2025 BMW M5 Touring Review: Best All-Around BMW ‘M’ Ever?

You shouldn’t get into a new car with preconceptions, but with a 2,550kg kerb weight, I was prepared to have a bumpy relationship with the new BMW M5 Touring. It has a tough act to follow, with the 467 kW (635 hp), 1,825kg BMW M5 CS being one of the most excellent vehicles the brand has ever conjured up. Still, this is a “Touring,” a wagon, a practical family car that has 535 kW (727 hp), and you have to look all the way back to the V10-powered, 507 hp, E61 M5 Touring to find a vehicle that manages the same.

I want to get it out of the way early in this review and admit I was wrong about the M5. Do me a favour, and every time you see someone mention the 2.5-tonne kerb weight, tell them they’re wrong.

It might not have a screaming, F1-inspired V10 under the bonnet like the E61 M5 Touring, but you can blame the EU regulators for this. What BMW has done here with the M5 Touring is deliver the best all-around vehicle they’ve ever made within the confines of harsher emissions regulations, and they should be commended for it. It still packs a V8, it’s squeamishly fast, practical as ever, comfortable to drive around as a daily commuter, and when you don’t want to spend all your whisky and watch money on fuel, you can plug it into a powerpoint overnight and drive to work without sipping an ounce of petrol.

Price

The 2025 BMW M5 Touring is priced from AUD$263,900 before on-road costs in Australia, which is $4,000 more expensive than the sedan. This works out to be around AUD$285,000 drive-away in most states.

Options-wise, our test car was finished in M Marina Bay Blue Metallic (AUD$0) with the 20-inch/21-inch Style 951 M Black wheels (AUD$0) and finished on the inside with Dark Silver M accent combined with Carbon Fibre and high-gloss silver threads (AUD$0). There’s only one option for the M5 Touring in Australia: the M Carbon Ceramic Brakes (AUD$14,231). However, you don’t need them unless you track the car and set lap times.

So, should you buy an M5 Sedan or a Touring? I’ll tell you, there is no reason to buy the sedan. Unless you’re offended by the long-roof design of the Touring, it weighs about the same (+40kg), it has the same power, you can fit more stuff in it, it suits the character of the car, and gone are the days of the spacious interior being the cause of increased tyre noise. This is a car where very few corners have been cut, including the NVH department.

There’s only one real alternative to the 2025 BMW M5 Touring on the market: the Audi RS 6 Performance (from AUD$241,500 plus on-road costs), which has been around for what feels like a decade. I won’t spend too much time comparing them in this review, as the RS 6 is on its way out, rumoured to be replaced by a V8 PHEV like this M5 very soon, but I will sum it up briefly and tell you that the M5 Touring is better in every measurable way. I’m as shocked as you probably are reading this, but it’s the cold, hard truth.

Interior

This is a near AUD$300,000 vehicle, but some of the brand’s latest releases haven’t quite hit the mark regarding materials, design, and feel. Thankfully, the M5 Touring doesn’t follow the trend, and the interior feels as high-end as it should for the price, with high-quality Merino leather throughout the cabin. Most importantly, there’s no obvious evidence of cost-cutting, which has become the trend and downfall of many new cars in 2025, even from luxury brands like BMW.

The highlight of the new interior are the M multifunction seats, which are amongst the best on the market in terms of comfort and support. They include lumbar and memory control, ventilation, and heating, the latter of which is also available on the rear outboard seats.

You get these seats alongside a newly designed M leather steering wheel with M1/M2 customisable drive mode buttons, red 12-o’clock marking, and M paddle shifters. It’s comfortable in the hand, but those with smaller hands could find the wheel too thick. Practicality continues down on the M-specific centre console with quick access to the start/stop button in red that sits above the gear selector, setup, M Mode, M Hybrid, traction control, and my personal favourite, the BMW Parking Assistant Professional, as with a rear-view and 3D 360-degree view, which is essential on a car this large.

Speaking of which, the boot measures 500 litres with the seats up (expandable up to 1,630 litres), and comes with automatic tailgate operation.

Tech-wise, most modern BMWS share a central 14.9-inch touchscreen display with BMW Operating System 8.5. The display can be controlled by the iDrive controller down on the centre console, but most will simply use the touchscreen to control the apps while wirelessly connected to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The BMW Interaction Bar always remains visible, with access to control the four-zone automatic climate control, music, navigation, home, apps, phone, and CarPlay quick access.

Elsewhere, below the screen, sits ample M-specific interior lighting with welcome animation running across the entire dashboard and doors, a wireless charge pad with cooling (that still managed to overheat my brand new iPhone), Bluetooth, DAB+ digital radio, native satnav, USB-C ports, and voice activation (“Hey BMW” that lets you change key controls). Finally, the standard is a Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound System with 18 speakers.

Overall, the interior is above and beyond the competition. It gives you everything you want from a fast, modern BMW, and most importantly, it doesn’t skimp in key areas in a never-ending quest to cut costs at the expense of luxury.

Powertrain and Drive Modes

I’ve dedicated a whole section of this review to the new BMW M5 Touring powertrain. It’s complex, and most people yawn when you try to explain it, but once you wrap your head around how the system works, the complexity becomes a benefit. It might add hundreds of kilograms in weight, but it’s the main reason this M5 is the brand’s most well-rounded vehicle.

The powertrain’s beating heart is an M TwinPower Turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine that produces a maximum output of 430 kW (585 hp) and peak torque of 750 Nm (553 lb-ft). It’s backed by an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed M Steptronic transmission, which utilises a fifth-generation BMW eDrive electric motor that produces 145 kW (197 hp) and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of effective torque at the transmission.

Together, they make a combined 535 kW (727 hp) of power in the M5 Touring, and this helps propel the wagon from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.6 seconds before going onto a top speed of 305 km/h (189 mph) with the standard M Driver’s Package here in Australia.

You can drive the M5 Touring on electric power alone at speeds of up to 140 km/h, thanks to the aforementioned electric motor that takes energy from an 18.6 kWh (usable) battery pack. I spent the working week commuting on electric power alone, taking advantage of the 61 to 67 kilometres (38 – 42 miles) WLTP electric-only range on offer. Once the battery is depleted, you can use the engine to recharge it or simply plug it into a power outlet overnight (up to 11 kW AC).

Unlike conventional hybrid systems you might be familiar with, BMW gives you complete control over the M5’s hybrid system through the M-specific control panel on the centre console.

Use the “Setup” button to access settings for the drive system:

• Drivelogic function
• Chassis
• Steering
• Braking system
• M xDrive
• Brake energy recuperation intensity

This is also where you set up the vehicle’s two ‘M1’ and ‘M2’ configurations.

Once you’ve explored that menu, you can use the “M Mode” button to configure the displays and driver assistance systems. You’ll want to use SPORT mode, which doesn’t change the driving dynamics but reduces the interventions from the assistance systems and the content shown on the information display and BMW Head-Up Display. If you select “M Drive Professional,” TRACK mode is also available, with access to an M Laptimer and Boost Control function.

Finally, the “M HYBRID” button controls the hybrid system to your liking. Where some hybrids choose these settings for you, BMW has put you in control. “Hybrid” is the standard setting, and it works like a conventional hybrid system, balancing the engine and motor performance. “Electric” mode provides all-electric driving, with highway speeds, and “eControl” mode increases brake energy recuperation or maintains the battery charge constantly.

If you want full kill mode, put the M5 in Dynamic or Dynamic Plus, which is standard with M Drive Professional here in Australia. This primes the cooling system to keep performance high and generate short bursts of maximum power on country roads or race tracks.

You can assign all of these “M HYBRID” modes in the “Setup” menu, which can be configured to the M1/M2 buttons on the steering wheel.

Driving

It’s about time we discussed driving the M5 Touring and whether that 2.5-tonne kerb weight actually matters.

The purpose of the M5 Touring is to be a large family vehicle that functions similarly to an SUV, but with the benefit of a lower roof. This reduces its centre of gravity and gives it a sportier edge. What it’s not is a track car. It’s designed to haul ass down the autobahn and then carve up a few back roads on the way to your favourite chalet for the weekend.

With this purpose in mind, the M5 Touring delivers to levels we’ve never seen from the marque. Yes, the previous generation M5 CS would spank it at a racetrack, but that’s not the point.

Despite its weight, it’s remarkably agile thanks to chassis improvements that target body rigidity. You’ll find a tower-to-bulkhead stiffening plate, tower-to-front-end struts and other bracing elements in the front-end structure that improve the feeling through the steering wheel when you turn in. Meanwhile, model-specific underfloor struts at the rear, including a cross-bar, a stiffening plate, and other bracing elements in the load compartment, give you an incredible feeling through the seat. It’s heavy but responsive, and you know what the chassis is doing at all times.

Suspension is a double-wishbone setup up front, and a five-link in the rear with model-specific kinematics and elastokinematics. Standard is adaptive M suspension with electronically controlled dampers and Integral Active Steering (IAS). It sounds complicated, but with the near-actuator wheel slip limitation and networking of all control systems within the same management system, the heavy wagon dances like a linebacker when asked.

The power is immense, but there is a decent amount of fake noise emanating inside the cabin, and the exhaust does lack theatre.

When you jump on the anchors, the standard-fitted M Compound brakes provide the requisite stopping power, but you can upgrade these to optional M Carbon ceramic brakes if you plan on visiting a racetrack. They’re fronted by M light-alloy wheels measuring 20 inches up front and 21 inches in the rear, with standard high-performance tyres.

Verdict

Honestly, I was shocked at how much I liked the new M5.

Here in the Touring spec, it suits the car’s purpose more than the sedan. It’s not the most dynamic, agile vehicle BMW makes, but it never really has been since the M5 CS and the infamous E39 that came years before it.

The strict European emissions regulations have strangled BMW, but they’ve squeezed a 4.4-litre V8 under the bonnet and added hybrid wizardry to make it pass the laws. If the trade-off is a 2.5-tonne kerb weight (that you can’t feel until you push the car deep into uncomfortable speeds) I’m absolutely here for it.

This is the best all-around BMW M car that I’ve driven. It’s comfortable for long-distance hauls, fast, well-appointed, and has no obvious cost-cutting on the interior. It also has a great sound system and is more than dynamic enough for mountain roads. I was left wanting for sound, but that’s not the brand’s fault. Better yet, I could drive to work all week and not sip an ounce of petrol if I felt like it.

Maybe the only reason not to get one is that the M5 “Competition” is likely on the way, and it might have 1,000 HP.