BMW has revealed its new M5 Touring, the estate version of the four-door M5 launched earlier this year. The new wagon will provide a BMW-badged alternative to Audi’s RS 6 Avant and offer M5 Saloon customers a more practical option.
What’s under the bonnet?
Like the four-door car, the M5 Touring will come with a plug-in hybrid version of the 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine that has provided such loyal service in BMW cars for many years. With an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic gearbox, the car produces a total of 727hp and a gargantuan 1,000Nm of torque - exactly the same as the M5 Competition Saloon.
As in the saloon car, the Touring has an 18.6kWh battery that allows it to drive in electric mode for 60-odd kilometres, albeit with a maximum power output of 197hp from the electric motor. It’s slightly less efficient than the Saloon, with a maximum range of 61-67km on the official range test, but the difference in the real world is expected to be negligible.
Also carried over from the four-door M5 are the xDrive all-wheel-drive system and the electronically controlled rear differential, both of which allow the car to behave like a rear-driven vehicle most of the time and distribute the power as necessary. However, customers will be able to put the car in rear-drive mode, effectively preventing power from being sent to the front wheels when the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system is switched off.
It’s still going to be quick, then?
Very. Like the Saloon, the M5 Touring will have the same standard top speed of 250km/h, enforced by an electronic limiter. However, the limiter can be increased to 305km/h for those who specify the optional M Driver’s Package. Perhaps more importantly, the car will race from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds - just a tenth slower than the saloon.
And BMW claims the car will be quick through the corners, too, with suspension tuned specifically for the M5 Touring and other mechanical changes. The gap between the wheels is wider than standard, there’s more stiffening in the structure and there’s an adaptive M suspension system with electronically controlled dampers and something called Integral Active Steering. That’s BMW speak for four-wheel steering, providing greater agility at low speeds and stability at higher speeds.
The M5 Touring also gets the same M Compound brakes as the Saloon, too, with two pedal feel and response settings, although ceramic brakes are available as an option.
It still has a massive grille, though?
Yes, BMW is still pushing on with the enormous grilles for M-badged products, and the new M5 Touring is no exception. Like the Saloon, it gets the big nose and the flared arches, as well as the beefier bumpers at the front and rear. It shares mirrors with the Saloon, too, but the upper part of the rear end is, of course, taken from the 5 Series Touring. However, it gets a sportier tail than the standard estate.
Presumably, that big boot means it’s more spacious than the four-door M5?
It certainly will be in the back. BMW quotes a maximum boot capacity of 500 litres with all five seats upright and the car loaded to the luggage cover, and that’s a 34-litre increase compared with the M5 Saloon. In truth, neither figure is especially impressive - the hybrid system clearly eats into luggage capacity a little - and the M5 Touring’s boot is no larger than that of the M3 Touring.
What about the standard equipment?
Standard equipment is set to follow that of the Saloon very closely, with much the same interior. That includes special graphics for the Curved Display touchscreen infotainment system and M5 logos dotted around the place. The Touring gets the new M1/M2 setting shortcut buttons from the Saloon, too, and it carries over the flat-bottomed steering wheel, which is the first to be fitted to an M5.
The only minor specification difference is that the Touring gets a black-painted solid roof as standard, whereas the Saloon comes with a panoramic glass roof.
So how much will it cost?
The BMW M5 Touring will cost from €138,550 in Ireland and order books have already opened. That price is only €2,510 more than the latest M5 saloon, which uses the same plug-in hybrid powertrain. Although this is the first M5 Touring to go on sale, the use of a PHEV system means that it also undercuts the smaller and less powerful M3 Touring by €19,665. It will also be attractive to buyers as its reduced CO2 emissions on paper mean it is categorised in a much lower rate of annual motor tax.
Can we have a sneak peek?
You can indeed. We’ve already had a quick go in a prototype M5, and you can read our review here ahead of the car’s official launch.