Load-all version of BMW’s big banger here by end of March next year.

BUYING into the BMW M5 in its wagon format means stumping up just $4000 more than is being asked for its sister sedan.

If that seems cheap, keep in mind that this latest blitz wagon in either form is an expensive choice; either way, you’re spending close to quarter of a million dollars.

The $248,900 wagon, whose local landing timing of the first quarter of 2025 means it will trail the sedan by about five months and is set to show around the same time as an obvious rival, the Audi RS6, wraps up its current sales sojourn, in an especially bolshy Competition format.

A local pricing announcement for the M5 Touring being made today times with the type’s international unveiling.

the sticker confirms it is still much cheaper buying than the only other model sporting its 535kW/1000Nm electrified (and Road User Charge-attracting) hybrid V8 powertrain.

That being the utterly polarising XM Label Red that sits uneasily in the M ranks for more than just its $345,900 price tag.

The V8 is the same twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre eight cylinder petrol from the outgoing M5.

What’s new is the hybrid system that pairs this thumper with a powerful electric motor, integrated within the casing of the eight-speed auto, and a sizeable battery.

As per its other applications, the 4.4-litre V8 develops 430kW and 750Nm in isolation while also being capable of spinning to 7200rpm.

The maximum output of the electric motor – integrated in the transmission – is 145kW with nominal torque of 280Nm, though a pre-gearing stage enables effective torque at the transmission input to be increased to 450Nm.

As in the sedan the Touring has an 18.6kWh battery that allows it to drive in electric mode for 60-odd kilometres, albeit with a maximum power output of 147kW from the electric motor. It’s slightly less efficient than the sedan, with a maximum range of 61-67km on the official range test, but the difference in the real world is expected to be negligible.

Power transfers courtesy of an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission, highly configurable M xDrive all-wheel-drive and electronically controlled Active M Differential.

The M5 Touring becomes the third powerhouse wagon offered by BMW NZ here, being additional to the near-lookalike $206,600 fully electric, 442kW i5 M60 xDrive Touring and the $197,600 M3 Touring.

Although electric involvement makes the new generation derivatives the heaviest M5 ever, the phat compensates for the extra fat, with BMW here claiming the NZ-spec wagon will hit 100kmh from a standing start in 3.6 seconds, a 0.1s advantage over the XM and just 0.1s behind the M5 sedan.

As per the sedan, BMW NZ offers the wagon with a top speed of 305kmh due to the offering of M Driver’s Package as standard equipment.

At 5096mm in length and 1970 in width, the M5 wagon is 36mm longer and 70mm wider than the i5 M60 xDrive Touring. It is 1mm taller, while its wheelbase, at 3006mm, is 11mm greater. Luggage capacity ranging from 500 to 1630 litres is much the same, however and the hybrid battery’s packaging constrains the load area to point that it is no larger with the seats up than the M3 Touring’s.

M5 wagon’s suspension tune is said to be specific, it achieves the same mechanical changes wrought the sedan; the gap between the wheels is wider than standard, there’s more stiffening in the structure and there’s an adaptive M suspension system with electronically controlled dampers plus Integral Active Steering. That’s BMW speak for four-wheel steering, providing greater agility at low speeds and stability at higher speeds.

The M5 Touring also gets the same M Compound brakes as the sedan, too, with two pedal feel and response settings, although ceramic brakes are available as an option.

In respect to its luxury specification, it ticks all the same boxes as the M5 sedan save that it has a solid roof as standard, whereas the sedan comes with a panoramic glass roof.