The review: The BMW M5 Touring comes back as the mighty muscle wagon

Shot on location in Sydney, Australia.

The BMW M5 badge has always carried weight—a menacing yet elegant car, that combines the best of Bavarian engineering, power and luxury finishes—a model that doesn’t ask you to sacrifice practicality for speed.

This year, it returned in Touring form for the first time in over a decade. It’s bigger, meaner, more technologically advanced—and yes, weightier—than ever. A mere fast wagon this is not; it’s also the most technically sophisticated, ferociously powerful and polarising M5 ever made. But for those who like their cars muscly, meaty and fast, this is your kind of thrill.

Under the bonnet sits BMW M’s latest plug-in M Hybrid system—a technology already tested under pressure as the M5 MotoGP Safety Car. The all-wheel-drive setup pairs a high-revving 4.4-litre M TwinPower Turbo V8 with an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed M Steptronic transmission. The result? A staggering 535kW of power and 1,000Nm of torque that’s enough to slingshot the M5 Touring from 0–100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds and up to 305 km/h (with the optional M Driver’s Package).

It’s fast. Very, very fast. In electric-only mode, the M5 Touring can cruise up to 140 km/h, with a range between 61-67km. The great thing about this system, as we found out during our long days of test drives, is that the 18.6 kWh usable battery hybrid system is impressively efficient in terms of electric regeneration, meaning that with judicious driving, you’ll plug in less often than expected.

Design-wise, the M5 Touring looks every bit the Bond villain’s daily driver. Wide arches, sculpted side skirts and a bold front end with illuminated BMW Iconic Glow kidneys give it an unmistakable presence. At more than five metres long and nearly two metres wide, it cuts a serious statement, but it’s also extremely practical: up to 1,630 litres of luggage space, and a luxurious and roomy-feeling rear passenger cabin.

As we’ve seen with the rise of performance SUVs, modern luxury is increasingly being defined by this sort of duality—the idea that you can have your stealthy family hauler and a 305 km/h missile too. But with the M5 Touring, you can have your low-lying GT too, where power and polish coexist and electrification doesn’t have to dilute drama.

This idea of duality continues behind the wheel. An M-specific control panel allows full adjustment of the drive system, chassis, steering and braking, while two red M buttons on the steering wheel summon your favourite configurations in an instant, allowing switching between urban calm and high-performance chaos with a distraction-free ease. For the brave, stability control can be relaxed at the touch of a button; for the committed, Track Mode adds a lap timer and rocket-like boost control.

Beyond the theatrics, this luxurious cruiser also flexes with the highest level of safety, seamless and user-friendly connectivity, a thunderous Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system, and a cabin that’s tactile and beautifully restrained. It’s not overburdened with huge screens or gimmicky touch panels; nor is it trying to be too futuristic either—reflecting a very welcome shift in interiors and where performance-luxury is heading.

There is, however, a proverbial elephant in the room, and the most commented-on element of the BMW M5 Touring: its weight. At around 2.5 tonnes, it’s heavy, and this is noticeable on the tight twists, you do feel it—it is a wagon after all. Yet interestingly, there is a lovely mystique behind the M5’s mass, and how it hides this with an element of grace. It’s so insanely quick and torque-y, and planted and agile; the sheer power of the combined powertrain hides its heft well. You will find yourself looking to Munich to ask, How? The M5 is stiff, well-dampened and such a joy to drive out on the open road—no doubt bred for the Autobahn; a perfect cruiser for those who drive often and far.

Interestingly, that blend of muscle and luxury is resonating in unexpected places, too. In the U.S., a traditionally wagon-averse market, the Touring is currently outselling the M5 sedan. It makes sense—there is something spiritually American about this car, by no means is that meant to disregard or underplay the intelligent and dynamic German engineering that underpins this car. But in its menace, power, torque-yness, the hunger it seems to have for revs. It is powered by a mighty, sonorous V8, and the Germans do know a thing or two about how to create a menacing touring car better than the rest of them.

If you’re seeking something lithe and sharp, you might be better attuned to look to an M3, but if pure, unadulterated muscle, a wide spectrum of dynamics and usability, and a no-compromise two-in-one luxurious beauty-meets-brawn machine, the M5 Touring makes for a very, very tempting steed.

Read next:

• The review: Maserati GranCabrio is a great tourer reborn
• The review: The McLaren Artura is a sharp, nimble yet incredibly responsive hybrid supercar