We’re now in the seventh generation of the M5, a history which goes back nearly forty years when the E28 M5 was first sold here in the US. I’ll forego the usual diatribe about how every generation has gotten bigger and heavier than the one before it and just tell you what the new one is like to drive and live with, and if it upholds traditional M5 qualities.
There are some firsts when it comes to the new M5, most notably that a Touring wagon model is available for the first time, which is the model I spent a few days with. The other big first is that this is the first M5 that’s a true hybrid, combining an electric motor integrated into the transmission with a brawny 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 up in front. The result is a total of 717hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque, with the V8 making 577 of that horsepower.
The V8 combined with an electric motor puts out a lofty 717hp.
All that power can launch the M5 Touring to 60mph in a very impressive 3.5 seconds, which is just a tenth slower than the M5 Sedan due to the extra 140-ish pounds it carries. That’s getting into supercar territory. Remember the old E28 M5 ad that declared you could “be one of the fastest families in America” if you owned one? That adage still holds true for the new M5. A direct rival, the Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid Wagon, puts out 577hp and takes a half-second longer to get to 60.
The electric range in the new M5 Touring is around 25 miles, which is far enough to drive around town and from stop light to stop light for a reasonable distance. I found it enjoyable to put the car into full electric mode for that type of driving and was surprised at how quick the M5 was from a standstill using only the electric motor (which makes 194hp and 207 lb.-ft. of torque at its maximum). It’s quicker than you would expect.
The Touring is the same length as the Sedan and only weighs around 150 lbs. more.
You’ll have to decide for yourself if you like the design of the new M5 models. I think M5 design started going downhill after the E34 generation, but others that saw the new car while I had it loved it. I was surprised at how much attention it got, especially from younger people. I guess there’s something cool about a big green wagon that is this fast. The M5 Wagon does have appealing lines from the side and the rear, but I think the front has too much black plastic, and if you own this car you’ll constantly be cleaning debris out of its big radiator intakes. Drive the new M5 down a country road in autumn, and you may collect enough leaves to create your own pile to jump in when you stop.
Get used to cleaning debris out of the radiator intakes if you own this car.
I’ve gotten used to using the screen in the newer BMW models for everything, and although some features would still be easier to have buttons or controls for, the system is pretty easy to live with after you get used to it and remember where things are. My biggest annoyance from a technology perspective was that you now have to push a button on the dash to unlock the fuel filler door. I’m not sure why BMW felt the need to do that.
Indeed, technology is a central theme in this car, which you’ll realize when you open the setup menu. M cars have been this way for a while, but the new M5 has more settings than ever before. The driver can choose settings for Drivetrain, Energy Recovery, Drivelogic, Chassis, Steering, Brake, M xDrive, and M Sound, and that’s just the setup menu. There’s also Hybrid setup options that include Hybrid, Dynamic Plus, Dynamic, Electric and eControl, as well as settings for traction control and M Mode.
The M5 Touring is still fun to drive on a twisty stretch of road.
It sounds overwhelming and it would use way too many words to explain them all here, but once you get used to where you like most of the settings, you can program the M1 and M2 preset tabs on the steering wheel to your liking. I tend to have a setup for performance and back road driving in the M1 preset and daily driving setup in M2. You’ll also find that some of them (like the Brake setting) don’t seem to have much difference between them.
Despite the prodigious size and weight of the new M5, it’s genuinely fun to drive and still feels like an M5 on the road. It wouldn’t be able to feel that way without all the technology on board to manage everything, especially in the suspension but also from the all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. It feels well-balanced and dynamic on a twisty stretch of road in the right settings, and the sweet spot for me was having Drivetrain, Drivelogic and Chassis settings in Sport, and everything else in Comfort mode. The power is tremendous, though you would need a race track to really use it without fear of losing your license.
I’m sure if you took this car to a race track that you would notice the weight more (5,530 lbs.), but even when pushing it on a twisty back road, the chassis seems unperturbed by the weight it’s carrying. I never drove this car hard enough on public roads to get close to its limits, but my gut feeling is that it would be a handful on a track without the traction control on. As precise and fun as it is, it also has a bit of a clinical feel to it, and it seems like it would quickly swap ends once it hit the limit of the tire’s adhesion without all the electric nannies. It’s probably a good idea to invest in the optional Carbon Ceramic brakes if you’re buying this car as well.
One interesting discovery with the new M5 Touring is that the suspension is almost always better in Sport setting than Comfort. In previous M cars, I would always leave the chassis setting in Comfort for daily driving or on the highway, but the new M5 bounces around too much in Comfort, with a lot of up and down movement from the suspension. Changing it to Sport limits some of that movement and the ride quality is still acceptable for normal driving.
Another interesting discovery is that the car itself rejuvenates the electric battery pretty quickly through just braking and coasting. I drove most of the time with Energy Recovery in the Mid setting. If you put it in the Max setting, the engine braking is so strong that it really feels as if you’re driving a fully electric car. I’m sure there are times when you’ll want to use it, but I found it too abrupt for my driving tastes.
The bottom line for me is that the new M5 Touring stills feels and drives like an M5, though that feeling has changed over the years. You have to be willing to embrace technology to be happy owning this car, but you can get into it knowing that the technology hasn’t totally filtered out the driving experience. The measuring stick for me with any car I test is if it’s the type of car that I’ll choose the long way home that hits the back roads instead of just sticking to the interstate, and this car passes that test.
I also think that if I were buying an M5 I would choose the Touring. I think it looks cooler than the sedan and It only weighs around 150 pounds more. It also only costs a couple thousand more ($123,900 vs. $121,900) and you get the extra cargo capacity if you need it, though I would do a double-take if I ever saw an M5 Touring with a dresser in the back.
—David Haueter
Tags: Exclusive M5 Touring Road Test