packages, not as a standalone option.