Text by Tom Appel
2026 BMW M5 Touring
Specs
Class: Premium Midsize Car
Country of Manufacture: Japan
Color: Frozen Deep Grey
Seating Capacity: 5
Miles driven: 110
Real-world fuel economy: 26.1 mpg
| CG Report Card | |
|---|---|
| Room and Comfort | B |
| Power and Performance | A |
| Fit and Finish | A |
| Fuel Economy | B+ |
| Value | C |
| Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup. | |
| Big & Tall Comfort | |
| Big Guy | B- |
| Tall Guy | A- |
| Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester. | |
| Drivetrain | |
| Engine Specs | 717-horsepower 4.4-liter |
| Engine Type | Plug-in hybrid turbocharged V8 |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Drive Wheels | AWD |
Driving mix: 65% city, 35% highway
EPA-estimated fuel economy: 54 MPGe/13 mpg (city/highway combined)
EPA-estimated battery range: 25 miles
Fuel type: Premium gas
Base price (2026): $125,000 (not including $1450 destination charge)
Options on test vehicle: Special paint ($5000), Executive Package ($1600), M Drive Professional ($900), M Carbon Ceramic Brakes ($8500), Carbon Fiber Silver Thread High Gloss ($300), M Drive Package ($2500), Gas Guzzler Tax ($2600)
Price as tested: $148,500
Pros and Cons
The great: Outrageous performance, fuel efficient if charged
The good: Room for four adults, wagon practicality
The not so good: Pricey to start with, pricey options, too
Review
Social media made it worse. When this editor was a younger man, he would read the letters-to-the-editor column in the likes of Car and Driver, Road & Track, and Motortrend, and laugh at the expectations of enthusiasts screaming for unsellable features to be made available on desirable sporty vehicles.
The wailing was loudest for wagon variants, and AWD. Additional power was always in demand as well. Manual transmissions were also hot in fantasy demand, though in those days stick shift was pretty common.
Special Requests
The problem, then as now, was that while these features would have certainly made most vehicles more interesting, they would have also added to the cost of the car in question, and complicated manufacturing and dealer ordering.
It’s worth remembering that if a cool feature, say AWD, which might see some buyer demand, was offered on a sporty Euro-style sedan, some of that demand would be cannibalized from shoppers already intent on purchasing said vehicle.
And, so it goes for carmakers. Balancing the features that shoppers really want and need, with those that make magazine covers and online headlines, and keeping fans interested in—and talking about–the product.
As noted above, social media has made the situation worse. Today fan boys can clamor for an orange Subaru BRZ with AWD and a 7-speed manual shifter without even having to front the price of a postage stamp.
M5 Touring: Coming to America
But, even though cars have grown more expensive, and fuel economy and safety regulations have limited what carmakers can actually—profitably—bring to market, a company will occasionally shock and delight its fan base with something truly remarkable.
The BMW M5 Touring is such a vehicle. And it is truly extraordinary.
New for 2025, the Touring is a wagon version of the German carmaker’s storied M5 high-performance midsize sedan. The news here is that this is the first time a wagon M5 variant has crossed the pond and been sold here in the States.
BMW has built wagon versions of the M5 on two previous occasions, back between 1992 and 1995, and again between 2007 and 2010, and as noted here, neither was offered to the brand’s North American audience.
Fan-Boy Fantasy
But now, for the first time, Americans now have access to a wagon variant of the M5, getting their whiny, social-media demands met on a number of seemingly improbable fronts. Consider the following:
The BMW M5 Touring…
…is a station wagon
…boasts more than 700 horsepower
…comes standard with torque-vectoring AWD
…returns better than 25 mpg (when charged regularly)
…can be had with eye-searing red or orange cabin trim
Were the M5 available with a manual transmission, it would answer nearly every fan-boy prayer.
Trade-Offs
But as we suggest earlier: Be careful what you wish for.
Here’s what’s missing from the 2026 M5 Touring:
- Affordable price (starts over $120,000)
- Modest curb weight (clocks in over 5500 pounds)
- Manual transmission (incompatible with plug-in hybrid setup anyway)
- Glove-box soft-serve ice-cream dispenser (was never going to happen)
5-Series Prices and Trim Levels
For 2026, the BMW 5-Series trim-level lineup looks like this:
- 530i ($61,950)
- 530i xDrive ($64,250)
- 540i xDrive ($69,150)
- 550e xDrive ($76,950)
- M5 $126,850
- M5 Touring $129,350
Engines
Models ending in “30” are powered by a 255-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine and are available with rear-wheel drive or AWD (xDrive). The “40” models come with a 375-horsepower 3.0-liter turbocharged six, and come only with AWD. Both the 530 and 540 are augmented by a mild-hybrid system and come with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
The 550e is a plug-in hybrid featuring the above mentioned 6-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor for a combined system output of 483 horsepower. The 550e also mates to an 8-speed auto. The 550e will travel an EPA estimated 34 miles on electric power only when fully charged.
On the extreme side of the model lineup are the super-car-like M-edition 5-Series cars, the M5 and M5 Touring. Mechanically identical, each is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 mated to a single electric motor for a combined system output of 717 horsepower. When fully charged, the M5’s 15-kWh battery delivers an estimated 25 miles of electric-only range.
Test Car
Though Consumer Guide spent time with a 2025 M5 Touring, the car is unchanged for 2026, so we will be reporting on the latter’s prices and features availability.
Consumer Guide’s test car (a 2025, as noted above) was loaded with pricey options and extra-cost features. Seen here in Frozen Deep Grey, our test M5 wagon came to $144,375, including destination charge, and Gas Guzzler Tax. We’ll talk more about the guzzler tax momentarily.
The identical vehicle priced as a 2026 model comes to $148,500. Note that 2027 editions will begin arriving at BMW stores fairly soon.
Room and Comfort
As far as midsize vehicles go, the 5-Series is not among the roomiest. By design, the car’s door openings are not especially large, this to keep the sporty BMW’s structure as rigid as possible. For most folks this will not be an issue, but this large editor struggled a little to enter and exit the car.
Cabin Appointments
Once inside, however, the M5 Touring is pretty much awesome. The cabin is appointed richly in high-quality material, and assembled to exacting to apparent exacting standards. Our test car was outfitted with the available—and no cost—red and black interior theme, something we would never have ordered on our own. The Red, though arguably cool, is searingly, shockingly, red, and something that, over the course of a week, we never got used to. There is also an orange interior option, but we’d opt for the Silverstone or black upholstery, thank you very much.
Connectivity
On the other hand, we found basic connectivity simple to manage and the touchscreen-driven infotainment system agreeable enough. We don’t need nearly the number of instrument panel customization options as are available, but we’re happy to report that once we Bluetooth connected a mobile device it stayed connected, something we can’t say about most German cars we test drive.
Handling
But all of this stuff becomes largely irrelevant once you start rolling. Yes, the M5 Touring is, at 5500 pounds, a little porky, but this 4-passenger super car hides its weight well.
Old-school car lovers often lament the loss of steering feel to electric power-steering systems, but BMW seems to recall how old-school firmness and feedback transform the drive experience. The M5 Touring feels as connected to the road as any sports car, and corners with impressive confidence.
Sadly, Chicago is a long way from any meaningfully curve mountain roads, but we’re quite certain the M5 would make easy work of such routes.
Ride Quality
Ride quality may be an issue for the uninitiated, as things never really settled into a true “comfort” situation. We found the firm chassis to be part of this amazing vehicle’s charm, but folks who fail to fall under the M5’s spell may want to consider the 550i xDrive instead. (Order one with an M handling package and you’ll likely be very happy.)
Power and Performance
And then there’s the power. So much power. The big V8, augmented by considerable electric-motor boost, launches from a stop with smooth but alarming force, and reaches 60 mph is a BMW reported 3.5 seconds. Frankly, that number feels conservative to us.
The 8-speed automatic never missed a beat, and can be shifted manually via paddle shifters located around the steering wheel. That said, this car is so fast—and the transmission so effective—it never really crossed our minds to shift for ourselves.
Drive Modes
We experimented with the available drive modes, but given our sad, traffic-heavy commuter existence, we spent most of our time is Comfort, dabbling only briefly in Sport. Sport Plus seemed like crazy talk during rush hour.
Plug-in Hybrid
As noted earlier, the M5 Touring is a plug-in hybrid, and benefits both in efficiency and performance from operation with a charged battery. With one full charge—and no others—over 110 miles of routine driving, we averaged 26 mpg, which seems pretty frugal to us.
That said, uncharged, the EPA rates the M5 Touring at a combined 13 mpg. That number qualifies the M5 sedan and wagon for a Gas Guzzler tax of $2600, which is added directly to the cars’ bottom line (see prices at the top of the page).
There are also four hybrid modes to choose from, each with a very specific purpose. We recommend having your salesperson brief you on the options before a serious test drive.
Rarity
While BMW claims it is not limiting M5 Touring sales in the U.S., many dealers tell a different story. Most BMW shops are reporting annual access to just one M5 Touring per model year, though others have claimed to have received up to three. If those numbers are close to accurate, that’s just 700 examples a year, or just 2800 over the expected four-year run. So, if you want one, maybe start looking now.
Value
The M5 Touring is lovely to look at, a delight to drive, and a modern rarity that only whiny online car fans could have dreamed up. If you have this kind of money, and you appreciate what’s happening here, by all means, take one for a test drive—even if there isn’t an ice-cream dispenser in the glovebox.
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2025 BMW M5 Touring Pictures
Click below for enlarged images
