The love for wagons runs deep in American culture, but sales figures just don’t support the love affair enough for many manufacturers to take a risk in offering a wagon. However, in the scheme of what automakers like BMW are up to these days, they’ve taken a gamble that has so far paid off well in offering a wagon, primarily the BMW M5 Touring wagon.

This week, I get to experience the BMW M5 Touring, the wagon version of the sedan that I played with last year and walked away rather impressed with all that it has to offer, despite the talk about its hefty curb weight. As it turns out, that weight problem doesn’t necessarily have to be a deal breaker. What I find in the M5 Touring is fundamentally all of the good things I found in the M5 sedan last year, but with the added bonus of having additional rear-end storage by way of the wagon proportions. However, that bonus of the wagon parts adds even more weight, to the tune of 133 additional pounds (5,523 pounds total), but you hardly notice any difference here, and that’s a good thing.

See Also: 2025 BMW M5 Review & Test Drive

Most of the full-on BMW M5 experience is in its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain setup, where the hybrid bits are more performance adders than efficiency-seeking parts. Don’t expect to go far outside of the 13 mpg combined EPA estimate here when you are having a little fun in the many Dynamic and Sport-like drive modes. With that in mind, the BMW M5 and M5 Touring are going to have you visit the gas station often to fill the somewhat smallish 15.9-gallon tank full of premium unleaded. However, between those fills, you have the added advantage of charging up the M5 Touring to serve up 27 miles (I was able to get 30 miles of all-electric range) of electric-only range utilizing the electric motor’s output of 194 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. Oddly enough, that electric motor power is just enough to move the M5 Touring along without worry of your safety as it cleverly shifts through the gears of the 8-speed automatic transmission to maximize the output of the electric motor.

Take away the idea of driving in the electric mode, and you’ll unleash the beast that the M5 Touring is meant to be, one that effortlessly pumps out 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque as it meshes the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with the hybrid motor PHEV setup. Power sent through all four wheels is an experience, one that feels mostly like a fully-electric vehicle that’s north of 800 horsepower with an instant hit of torque that also feels north of 800 lb-ft. In fact, the M5 Touring, just like my experience with the M5 sedan last year, will spin the front wheels upon using the launch control or simply planting your foot into the throttle and get the big Bavarian ass-hauler up to speed in a hurry, taking about 3 seconds to hit 60 mph.

The 20-inch wheels and tires up front and 21-inchers out back with a wide 295 section do the job to grapple the pavement in a way that the M5 Touring feels somewhat light on its feet until you actually commit to a sharp corner. Yes, the hefty weight is often hidden, but it can quickly be found when you push the M5 into long corners and bends. The suspension with its adaptive dampers attempts to pull off a magical act and does so for those quick steering inputs, but tends to feel lumpy and busy when you’re trying to drive civilly. Here, I rather hate how the M5 Touring (and M5 Sedan) has an overly busy ride quality that’s mostly lofty in the rear when going over road undulations and rises. There’s even so much suspension travel out back that rear passengers feel they are nearly ejected from their seats when going over a moderate road rise or dip. Not cool, BMW!

What I found delight in the BMW M5 Touring is that it’s a freakin WAGON! Yes, that rare segment that in America everyone says they like it, but when it comes to spending your hard-earned money, they seem to balk at the idea. Still, BMW has proven that there’s still a market for wagons as the BMW M5 Touring has a rather strong take rate thus far, but in all that doesn’t actually say much as the M5 continues to have modest sales figures overall. Sure, you get all of the delightful technology bits that I discussed in detail in my BMW M5 review from last year, including nearly endless configuration options for setting up your M5 through the redundantly controlled infotainment system. Sure, it’s fun, and having the dedicated programmable M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel makes things easy to live with the M5 – there’s still a lot of confusion for most initially during the first month or so of ownership of such a vehicle.

Speaking of ownership, many people who noticed the M5 Touring and gave me a thumbs up were rather surprised, as I lost count, but felt like there were many more who wanted to buy a wagon than most think. I believe the unfortunate part here is that not only do a lot of Americans have a secret love for wagons, they just don’t see themselves paying just over $140,000 for one ($146,225 as-tested). That, in itself, I believe, is much of the issue here. You have vehicles like this awesome-looking M5 Touring, Audi RS6 Avant, and even the Mercedes-AMG E53 Wagon, all performance wagons, which are vehicles that will demand a price north of $100k. Outside of such, you will compromise in performance and make do with the Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain, Audi A6 Allroad, or what Volvo has to offer in the V60 Cross Country and V90 Cross Country. Wagons just aren’t plentiful, and that’s a shame because if money were no object for more people, we’d see more than just my M5 Touring out on the roads, attracting a surprising amount of attention in more ways than one.