The seventh generation BMW M5 also comes in Touring estate form. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

BMW's M5 is the yardstick against which all serious performance saloons are judged, so its Touring estate counterpart sets the same standards for station wagons. Like its four-door counterpart, this G99 generation model features potent Plug-in Hybrid tech that's dramatically boosted the output of this seventh generation M5's re-fettled 727hp 4.4-litre V8. Rear-wheel steering sharpens things through the turns and there are a myriad of drive mode settings to make this one of the most configurable performance cars on the planet. Munich, it seems, has thought of almost everything.

Background

Only once has BMW previously offered its M5 in Touring form - the E61 model of 2005, which left production in 2010. With the more recent success of the smaller M3 in Touring form though, the Munich maker has been persuaded to return to offering a station wagon body shape for M5 folk and the result is this G99-era design. This seventh generation M5 is a performance Plug-in hybrid, just like its closest rival, the Mercedes-AMG E 53 4MATIC+, also available in estate form. And what a package is in store here from BMW; 727hp of power, 1,000Nm of torque, a top speed (in de-regulated form) of up to 189mph and a potential seats-down luggage space capacity of 1,630-litres. But pairing this car's trademark big V8 with PHEV tech has produced a weighty confection that proved hugely challenging for the company's M division to engineer. Still, it's all created a fresh chapter in the history of one of our favourite high performance standard-setters.

Driving Experience

This car's S63 series 4.4-litre V8 is the most potent engine ever devised by BMW's high performance M division. Which is just as well because it has to carry around a lot of weight. Still, 270kg of that extra bulk is there to facilitate the electrified addition to this M5's drivetrain that's increased total output so much. From 625hp in the old F90 M5 Competition to 727hp here. 585hp of that is from the engine and 197hp from an electric motor energised by an 18.6kWh battery large enough to make this a performance PHEV, with an all-electric range of up to 42 miles. Ignore the EV drive modes and this M division-curated confection shrugs off its prodigious 2.5-tonne kerb weight with bombastic speed, 1,000Nm of torque this super station wagon to 62mph in 3.6s en route to 189mph (if the optional 'M Driver's Pack' is fitted). Power is channelled via a toughened-up version of the 8-speed automatic transmission you'd find on a regular combustion 5 Series Touring and there's a 'Boost' mode you can activate to prompt faster acceleration by pulling on the wheel's left hand gearshift paddle. So it's fast enough in a straight line. Where you might worry, given all that powertrain bulk, is in this beefy G99 series M5 Touring's ability to tackle the turns. The Garching engineers fretted about this too and spent six years on handling development of this seventh generation M5 design as a result. For sharper corner turn-in, they added rear-wheel steering ('Integral Active Steering' in BMW-speak), which can turn the back wheels by up to 1.5-degrees. Plus there's a wider track, re-tuned steering, bespoke kinematics and elastokinematics on both axles and an adaptive suspension set-up able to adjust the new Bilstein dampers independently at each wheel. BMW's resisted the temptation though, to add the active anti-roll bars that are fitted to the M60 Touring EV; apparently, the M5's passive ones give more linear, natural levels of body roll. Thanks to the Hybrid system, there's a wide choice of drive modes - 'Hybrid' and 'M Hybrid' (which mix the power sources), 'Electric' (full-EV), 'Dynamic' (for track and fast road driving) and 'Dynamic Plus' (for all-out system power). All that's before you start accessing the centre screen to adjust chassis, steering, brakes, all-wheel drive and transmission, saving your preferred to settings to the red M paddles provided for the purpose behind the steering wheel. On the move, expect to notice this G99 series model's weight; but on tighter roads, you'll notice it's prodigious width even more.

Design and Build

If you find the i5 M60 Touring rather too over-subtle in its looks, you'll like this M5 model a lot more. Beefier track widths have created wheel arches swollen by 75mm at the front and 48mm at the rear, housing huge staggered 20 (front)/21-inch (rear) M rims. That's complemented by enough spoilers and splitters to more than hint at the vast performance potential beneath the expensive bodywork, which features M5 badging on the C-pillar Hofmeister kink. Inside, the full-M flourishes are more difficult to spot and you might think you were in an M60 were it not for the trademark red M short-cut paddles behind the bespoke M steering wheel. You might find the bucket seat driving position a little high - it's set up at 564mm, 31mm loftier than before. You can't have the more race-like M Carbon bucket chairs found in the M3 Competition Touring model. But both screen and the head-up display have M-specific info. Engage the M Track mode and the centre screen will automatically be switched off to prevent destruction. As in any other 5, there's comfortable room for two adults in the back, though the centre part of that bench is even less suited to a middle-seated occupant. There's 500-litres of boot space (up from 466-litres in the M5 saloon), enough to take one potentially rather queasy large Labrador, and with this estate, the seats can be flattened to free up as much as 1,630-litres of space.

Market and Model

BMW wants a not-insignificant £112,500 for this M5 Touring - £2,000 more than the saloon version. This is a considerable figure; around £13,000 more than the brand's i5 M60 Touring electric model that goes just as fast. And, perhaps more relevantly, a full £20,000 more than this BMW's most direct rival, the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid 4MATIC+ Estate performance PHEV - though that has 'just' 603hp to play with - 124hp less than this G99 M5. Spec the Merc up to M5 levels though and you could probably halve that price deficit. That's because this M5 comes pretty loaded with kit; soft Merino leather upholstery, augmented reality for the navigation, Bowers & Wilkins tech for the audio system sound and the expected flat-bottomed leather M steering wheel with its trademark red short-cut performance mode paddles. There's also the brand's 'Parking Assistant Professional' system, which enables automated parking and manoeuvring over distances of up to 200 metres, controllable either from inside the car or remotely via smartphone. But you might still want to keep some budget aside for options - things like ceramic brakes, alcantara upholstery, a tow bar and a range of wild BMW M Performance parts. You'll probably want to pay the extra BMW wants for the optional 'M Driver's Package' that lifts top speed from 155mph to 189mph. You also have to pay extra for ultimate drive assist niceties. The optional 'Driving Assistant Professional' pack adds Active Cruise Control with a Stop&Go function, together with tech including the Steering and Lane Control Assistant, traffic light detection, automatic Speed Limit Assist and Active Navigation.

Cost of Ownership

An M5 with 8% Benefit-in-Kind taxation would have seemed an impossibility with previous generation models, but it's a reality here thanks to the Plug-in Hybrid tech that enables a 42 mile EV range when the 18.6kWh battery is fully charged (5 miles down on the saloon). Irritatingly for BMW though, rivals Mercedes currently do PHEV tech rather better. The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid 4MATIC+ claims nearly 60 EV miles from a charge and one of those can DC fast charge at up to 60kW; the best an M5 can do is 11kW. AC charging time for this BMW from a typical 7.4kW wallbox is three hours 15 minutes. Fuel consumption is rated at up to 166.2mpg on the combined cycle (well down on the 201.8mpg figure of the saloon), but it's more relevant to look at the figure with a discharged battery - around 28mpg (compare with 30.7mpg for the E 53 Estate). The CO2 stat is up to 39g/km (7g/km worse than the saloon and 16g/km worse than the E 53 Estate). The 'BMW Charging' package comes as standard on this M5, which gives owners attractive kilowatt hour tariffs for AC and DC charging throughout the UK and Europe. Obviously, if you use this M5 regularly on track days, you'll need to allow plenty of extra spend for brake pads and tyres. The grippy rubber that comes as standard - likely to be either Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 or Pirelli P Zero R - is fearsomely expensive to replace. There's the usual unremarkable BMW three year warranty.

Summary

It's hard to argue with BMW's claim that this is the world's ultimate estate car. Unless, quite reasonably, you expect an estate car to be able to swallow rather more than this M5 Touring can take. What's important though is that despite the weight of its complex Plug-in Hybrid system, this is a super station wagon ready for the Nurburgring Nordschleife. But it's equally as happy collecting your dry cleaning. To enjoy this M5 Touring to the full, you'll need to master the initially baffling range of driving modes on offer, introducing a level of complexity to this BMW that some have moaned about. We don't really see why. As an owner, you'd sort your preferences out at the beginning, load them into the two steering wheel pre-set buttons and then just get on with enjoying the car. It's a little more valid to complain about the less wieldy dimensions. Or the fact that a rival Mercedes E 53 Estate costs less, charges faster and goes further on battery power. But these aren't failings that will worry many potential M5 Touring customers, who'll point out that this BMW is a little more agile and faster than that Stuttgart competitor. So the ultimate estate then? We can see why you might think so.