The New BMW M5 Touring Is Here And Your Dog Is Going To Hate It

As car enthusiasts, it’s basically our moral obligation to love fast estate cars, even if the actual market for something that’ll outdrag a supercar while easily swallowing up a family of five and a boisterous labradoodle is incredibly niche. The latest entrant in this segment that gets car nerds all sweaty and cross eyed is one we’ve been particularly excited about: the G91 BMW M5 Touring.

It’s exciting because BMW M cars are very rarely stinkers, and because unlike Audi and Mercedes, the brand has very rarely dabbled in the world of fast estates. Sure, there’s the M3 Touring, but before that, there’s only ever been two production longroof M cars, both made in tiny numbers: the E34 and E61 M5s.

This one’s set to be different: a regular, mass-produced member of the range set to be available from the outset alongside the saloon. The fundamentals are very familiar from that car: a 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 delivering 578bhp and 553lb ft of torque, augmented by an electric motor that brings total output up to 717bhp and 738lb ft.

Driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, that output makes for a 0-62mph sprint of 3.6 seconds – a tenth slower than the saloon – and an electronically limited top end of 155mph, which goes up to 189mph with the optional M Driver’s Package. That’s identical to its four-door counterpart. It’ll also do a quoted 42 miles on electric power alone, as well as get up to an official 166mpg. Yeah, okay.

Of course, there is an elephant in the room. Roughly a small female African bush elephant, to be precise – one of those weighs roughly the same as the 2560kg Touring. That's a full 125kg more than the already chonky saloon.

Still, going for the estate comes with plenty of benefits, and not just Instagram clout. Seats up, boot capacity is a healthy 500 litres, and with the whole rear bench folded forward, that swells to 1630 litres. Meanwhile, you can also spec a full-length glass sunroof, and an electronically retractable tow hitch for towing up to 2000kg. That means the M5 should have no issue hauling a two-axle, six-berth Swift Challenger Grande 670 Exclusive, which we’re sure plenty of owners plan on doing.

It also has some Touring-specific chassis bracing around the luggage compartment, taking advantage of the extra bodywork for added stiffness.

Otherwise, it’s all familiar from the saloon: same M-specific interior bits, and same suite of drive modes, including one that sends all the power to the back for maximum skidz. We really don’t recommend trying that with your dog in the boot.

UK order books are open now, with deliveries commencing in early 2025. It starts at £112,500 – £2000 more than the saloon.