2025 BMW M5 Touring (G99) prototype review – super estate returns to battle the Audi RS6

It’s been a while, 14 years in fact since a 5-litre V10 was shoehorned between the front wheels of an E61 5-series Touring and an M5 badge affixed to its tailgate. Now the BMW M5 Touring is back, revealed at Monterey Car Week, photographed by evo in a studio in Oxfordshire before being driven on some familiar roads in and around north Wales. 

The G99 example we drove was far from a finished production car, its development hadn’t reached the same near sign-off stage as the prototype M5 saloon we drove in July. The 4.4-litre twin-turbo hybrid powertrain did feel as per the saloon, which meant mighty levels of performance across the board. A V8 that revs with impunity and has an endless supply of energy to call upon; as with the saloon the 197bhp and 206lb ft delivered via the electric motor means it technically does. Combined, the two powertrains produce 727bhp and 738lb ft of torque, which is handy when you take into account the weight increase over the 2435kg saloon.

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As per the saloon, the M5 Touring’s sweet spot on the road is Sport mode with powertrain energised for all eventualities you could expect on the King’s highway. The final suspension settings had yet to be signed off before our drive, with more calibration by the M team to be completed before deliveries start at the end of year. 

On the road the Touring still feels as easy to place as its saloon counterpart, and cliche alert, it shrinks around you when you start to push on, with no seismic difference on the road in how the Touring reacts compared to the saloon.

Its steering is calm, allowing for good road positioning and like the saloon the rear-axle steering - 1.5 degrees of counter steer up to 43mph and the same angle but in the same direction as the front axle above that speed - results in a keener than expected agility. It’s no M2 but despite its near Mercedes S-class proportions, it’s far from a fish out of water either. Its near 50:50 weight distribution plays a crucial role here, too.

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Wider front and rear tracks (75mm front, 48mm rear) over a regular 5-series provide a packed wheelhouse for the 20 and 21-inch front and rear wheels that are fitted with a Hankook tyre as standard and Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 and Pirelli’s P Zero Corsa optional. Our prototype was fitted with the Michelin, providing consistent grip across the board and a level of detail unexpected in this sector. BMW M put this down to running the pressures as low as possible to allow the tyre to work to its optimum.

Dynamically we won’t pass judgement until we drive a finished production car. Having driven a more finished saloon prototype and with M taking that car’s suspension settings, applying them to the Touring to test and develop, before reapplying those changes to the saloon to check for any characteristic of performance changes then going on to rinse and repeat the exercise until everyone is happy, we don’t expect the M5 Touring to fall short behind the saloon.