Review of the new BMW M5 Touring

It's an undeniable fact. Performance estates are just that tiny bit cooler than their saloon or hatch counterparts. The reason? There's something about them that indicates that the owner doesn't have to try too hard, that the whole business of going fast isn't being taken too seriously. While this isn't the first M5 Touring BMW has ever built, it's the first they've offered to British customers and goes straight to near the top of my personal cool wall.

Prior to this model being launched, the choices weren't that appealing. Audi's RS4 Avant was the best of the lot but it isn't that big, nor is Subaru's Impreza WRX Wagon. Step up in size to something like a Mercedes E63 AMG or an Audi S6 and you get a lot of engine but not always what you'd want in terms of handling and overall tactility. Step aside for the new Guv'nor.

Let's talk about a bunch of fives. This M5 Touring is powered by an engine that features two banks of five cylinders, together developing over 500bhp and more than 500Nm of torque. You want more numbers? It'll accelerate to 60mph in comfortably less than five seconds (4.5 in fact) and tops out at 155mph. Without the rev limiter it would run to 205mph.

Redlined at 8,250rpm, a seven-speed sequential manual gearbox is fitted with eleven different change patterns. The V10 engine generates over 100bhp per litre, still the gold standard for normally aspirated engines. If you like jaw-dropping statistics, the M5 Touring delivers. A revised DSC stability control system has also been developed specifically for the M5. This features three settings, the default mode offering the full safety net of electronic features. An M Dynamic mode allows the enthusiast driver to let it hang out a little, the system allowing a little sideslip and opposite lockery. For the genuine hooligan and determined tyre fryer, a third press of the button disables the system completely. There's even an F1-style Launch Control function that guarantees a very rapid getaway. Just make sure you don't send the labrador through the back window.

"The four signature tailpipes at the rear give a distinct clue as to what has just blown you into the weeds"

Although it's a stealthier piece of kit that its saloon progenitor, the M5 Touring won't be missed by BMW cognoscenti. Modified front and rear aprons and side sills give it a subtly aggressive appearance and subtle air ducts puncture the front wings. The big giveaways are the monster 19-inch wheels housed within the subtly flared wheel arches. These deeply dished ten-spoked wheels are unique to the M5 and are finished in Chrome Shadow. The four signature tailpipes at the rear also give a distinct clue as to what has just blown you into the weeds.

Beneath the racy detailing, however, is an eminently practical 5 Series Touring. Measuring 4.48m in length, the Touring features a 535 litre load capacity with the 60/40 split folding rear seats in place and a hefty 1,650 litres with the seats folded down - an increase of 125 litres over the old model. Like that estate, this E60 generation car features a split bootlid with the rear window opening separately for the easy loading of small items. Customers can also opt for a fully automatic tailgate operation with a press on the key fob opening the hatch and simultaneously retracting the boot load cover. Neat. There's a lockable floor panel that conceals a 35-litre area for the spare wheel and tyre.

There's only one model available, priced at around £68,000 on the road and on the inside it's much the same as the M5 Saloon. The iDSrive control system features as before and although this is much loathed by many, BMW has helped simplify it with the addition of eight freely programmable shortcut buttons. I still can't figure out how to change the bass and treble on the stereo though. The M5 Touring can be specified with the BMW Individual High End Audio system that features sixteen speakers which handle the eardrum-perforating 825 watt capacity.

The Mdrive button mounted on the steering wheel is perhaps the most impressive gadget. This button offers a one-touch function that changes the settings of the car to a predetermined 'sporting' setting. Using the iDrive control knob, the owner can select the preferred SMG gearbox setting, electronic damper control and DSC modes and, if specified, can even boost the amount of support from the side bolsters of Active Seat Control. Therefore you can roll up to your favourite corner with the M5 in its most comfortable setting, hit the Mdrive button and the car will transform into something a whole lot more focused. Like all the best ideas, it makes one wonder why nobody had thought of it before.

As seen on Chevrolet's Corvette, the M5 also features a Head-up Display projected onto the lower section of the windscreen. The default setting shows speed, sat nav instructions, check control information and cruise control data. Press Mdrive and it switches to vehicle speed and a rev counter, the data flashing at the driver when the next gear needs to be selected.

As extreme as the BMW M5 Touring may appear, it pays to frame its cost of ownership not in terms of absolutes but in terms of capability. Yes, compared to a BMW 520i Tiouring, this is an exorbitantly expensive car to run. Everything about it devours cash at a prodigious rate. Tyres, servicing, insurance, fuel - it's all eye-wateringly expensive. Or is it? Judge the M5 Touring on the basis that this is a car that it can keep a Lamborghini honest on a good road and yet which will take a family of five on holiday and suddenly it appears less of a financial catastrophe. In fact, there's a case for this car being a very cost-effective way of getting rid of two high-end cars and replacing them with one vehicle that can do the lot.

In real terms you'll need to get used to 19mpg fuel economy and emissions of 362 grammes per kilometre. Group 20 insurance is a given and the 169 pence per mile running cost reflects the fact that this is an estate like no other.

If you're looking for the ultimate estate car, look no further. You've found it in the shape of the BMW M5 Touring. Concussively rapid, handsome in a lantern-jawed sort of manner and filled with more clever gadgetry than GCHQ, the M5 Touring represents a lot of car for over £69,000. No other car can do the school run, have enough room inside to take a family of five on holiday yet still be able to set a time round the Nurburgring that would take a lot of Porsche 911 to beat.

The question many potential buyers may well ask is whether it's really £20k better than a 362bhp 550i Touring. What is that premium buying you aside from the ability to lose your licence that fraction quicker? It's a point worth pondering. Real drivers will not ponder for long. The sound of that V10 does strange things to otherwise sensible people.