BMW M5 Touring First Drive Review

A fast estate is the type of car that most petrolheads love because of its combination of speed and space. It's practical yet fun to drive, which is not something a two-door coupe can be. How else can you help a friend move house quickly and with flourish?

The fast estate, however, is not something that BMW does often. Case in point: The M5 has been around for seven generations, but this is only the third time that the M division has produced such a car. The progenitor was the E34 model, which was succeeded two generations later by the E61 M5 Touring.

Another two generations of M5 have appeared since then, so following this pattern, we now have the G99 M5 Touring, the newest and most powerful one of them all. Does it still fulfil its remit of being fast, refined and soul-stirring?

Unless you're driving a hypercar, the M5 Touring won't stay in your rearview mirror for long

The eye-catching M5

The all-new M5 Touring is arguably handsomer than the M5 Sedan we drove, though this is not immediately obvious when viewed directly from the front. Both models have identical front ends dotted with air intakes needed to cool the powertrains and brakes.

But glance down the car's sides and your attention is drawn to the elongated roofline that gently curves towards the tailgate. The roof spoiler is sizeable, but because it's black and sort of merges with the glass, its width is 'hidden'. Fans of the Hofmeister kink will be glad to see it retained here as well.

Both the M5 Sedan and M5 Touring have identical cockpits, so both make the driver feel as if he or she is interfacing with a supercomputer. As expected, big screens are the order of the day, with M-specific displays and M colours shining through.

You'll need to be tech savvy to get the most out of the M5 Touring's configurable parameters

Like the M5 Sedan, the M5 Touring also lets the driver set and tweak a variety of parameters. These include M xDrive (all-wheel drive), steering, dampers, and powertrain. The handy M1 and M2 buttons by the steering wheel then let you save and recall your two customised driving modes instantly.

Of course, what M5 Touring buyers want is the cargo space that the estate offers. While the sedan has 466 litres, the M5 Touring offers 500 litres with the rear seats up, and 1,630 litres once you've folded the backrests. With so much volume and a larger aperture, one can easily stow a full-size bicycle back here, which is convenient if you don't wish to fit an external rack.

The wide aperture and square space, together with the 40:20:40 split-folding seats, gives the M5 Touring its flexibility

Devastating performance

That said, mounting bicycles externally may not be a good idea if you're planning to explore the station wagon's potential. Like the sedan, beneath the M5 Touring's bonnet is a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 that's paired with an electric motor. Together, both systems pump out 717bhp and a tarmac-liquefying 1,000Nm of torque.

Don't even for a moment think that the M5 Touring has less performance than its four-door sibling, even if naysayers go on about the car being "0.1 of a second slower than the M5 Sedan". Only a fool would claim that the century sprint time of 3.6 seconds is slow.

To put things in context, this is a sizable estate measuring over five metres long and nearly two metres wide, with a wheelbase over three metres in length. And with M xDrive and the electric powertrain, it tips the scales at almost 2,500kg.

With a fully charged battery, the M5 Touring can travel between 61-67km solely on electric power

Yet at full tilt, it not only does zero to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds, but zero to 200km/h in 11.1 seconds as well. When unrestricted, the M5 Touring tops out at 305km/h - just like the M5 Sedan.

Finessing the M5 Touring's power is easy, too. Like its four-door sibling, this station wagon dispatches great distances with such ease, with little sensation of speed. The only time you're aware of how much torque you command is when you suddenly stab the throttle while moving off, as the tyres momentarily grasp for grip.

The M carbon ceramic brakes and their resistance to fade are a great option to include in this estate

Overtaking is a cinch here and M xDrive provides traction as required. Caution is still required though, for this cruise missile of an estate won't turn on a dime. As I recalled on the M5 Sedan, a corner with a reducing radius or a bend that's off-camber can catch you off-guard if you're too liberal with the power application.

Those wonderful M carbon ceramic brakes can save you, though. With a meaty pedal feel and an easy to modulate character, they work well with the Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tyres, which offer plentiful grip even in wet conditions.

A compelling proposition

If you love V8s, the M5 Touring is the only brand-new, V8-powered fast estate you can get your hands on. Audi's RS6 is four years old, Porsche's Taycan Cross Turismo is fully electric, and while Mercedes-AMG's E53 is new, its internal combustion motor is an inline-six.

However, note that although the M5 Touring devours roads (and other cars) without any difficulty, the potential downside is that it can be too much of a good thing. It's too easy and with that, it can become boring.

So, if you enjoy savouring the tension of climbing revs and buildup of power, followed by the sweet release of the next gearchange, ponder this contender carefully, for its ability to stir souls does have a limit.

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