2025 BMW M5 Touring Revealed: A Dream Fulfilled

Aug 15, 2024 18:00

After the ultra-rare E34 and V10-powered E61 Touring models, here comes the G99. Unlike its predecessors, this one has a US visa and a charging port. Mirroring the G90 M5 sedan unveiled in late June, the super wagon from Bavaria is also a plug-in hybrid with rear-wheel steering. The new M5 Touring borrows the electrified V8 setup from the XM but eschews the polarizing look of the striking SUV.

Making its public debut in Pebble Beach this week, the M5 Touring is everything you love (and hate) about the sedan but with greater practicality. Letâ€™s address the elephant in the room straight from the beginning â€“ yes, itâ€™s an extremely heavy car. In European specification, it weighs 2,475 kilograms, making it 40 kg heavier than the sedan. The curb weight of the US-spec M5 Touring is 5,530 lbs. The new M5 Touring is just as long and wide as the sedan while being slightly taller because of the roof rails. Compared to a regular 5 Series wagon G61, the M5 Touring is 75 millimeters (2.9 inches) wider at the front and 48 millimeters (1.9 inches) at the rear.

No Carbon Fiber Roof

BMW sells the sedan with an optional carbon fiber roof, but you canâ€™t have that on the M5 Touring. Thatâ€™s hardly a surprise since the smaller M3 Touring G81 doesnâ€™t have this feature either. Instead, the G99 gets a panoramic glass roof for which youâ€™ll pay extra. It comes bundled with an electrically operated roller blind. Otherwise, the standard car is shipped with a metal roof finished in black.

The M5 Touring Gets A Familiar Powertrain

At the heart of the M5 Touring is the new S68 engine paired with an electric motor. The twin-turbo, 4.4-liter V8 produces a meaty 577 horsepower and 553 pound-feet (750 Newton-meters) of torque. Combined with the electric motor, the super wagon delivers a total system output of 717 hp (535 kW) and a mountain-moving 737 lb-ft (1,000 Nm).

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With a sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.6 seconds, itâ€™s a tenth of a second slower than its sedan counterpart. That difference grows to 0.2s for the 0-124 mph (0-200 km/h) journey, which takes 11.1 seconds. Flat out, the family manâ€™s M car hits an electronically capped 155 mph (250 km/h). With the M Driverâ€™s Package, BMW loosens up the limiter, unlocking 190 mph (305 km/h). Both top speeds match those of the sedan.

The New M5 Touring Has An Electric Driving Mode

Without using the combustion engine, the beefy wagon wonâ€™t go any faster than 87 mph in electric mode, echoing the sedan. Courtesy of a fully charged lithium-ion battery pack featuring an 18.6 kWh usable capacity, the wagon covers up to 67 kilometers (42 miles) in the WLTP cycle without sipping any gasoline from its thirsty V8. Thatâ€™s down by 2 km (1.2 miles) compared to the sedan. The preliminary estimated range on the EPA cycle is 25 miles on a full charge Once youâ€™re out of battery juice, it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to fully charge it by using the maximum 11 kW power via AC charging.

Those who will get the M5 Touring to the detriment of the sedan are interested in the cargo capacity. With the rear seats in place, the luggage area has a volume of 500 liters or 34 liters more than the sedan. Fold the 40:20:40-split bench and it grows to a cavernous 1,630 liters. Should you need to haul more, the maximum trailer load is 2,000 kg.

Colors, Wheels, Interior Customization

Letâ€™s talk about customization options. BMW offers 10 body colors, but that number grows to 150 if we include Individual paints. Striking finishes such as Isle of Man Green, Marina Bay Blue, Frozen Deep Grey, and Storm Bay are confirmed. As for wheels, the Style 951M 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloys have either a two-tone finish or an optional all-black look. The wheels come wrapped in 285/40 ZR20 front and 295/35 ZR21 rear high-performance tires. The M5 Touring also gets an optional wheel set that eschews traditional spokes in favor of a 3D-like effect.

The Style 951M wheel is also available in a Jet Black finish and can be equipped with either performance or high-performance tires. Additionally, the M double-spoke Style 952M wheel comes in a bi-color finish and is fitted with performance tires.

Inside, the black Merino leather is standard but bi-color upholsteries are available. Anthracite Pearl can be combined with Silverstone, Kyalami, or Red. From next spring, customers will be able to order an Individual Metallic Merino leather trim in Black/Dark Violet and Taupe Grey/Deep Lagoon Pearl combinations.

The dashboard is adorned with Aluminium Rhombicle Dark Silver trim. If thatâ€™s not your cup of tea, the M5 Touring can be configured with carbon fiber featuring high-gloss silver threads. Alternatively, thereâ€™s also Individual Dark Oak with a high-gloss, fine-wood look. Regardless of choice, all are combined with an M accent in Dark Silver.

That flat-bottomed steering wheel of the new M5 Touring should look familiar by now, including its red 12 oâ€™clock position. It can be optionally heated and comes bundled with gearshift paddles featuring a high-gloss black finish. The paddles come with red contours for the â€œ+â€ and â€œ-â€œ symbols. The iDrive 8.5 is standard, and so is the 18-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system.

Deliveries Start In November

BMW will make the M5 Touring at the Dingolfing factory in Germany where the M5 Sedan has been in production since July. Deliveries start in November. Germany and the United States are projected to be the most important markets. UK, Canada, and Switzerland are also expected to attract many buyers. The base MSRP of the 2025 BMW M5 Touring is $121,500 plus $1,175 destination and handling.

BMW M5 Touring Exterior Design