THE BMW 520d M Sport is an elegant compromise, writes Andy Enright.

It's a car that melds the best of so many different disciplines into one cohesive whole that it's hard to know how it could be improved.

A Jaguar XF may be a little sportier to drive, a Mercedes E Class a little more prestigious and an Audi A6 bigger inside but when it comes to reckoning the sum of virtues, the BMW is tough to beat.

Power for most customers will come from the 242bhp 3.0-litre 530d diesel. But if you want to be a step more virtuous yet still engage fully with the Five as one interpretation of the 'ultimate driving experience', the lower-powered 520d ordered with BMW's top (M Sport) trim level maybe just the compromise you're looking for. After all, with a 0-62mph time of 8.1s and 141mph top speed, it isn't as if the 184bhp 520d is a car on which the M Sport treatment would be wasted.

The most sharply focused trim level brings lowered and stiffened suspension (though this is a delete option), an aero body kit, 18-inch M Sport alloy wheels and aluminium trim accents in the cabin. The shorter-throw gearshift and sports steering wheel add to the feel-good tally.

At just under £35,000, the 520d M Sport commands a meaty £5k premium over the entry level SE model.

The SE is hardly kitted out like an Albanian thrift store, getting 17-inch alloy wheels, DSC+ stability control, leather seats and Bluetooth connectivity. But the M Sport we're looking at here comes with various styling add-ons and sportier springs and dampers and a lower ride height. No surprises there, then. After that, your options are rather less straightforward.

Should you so choose, you can opt for the M Sport styling package but retain the SE suspension settings. As for the M Sport bits, the pack extends to different valances, sills, wheels and a bootlid spoiler on the outside and an M Sport steering wheel, sport seats, anthracite roof lining and aluminium trim indoors.

Six speed manual gearboxes come as standard but many will look to the options list and either the eight-speed automatic that comes as standard with the 550i or the Sport automatic which also has eight speeds but gains steering wheel paddle shifters.

Also on the options list are such temptations as an automatic parking system, four-wheel-steering, a 360-degree camera system and a head-up display that projects important into on to the inside of the windscreen and makes you feel a bit like a fighter pilot.

It's a car that's hard to look beyond if you're searching for the one that does it all.