Car review: BMW M5 Touring is big on tech and performance

ABU DHABI – Make way for the newest, baddest BMW M5. Make lots of room actually, because it is a big car.

At 5.1m long, it equals the last-generation, standard-wheelbase 7-series for length and is, in fact, quite a bit wider and taller than its nominal big brother.

Its aggressively scooped-and-vented front and rear bumpers, quad tailpipes and flared front and rear wheel arches are telltale signs of a super saloon, announcing to onlookers that this is no ordinary 5-series.

Inside, it feels every bit as substantial as it looks on the outside. There is the same cockpit tech fest that you find on every other 5-series, with an LCD plank spanning two-thirds of the dashboard and containing the instrument and infotainment displays.

The cabin is further jazzed up with blue-and-red backlighting for some of the fascia accent strips and a fat-rimmed multifunction steering wheel with a red stripe at the 12 o’clock position.

A pair of very chunky sports seats with the M5 logo grip you snugly with their side bolsters, which can be adjusted electrically, though they eat slightly into the rear legroom.

That feeling of heft is not an illusion – the latest M5 weighs nearly 500kg more than the old one – 2,435kg for the saloon and 2,475kg for the Touring version that is test-driven.

And yet the car is monster-fast, hitting 0-100kmh in 3.6 seconds and 200kmh just 7.4 seconds later. Off the line, it vaults away on a tsunami of instant torque, most of which is electric, given that this is the first plug-in hybrid M5.

An 18.6kWh battery pack feeds a thumping 145kW electric motor that delivers the goods from a standstill, without the rev-dependent build-up of a combustion-engine car.

There is still an engine nestled under the M5’s long bonnet, of course – a 577hp, 4.4-litre V8, no less – and the two elements of the powertrain collaborate to devastating effect.

Combined power and torque are 727hp and 1,000Nm respectively, and that initial wave of surge just never seems to let up as the big engine gets into its stride. This big estate car can swallow long straights as if they were the length of a condo driveway.

As with the previous M5, this one is an all-wheel-drive model and all that power is metered to the wheels via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox made by ZF.

Gear changes are lightning-quick but buttery-smooth, unless the drivetrain is in Sport Plus mode, in which case the gearbox punctuates each shift with a subtle but purposeful jolt.

The M5 has an additional party trick. For a truly epic thrust from standstill or out of a corner, pull and hold the left-hand steering-mounted gear shift paddle for two seconds to prime the system. The word “Boost” then appears in big capital letters on the instrument display, telling you in no uncertain terms what to expect.

It certainly delivers on that promise – as soon as you give it full throttle, the powertrain’s full power and torque are instantly unleashed through the four fat tyres, leaving you hanging on as the already-rapid M5 turns into a rocket ship for a few exhilarating seconds.

What astounds even more than its outright speed is the car’s alacrity around the twists and turns of a Formula One racetrack, specifically the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Over the same tarmac that Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and company howled around in their company cars at the season finale in December 2024, the M5 dives, ducks and weaves like something much smaller and lighter.

It is unerringly accurate into turns, nailing every apex, with understeer almost non-existent no matter how fearlessly you charge into the bend. Yet, it is utterly stable, rolling very little and remaining planted even through quick, high-speed direction changes.

Subsequent laps in the M5’s junior siblings, the M3 Touring and M2, reveal that lightness is still a virtue, with those smaller cars feeling even more lithe and agile, especially through the tighter sections of the circuit. Still, the extent of the M5’s grip and poise is remarkable.

Some of that handling sorcery is down to active rear-wheel steering, a first for an M5. It allows the car to pivot with more immediacy into tight turns, while providing extra stability and composure through faster sections.

Yet, it acts so subtly that you remain unaware of its intervention, simply being in awe of the car’s seeming ability to defy the laws of physics as it clings effortlessly to the road despite your best efforts to fling it into the scenery.

The all-wheel-drive set-up, which incorporates an electronically controlled M Differential at the rear axle, shines too, allowing full power to be applied very early on corner exit without fear of the car wagging its tail. Instead, it just digs in and catapults itself out of the bend and onto the next straight with no drama.

And when you do need to slow things down, the (optional) carbon-ceramic brakes are Herculean, with no brake fade and the pedal remaining consistently firm and progressive even after several hard laps. Quite a feat considering how much mass they need to repeatedly rein in.

The new M5 may be a different beast from its smaller, simpler predecessors, but within it still beats the unmistakable heart of a driver’s car.

BMW M5 Touring

Price: $760,888 including certificate of entitlement (estimated)
Engine: 4,395cc, twin-turbocharged V8, plug-in hybrid with 145kW electric motor and 18.6kWh battery
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic with paddle shift
Power: 727hp (combined)
Torque: 1,000Nm
0-100kmh: 3.6 seconds
Top speed: 305kmh
Consumption: 2 litres/100km
Agents: Performance Motors, BMW Eurokars Auto