Say hello to…
…the BMW M5 Touring, not only the most potent version of the 5-series estate with 717hp, but thanks to it being a plug-in hybrid, it has a CO2 figure of just 45g/km, an EV-only range of 39 miles and a BIK tax band of 13%.
Power comes from a 4.4-litre petrol turbo engine and uses BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system linked to an automatic gearbox. The result is a 0-60mph time of less than four seconds and a top speed that’s well above the usual 155mph limit if you tick the right option.
Standard equipment on the M5 includes adaptive suspension, front heated seats, heated steering wheel, 21-inch alloys, 4x USB sockets, Bluetooth, four-zone aircon, cruise control with brake function, split-fold rear seats, parking sensors, wireless phone charger, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and power-fold door mirrors.
Is the BMW M5 Touring suitable for my fleet
Proving nothing is ever clear-cut, you could view the BMW M5 as a performance monster that has no place whatsoever on a fleet thanks to a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol producing more power and torque than many supercars. However, the flip side to this is that it’s also a plug-in hybrid estate with a 500-litre boot, a benefit-in-kind tax band of just 13% and an EV-only range of nearly 40 miles.
Obviously, either way, the lease costs alone means it’ll be the preserve of business-owners and top flight CEOs.
Leasing a BMW M5 Touring
Gateway2Lease is offering the M5 Touring with the Ultimate Pack for £1,527 a month on a 9+36 contract with 10,000 miles a year. Maintenance costs are forecast at £98 a month, according to Gensen Reports. Class 1A NIC comes in at £361 a month.
Driving a BMW M5 Touring
Technology dominates the M5 driving experience. As with the latest round of BMW model launches, the M5’s infotainment system is busy, although relatively logical.
However, with the M5, there’s an extra layer of performance related controls to set how you’d like the car to behave on the road.
Fortunately, BMW has simplified matters by offering two physical steering wheel buttons ‘M1’ and ‘M2’ that can be preset to your favourite drive modes. While the red buttons may sound like a gimmick, they are not.
What this means is the BMW M5 is super-easy to use on a daily basis, which is what you want from any big estate car – not matter how quick it is.
And the M5 is amazingly quick. A thousand Nm of shove and more than 700hp is a huge amount. Zero to 60mph is possible in 3.6 seconds, but it’s the motorway slip road surge or the overtaking capability that is most intoxicating and means getting past slower vehicles safer and easier.
For a car weighs more than 2.5 tonnes, it’s surprisingly nimble and offers a highly involving (and addictive) driving experience. All-wheel drive helps here, giving the M5 more grip than you’d expect, especially as it sits on some very sporty tyres which particularly performance focussed.
At lower speeds the ride comfort is a little harsh, but things improve from about 30mph.
While large estate cars are made for long journeys with family and luggage, the M5’s fuel tank size (60 litres) means that you’re filling up more often than you’d like if you start to dig into the 700hp. Equally, sit on the motorway at 70mph and you’ll easily return 30mpg – good for 300mlies – even if you’ve not got any battery left.
However, if you’re going cross country the mpg can fall to 20ish, and then the range is only just over 200 miles.
In EV-only mode, the M5 will easily delivery 30 miles.
Range isn’t too big an issue as filling up with petrol only takes a few minutes.
A bigger disappointment is the lack of keyless entry sensors for the rear doors. So if you have kids and want to put them in the car first, you have to first open the front door, then the back. First world problems, but one that’s not present in rival cars of a similar performance and price.
It’s a small point, and one that wouldn’t stop us buying one, but we’d make sure keyless entry was optioned for all doors.
Verdict on the BMW M5 Touring
The BMW M5 is the fleet user-chooser equivalent of having your cake and eating it. Massive power, performance and appeal but an almost embarrassingly low company car tax band.
BMW M5 Touring
- Model: M5 Touring
- Power: 717hp
- Torque: 1,000Nm
- Max speed: 155mph
- 0-62mph: 3.6s
- Official mpg: 141mpg
- Test mpg: 25.5mpg
- CO2 emissions: 45g/km
- BIK tax band 2025/26: 13%
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
Why not join the conversation on SME fleets – visit our LinkedIn SME Fleet Discussion page