America has a thing for performance vehicles. The United States is known for cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette, but its love for horsepower and speed isn’t bound by body style. That’s why the 682-horsepower Cadillac Escalade-V and 720-horsepower Ford F-150 Raptor R exist. We’ve even gotten tire-scorching wagons here before, such as the Dodge Magnum SRT8. One longroof that eluded U.S. speed fiends for decades was the BMW M5 Touring, but that changed last year when the automaker announced it would be selling the fast wagon here for the first time. So far, M5 sales numbers reflect a worldwide desire for its wagon variant.
In an interview with BMWBlog, Sylvia Neubauer, the head of Customer, Brand, and Sales for BMW M, said, “Originally, our plan was to have two-thirds of the production over the entire [M5] lifecycle as a sedan and one-third as a Touring. We now see that there’s more demand for the sedan, so we’ve increased production there. But there’s even more demand for the Touring. So the increase on the Touring is much higher.” Currently, the reported split between the two M5 models is exactly 50/50.
The existence of a new M5 Touring isn’t just good news for people here in the States. Even the markets in which M5 Tourings were previously sold didn’t get them very often. There was the straight-six-powered E34 version launched in 1992 and the E60 M5 Touring introduced in 2007 with a 5.0-liter V10. Of course, those regions will also be getting the newest M5 Touring, which has an M Hybrid powertrain that combines a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 with an eight-speed automatic equipped with an integrated electric motor and a 14.8-kWh high-voltage battery. By itself, the gas engine generates 577 horsepower from 5,600 to 6,500 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,400 rpm. The M Hybrid setup produces a total of 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft, which means the M5 Touring not only can haul 57.6 cubic feet of luggage, but can also haul ass. Flat out, the wagon can lunge to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 155 mph, which goes up to 190 with the optional M Driver’s Package. When commuting is more important than setting a new Cannonball Run record, the M5 Touring can drive up to 25 miles on full electric power and reach speeds as high as 87 mph.
Now that the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S is gone, the only wagon in the Mercedes lineup is the E-Class All Terrain, a car more focused on the outdoors than outright performance. Audi’s A4 and A6 allroad quattro models have a similar objective. The $126,600 Audi RS 6 Avant performance is an aggressive combination of pace and space, but even with a 621-horsepower twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 under the hood, it’s not nearly as potent as the $121,500 M5 Touring (although the Audi does have a lower 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds).
We’re glad BMW has finally made the M5 Touring available here. We’ll be even happier if Andy Reid can get his hands on one and review it.
