The return of the king
It’s been nearly 15 years since BMW last built an M5 wagon, but it wasn’t sold here in America, sadly. The V10-powered E61 M5 Touring was a lovable beast of a wagon with 507-horsepower. Enthusiasts have been begging for a new M5 Touring wagon, and it has been a pipe dream for what seems like an eternity. Now, the 2025 M5 Touring finally brings back that perfect blend of muscle and maturity, and the proof is in how it now outsells the sedan. BMW has pulled off the rare feat of crafting a 717-horsepower super wagon that feels as refined as it does ferocious.
Amos Kwon
My test vehicle was a 2025 BMW M5 Touring with a base price of $121,500. Standard feature highlights included staggered 20/21-inch M Dual Spoke Dark Grey alloy wheels, M xDrive all-wheel drive, full LED lights with cornering, AC fast charging capability, an M rear spoiler, M Multi-function heated seats, heated M-Sport steering wheel, BMW Curved Display with navigation, M-Head-up display, 4-zone automatic climate control, panoramic glass roof, Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound, wireless device charging, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and a power tailgate.
Standard safety features included Forward Collision Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Blind Spot Detection, and Lane Keeping Assistant. Option highlights were Frozen Deep Gray paint, Active Driving Assistant Pro, Executive Package (LED kidney grilles, front and rear heated seats, front ventilated seats, interior camera, Parking Assistant Plus, rear manual sun shades), M Carbon Ceramic Brakes, carbon fiber interior trim, and the M Driver’s Package that removes the 155 mph speed governor and raises it to 190 mph. The total price with options, $1,175 destination charge, and $2,600 gas guzzler tax came to $144,375.
Exterior design that means business
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From the moment you see it, the M5 Touring looks angry and purposeful, but doesn’t scream for attention the way a Lamborghini Urus does. The huge grille and deep lower intakes, wide rear stance, subtle flared arches, massive rear diffuser, and quad exhausts give away its potential without the need for oversized vents or wings. In an era of overstyled performance cars, the M5 Touring looks balanced, athletic, and expensive. It has a real presence that some speed up to ogle, but others don’t even give it a second look. It’s definitely a case of IYKYK.
BMW kept the Touring refreshingly understated. The kidney grilles are big and illuminated, yes, but not cartoonishly so like the overdone versions on the poorly-selling XM SUV. They’re framed by slim LED lights and a sculpted hood that hints at the twin-turbo V8 hybrid power lurking beneath. The long roofline stretches beautifully into the D-pillar, and the 20/21-inch wheels fill the arches just right. The frozen grey paint highlights every crease and contour beautifully. Our M5 Touring looked like a ripped German hitman wearing a Kevlar suit.
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Walk around the rear and you’ll see the most tasteful execution of aggression BMW has offered in years. The diffuser is real, the taillights sharp and modern, and the proportions nearly perfect. The back end is far more interesting than the version on the M5 sedan. This one provides rich character and a pouncing stance that the sedan just can’t match. The quad exhaust outlets remain properly round and big, practically the only thing coming close to outlandish on this very tasteful execution. While the M5 Touring isn’t as sexy as the Audi RS6 Avant, it’s definitely more purposeful and menacing in its appearance.
A tech-de-force interior that’s almost dizzying
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Slip inside, and the M5 Touring’s cabin is both supremely high-tech and deeply comfortable. The colors and displays are almost dizzying. The red merino leather seats are a color we’ve never seen before in an interior, bordering on bright orange. It’s a lot to take in, frankly. BMW’s latest curved display stretches across the dash, but unlike some recent iDrive experiments, it’s both more intuitive and visually futuristic here.
The combination of physical steering wheel toggles and touch-responsive panels works well once you get used to them. The seats are heavily bolstered yet accommodating. They’re not super soft, but they’re also not hard and unwelcoming. The center console’s infotainment knob ratchets in a satisfying manner, but we’d prefer it if the drive mode haptic feedback controls were swapped out for real buttons.
Amos Kwon
Material quality is predictably top-shelf, with stitched leather, huge chunks of carbon fiber trim, and high-grade plastics where it makes sense. The preponderance of shiny surfaces, from piano black to ambient lighting strips, is a bit shocking, but it’s all very modern and contributes to a very sporty cabin. Sound deadening is very good, until jolts from the low-profile tires and the roar of the engine take over.
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Amos Kwon
Rear passengers get legitimate legroom at 36.5 inches, and while that’s a bit less than the Audi RS6 Avant’s second row, it does eclipse the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid Wagon’s. We’d say it’s pretty good for a high-performance wagon. My three kids didn’t complain about the space on the drives to and from school and found the M5 Touring quite comfy, in fact.
Powertrain, driving modes, and the driving experience
Amos Kwon
The magic of this steed is its powertrain. There’s nothing slight about it, and lest you underestimate its power (which we did), you’ll frighten yourself in the best of ways. Under the hood sits a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 paired with an electric motor, delivering a combined 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system. It’s the first plug-in-hybrid M5, and despite the extra mass (all 5,530 pounds), it feels utterly relentless. No vehicle this heavy should feel this nimble, responsive, and capable, but it is…and then some.
Amos Kwon
BMW claims a 0-60 mph sprint in the low 3-second range, but that number doesn’t convey the immediacy of it all. Step on the accelerator, and the M5 Touring launches like a rocket sled on steroids. The power overtakes your senses and rips your entire being into another time zone. It can best be described as linear, violent, and oddly composed, all at once. The electric motor fills in torque at low rpm, erasing any semblance of turbo lag completely. It’s the most powerful vehicle I’ve driven in 2025, and not much else comes close.
In the Setup screen for drive customization, you can adjust the drivetrain, energy recovery, exhaust sound, chassis, steering, the all-wheel drive system, and braking. You can also adjust Drivelogic in the M5 Touring, a system that controls the shifting characteristics of the 8-speed M Steptronic transmission. The changes from comfort to Sport Plus are very noticeable, and they change the character of the M5 depending on your driving desires. Adjusting the M xDrive to reduce the stability control and send all power to the rear wheels isn’t recommended for most drivers because it requires a tremendous amount of driving skill.
The nicely illuminated red M1 and M2 paddles on the steering wheel are programmable for your desired drive settings. Set one to comfort, maximum driving assistance, and maximum exhaust sound. Set the other for high-performance driving or whatever you like. It’s very convenient, and the gauges change with the settings. We didn’t even try Track mode for fear of ending up in the weeds, behind bars, or both. Oh, and did we mention how good the rear wheel steering is? It makes a big, heavy wagon feel fleet-footed when cornering or performing slow maneuvers.
Amos Kwon
The steering is sharp and natural, the brakes are powerful but easy to modulate, and the chassis remains neutral even when pushed hard. In comfort (Road) mode, it’s almost genteel in its driving manners with the ability to hustle on command. In Sport mode, the beast within comes alive aurally and tactilely, letting the driver—and everyone else within earshot—know that this is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
Everyday usability
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The real magic of the M5 Touring isn’t just the speed but the dual personality. With a full charge, you can quietly creep through town on electric power alone for around 25–30 miles. The hybrid system transitions seamlessly when the gas engine kicks in, and efficiency, while not a selling point, is genuinely improved over the outgoing sedan. We managed 20 mpg without trying very hard. That’s pretty good for a car this big, heavy, and rapid.
Amos Kwon
The M5 Touring is still a real wagon, and it offers 27.2 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up, expanding to 67.0 cubic feet when the seats are folded down. That’s truly usable space that can handle sports gear, groceries, luggage, and still haul the kids to school. The second-row seats quickly power fold, making room for things that supercars won’t even consider. And then the M5 will destroy said supercars on the road. This is performance that you can live with daily.
Final thoughts
This is the M5 to get. The Touring’s combination of practicality, composure, and earth-moving power makes it one of the most complete performance cars money can buy. It feels like a return to form for BMW M. Yes, it’s ridiculously heavy, but BMW magically made it feel 1,000 pounds lighter than it is. It’s so good, it almost undoes the ridiculousness of the XM.
For those who have waited for the ultimate German power wagon, the wait is over. The 2025 BMW M5 Touring is the rarest thing in today’s performance landscape: a plug-in hybrid performance station wagon that can accelerate and handle like a supercar, haul the family and their gear, and look better than most supercars.
About the author
Amos Kwon
Contributing Writer, Autoblog