SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
Fast station wagons have, historically, been the prevue of the good people at Mercedes-AMG and Audi Sport. At long last, however, BMW’s venerable M Division has decided to step into this elite arena with the incredible 717-horsepower plug-in-hybrid 2025 M5 Touring.
It looks like M Division picked the perfect moment too, since Audi’s RS 6 Avant is due to be discontinued at any moment now, and Mercedes-AMG has yet to unveil a new version of its beloved E 63 Wagon.
We recently got to drive the all-new 2025 BMW M5 Touring on its home turf near Munich, and, well, yikes. Through winding two-lane country roads that snake between picturesque German villages, there’s probably no other car that’ll get you — and your family, plus all their luggage — from A to B faster than the new M5.
Of course, with 717 hybrid horsepower on tap from a twin-turbo V8 paired with an electric motor — the latter is sandwiched between the engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox — it’s no surprise the 2025 M5 is fast. All 738 lb-ft of torque, which goes to all four wheels, hits like a punch to the gut. (Rear-wheel drive mode is still available for drivers who are ready to shred some tires.)
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
SHARP Drives: Finally, We Take The 2025 BMW M5 Touring to the Autobahn
Accelerating on a section of speed-limitless Autobahn, this enormous station wagon takes off from a steady 150 km/h cruise like a scared horse. Foot to the floor, the M5 will kick you back into its deeply bolstered leather buckets and start reeling in the horizon. The numbers on the heads-up display tick past in a blur: 200 km/h, 240, 275, 280 and the car is still pulling hard. Top speed is 305 km/h. We got the sedan up to 301 km/h as if it was a walk in the park. One of BMW’s German employees reportedly had the M5 Touring at an indicated 315 km/h and we’re not even surprised. It’s an absolute rocket ship.
But outright speed was never the big question surrounding the new M5, handling was. Along with many other M Division fans, we were concerned about the super-wagon’s porky 2.5 tonne weight. That’s heavy. It’s heavier than many SUVs. It’s like if the previous M5 suddenly packed on the additional weight of a fully-grown horse. The hybrid battery and electric motor alone added around 250 kilos. The other added kilos come from the need to stiffen and strengthen the chassis to handle the added power and weight, as well as the fact the new M5 is physically larger than the outgoing model. Since weight is the natural enemy of all fun cars, we were nervous.
To be honest though, the M5 Touring hides its weight pretty well. Not perfectly, but well enough that, on any public road at any sane speed, you can forgive the fact the M5 has put on a new pounds due to the plug-in hybrid system. The new all-wheel steering feature helps pitch the car into corners with almost no delay between the time you turn the steering wheel and the moment the car starts to rotate. It’s shocking the first time you try it.
Optional carbon-ceramic brakes do a good job of slowing down all 2.5 tonnes of German steel. That said, the M5 Touring (or even the sedan) isn’t a car you’d want to take on the racetrack. (For that, BMW has the M2, M3 and M4.) We suspect that, as with the AMG GT 63 E Performance, the M5’s carbon brakes may start to fade after repeated high-speed stops. With all that power and weight, you’ll burn through tires almost as quickly as fuel. Then again, BMW’s product manager for the M5 told us M5 customers don’t typically take their cars to the track; these customers are typically businessmen, who use the car as a daily-driver for long commutes as well as family outings. In that role, the M5 Touring has few (if any) equal.
The plug-in hybrid system grants the M5 roughly 40 kilometres of electric-only driving range. If your commute is under that threshold, and you remember to plug-in to recharge every night, this could be a very frugal performance car.
For daily driving duty, owners will also appreciate the quiet cabin. Despite their bolsters, the bucket seats are comfortable. There’s plenty of room for front and rear-seat passengers to stretch out. And the trunk, as you’d expect from a wagon, is massive. BMW’s engineers packaged the battery under the floor so it doesn’t take away from cargo space. It’s not yet clear how Audi Sport and AMG will respond to M Division muscling into their high-speed wagon turf, but, at least for now, the 2025 BMW M5 Touring is the king of the super-wagons.
