Station wagons used to be everywhere, until they weren’t.
But even as wagons are replaced by crossovers, some folks still make them, like our recently-tested Kia K4 hatchback – really a wagon. And we have another with a serious mix of grace, pace – and utility – the 2026 BMW M5 Touring, a plug-in hybrid with turbocharged V-8, all-wheel-drive, and attitude.
Editor’s Note: Due to a typo, the torque listed in the video at the top of this post is wrong. The M5’s torque rating is 738 lb-ft.
This BMW M5 is the latest in a 42-year series of high-performance versions of the Bavarian automaker’s cars. Now done as a 4-door sedan, which we tested, we also have this 5-door wagon in a sleek seventh generation shape introduced in 2024.
The famed twin-kidney grille remains, upper sections sleekly blocked for better air flow. Those grilles get white LED outlines, while that split lower intake gapes wide and deep, intercoolers visible inside. Flanking it are angular, deep brake cooling intakes over a deep, split lower intake with aggressive air dam. Aggressive side ducts accent lower, outer fenders that flare widely to tightly frame wide Continental ProContact P285/40 ZR20’s in front, and staggered P295/35 ZR21’s in back on gloss black 10-blade alloy wheels with big vented disc brakes inside.
The windshield has a nice sweep, flowing into a dark glass fixed moonroof that meets a split roof spoiler over a sleekly-angled rear window and hatchback. It’s a gracefully streamlined station wagon silhouette. Rear window sill lines flow into classic Hofmeister kinks – like the sedans – at the D pillars.
Slim LED taillights wrap around the sculpted hatchback over faux fender vents housing reflectors and echoing those on the nose. Twin black lower aero panels provide more underbody downforce at speed and house quad exhaust pipes.
The result is low, sleek and muscular at the same time. Lots of folks gazed at it at a local hot rod show. Its long 118.3-inch wheelbase is accented by flared sills. What look like aero channels on those sills are projectors that spray the pavement with animated, stylized “M” emblems.
2026 BMW M5 Touring’s Interior Puts On A Welcoming Show
The interior is done in padded black leather on the dashtop, then an illuminated accent bar splits the middle with air vents neatly hidden in the fascia with small adjustment controls under them. The faceted accent bar flows with colors on entry, parked above lustrous carbon fiber that also wraps into the doors. There’s no other physical controls, just touch-sensitive sliders for basic climate control on the center section. It’s very clean, and mostly user friendly.
White piping accents front seat black leather trim. Classic “M” emblems light up under the head restraints. The driver and front passenger get very supportive multifunction sport seats with aggressive upper and lower side bolstering. They are heated and ventilated under a long panoramic roof with power shade in a lush Alcantara Suede headliner. Holding down the key fob’s door unlock button drops all four side windows, and reels in the moonroof shade.
The flat-bottom M Sport steering wheel gets a meaty, leather-wrapped rim with upper red stripe to help you point straight. There are paddle shifters, plus “M” buttons so you can preset a multitude of engine, EV, suspension, even exhaust modes.
It faces a sweeping digital display that starts with a configurable 12.3-inch gauge display that can show different designs, including full navigation info with digital speedometer, G-force meter, engine gauges, front-facing camera and other options. It sweeps seamlessly right into a 14.9 inch infotainment touchscreen with BMW’s iDrive 8.5 interface, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as HD Radio and more.
When parked, video games or streaming video can be viewed through a 5G data connection. And the Bowers & Wilkins stereo system, with patterned alloy speaker grilles at each dashboard end, looks and sounds great.
The center console gets twin inductive phone charge slots near BMW’s familiar twist/tap central screen controller next to a knurled alloy volume knob and haptic buttons for drive and EV modes, and more. Cup holders and a usable storage area under the center armrest complete front accommodations.
The rear doors open wide into low-set, sculpted semi bucket seats with great support, plus decent head and leg room – there’s heat, cooling and separate rear climate controls, plus USB ports. The power boot lid opens high enough to clear my head. The 27-cubic-foot luggage area (up from 16.5 in the M5 sedan) expands to 67 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks folded flat. It is wide and usable, with a bit of space under the floor.
M5 Touring’s V8 Delivers Twin-Turbocharged Fury With Added EV Kick
Under that bonnet lies BMW’s familiar twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 with 717 hp and thundering 738 lb ft of torque, some of that from an electric motor in back that adds 195 hp and 206 lb-ft of torque. There’s an 8-speed M Sport automatic with a small paddle in the center console doing main selection, or big paddle shifters behind the M1 and M2 buttons.
The 32-valve V-8 has a cross-bank exhaust manifold and reinforced crankshaft drive, turbochargers mounted close to the exhaust manifold. Peak gas engine torque of 553 lb-ft is available between 1,800 and 5,400 rpm. There’s six drive modes, from eCONTROL (best hybrid efficiency); full electric; hybrid (gas/electric); Dynamic and Dynamic Plus.
Folks were intrigued that a 717-hp sports sedan could also go all-electric. But BMW says this M5 Touring’s battery pack allows for up to 87 mph from electric motor alone. So I spent a day driving it in pure EV mode, and it felt just like a midsize BMW sports sedan – sure-footed, agile and quick enough during basic commuting duties. The M5 Touring stayed in EV mode as long as I moderated throttle use – lunge on the elegant alloy gas pedal, and the 4.4-liter V-8 joined in.
BMW’s official global news release lists the battery’s usable capacity at 18.6 kWh, although BMW’s U.S. news release lists it at 14.8 kWh. In our 0-100% charging session we were able to add 15.75 kWh. The pack’s gross (total with buffer included) capacity is 22.1 kWh.
Due to the nice amount of power the highest regen setting gave back to the battery, I could keep, and even add to the estimated range in eCONTROL mode with normal gas pedal use. A few days with that saw the BMW earn 33 miles of indicated range. So I hit the neighborhood roads, state highway and tall bridge to see what the real vs. estimated range was. That commute saw 11 miles of range depleted on a 7-mile drive – a bit more than it promised.
The nice part was that this BMW accelerated nicely to pass traffic or get away from a stoplight moderately quickly in EV mode. It easily and quickly handled the steep ascent up a 200-foot-tall bridge, then regenerated power going down the other side.
M5 Touring Has Driving Modes For Every Occasion
But the fun is in the gas/EV mix, and this station wagon was quick when those ingredients combined, plus selecting four-wheel drive. So set in comfort/road mode, the M5 Touring was quite quick, launching without drama to hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. Move that to Sport/Dynamic Plus – there are multiple (too many?) variations of driving modes – saw the M5 leap off line very quickly to 60 mph in 3 seconds flat. The electric motor torque immediately shoving me back, followed by the V-8 with quick, decisive and slick upshifts accompanied by a delightful exhaust. Throttle blips on downshifts smoothed those out, coming where they needed to be, or quickly via paddle shifts.
Launch control is easy. You select Sport mode, set traction control to “M Dynamic Mode,” and left-foot brake as you mash the gas. When the gauge display says go, it sprints to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. The electric motor torque is immediate with a hint of rear wheelspin, then the V-8 hits lightning-quick upshifts and throttle-blip downshifts, providing .92Gs on launch.
These modes are pure theater, but for more fun, pull and hold the left paddle shifter marked “BOOST” while in Hybrid drive mode, and you temporarily enable maximum acceleration. Pedal down meant a hammer blow to my back on launch with no wheelspin, and 60 mph explosively arriving in 2.8 seconds, with an indicated .87Gs on launch, but you only have 30 seconds to access boost.
Run in eCONTROL, with the drivetrain in Comfort mode to save battery power with the V-8 leading the way, I managed 12 mpg over three days of sedate commuter driving. But mix a few days’ drive in Hybrid and EV-only after full recharges on a Level 2 240-volt charger and it quickly boosted my average to 21 mpg.
To compare, the M5 Touring is the same length, width and height (well, 3/10th of an inch taller) than the M5 sedan we tested last year. It’s also only 133 lbs. more than the 5,390-lb. sedan, which hit 60 mph in a quick 3.4 seconds in Hybrid/Comfort/Road mode. In Sport mode – a bigger bar tach and larger gauge displays – boosted gas and EV power along with torque to hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. And launch control, which disables traction control, saw 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, and 100 mph in 7. Top speed is limited to 155 mph but the optional M Drivers package eggs that up to 189 mph, pace car levels if you want to lead Indy Cars into the start.
This station wagon is also very agile, flat and secure to play with due to grippy rubber, four-wheel-drive and adaptive suspension that goes from comfortable taut in Comfort mode, to tighter taut in Sports modes. It was neutral and flat in every corner I put it through and eager to power out without drama. On a skidpad, the Vegas Red Metallic BMW pulled a very impressive 1.03Gs in steady-state cornering with no understeer. Easy to play with as the 4-wheel-drive moved power fore and aft as needed.
The steering in comfort mode was direct and full of feel, then tightened with great precision in Sport mode – tight turning radius too. Six-piston fixed-calipers clamped cross-drilled 16.5-inch disc brakes in front; single-piston floating calipers on 15.7-inchers at the rear. The brake pedal bit high, with superb control and great bite to bring this station wagon to a straight, short and drama-free stop time and time again with those huge carbon ceramic brakes –pulling 1.13Gs as I hung in the red and blue striped belts.
A full charge at a Level II (240-volt) home charger gave 28 miles of range, 0-100% taking 92 minutes– BMW says the M5 Touring charges a little faster for 2026, accepting up to 11 kW of power, up from 7.4 kW.
Very cool – using full regenerative braking and eCONTROL, we readily fed 1 to 4 miles of range back into the battery on my brief highway/stop-and-go commute.
Our M5 Touring starts at $121,500; our test wagon had options like $8,500 carbon ceramic brakes; $2,500 M Driver’s package; and $1,800 Executive Package with lit grille, ventilated front seats and side window shades. With some other options and $300 gas guzzler tax, this BMW cost $140,775.
Bottom line: Truly a sleek, strong station wagon with the soul of a sports coupe – and EV utility that’s fun.
2026 BMW M5 Touring Specifications
Vehicle type- 5-door, 5-passenger all-wheel-drive sports wagon
Base price – $119,500 (As driven – $146,225)
Gas engine type – dual turbocharged 32-valve V-8
Displacement – 4.4-liter
Horsepower (net) – 577 hp at 5,600-6,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 553 at 1,800 – 5,400 rpm
EV power – up to 194 hp/up to 207 lb-ft max torque from its Lithium-ion battery
Transmission – 8-speed automatic w/paddle shifting
Wheelbase – 117.4 in.
Overall length – 200.6 in.
Overall width – 77.6 in.
Height – 59.7 in.
Cargo capacity – 27 cubic feet
Curb weight – 5,528 pounds
Fuel capacity – 15.9 gallons
Mileage rating – 13 mpg city/highway combined gas-only/54 MPGe hybrid