BMW M5 Touring vs Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo Comparison

The humble wagon has undergone a direction change.

It’s been years since the former family vehicle of choice was supplanted first by minivans, then by the modern crossover. Now there are only a handful of long-roof models available in North America. And most of them are high-performance options.

The sentiment change has been so great that it encouraged BMW to bring the M5 Touring to the New World for the first time in the model’s history. We figured putting it up against another plug-in hybrid wagon would make the most sense… except Porsche dropped that body style for the latest Panamera. Nuts.

Instead, we went further left in this left-field face-off and gathered the recently revised Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo. Yes, the fully electric option. After a week with these two schnellerwagens, we found two very different vehicles, both with surprising strengths and weaknesses.

BMW M5 Touring: The whole schnitzel. We haven’t even had a 5 Series Touring in these lands since the E60 generation. The M5 is now a plug-in hybrid, borrowing the electrified V8 combo from the XM.

Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo: Porsche treated its original electric car to a substantial refresh for 2025. Not too much with the styling (which we’ll discuss later), but with optimized battery packs, rejigged cabin tech and yes, more power. The long-roof model still continues to roll along as a Cross Turismo for every other trim, with faux-off-roader vibes. The GTS trim, long considered the sweet spot in Porsche model lineups, skips the cladding and adopts the Sport Turismo tag.

M5 Touring: The M treatment does a lot of good for the current 5 Series shape, at least to these eyes. The wider front fenders add necessary drama to the nose, with a crease in the lower corner intakes that carries over ahead of the front wheels providing definition. The contrast of the concave surface aft of the front axle and the upward swage line along the doors creates tension. Same goes for the intentional disconnect in the surfacing behind the rear doors; I know some folks don’t like this modern M four-door design trend, but it accentuates the rear-biased platform.

An absolutely enormous diffuser with its central cut-out mirrors the sizeable spoiler above the liftgate. The pinched tail, with its classic L-shaped taillights wrapping around to the sides of the M5, is a more cohesive back-end than the sedan. The M5 is what it always should be: mean and imposing.

Taycan GTS: By comparison, the Taycan is softer, more sensual in its styling. Everything about this mid-cycle design update is subtle, but the lion’s share of the changes happen in the nose. The curved lower intake remains largely the same, while the teardrop vents that connected to the headlights are now gone, replaced by cleaner, simpler rectangular outlets at the front corners. There are the usual tweaks to the lighting signatures front and back, and a gaggle of new exterior hues are available. Ice Grey is visually similar to Chalk, only a little lighter and less than a third of the price.

The Taycan is certainly the smaller package of these two, and its aggressively tapered greenhouse and steeply raked rear glass only highlight that. Truth be told it’s only actually 5.2 inches (133 millimeters) shorter from tip to tail.

M5 Touring: The Touring shares the same powertrain with the sedan, with a muscular 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 putting out a healthy 585 horsepower. On top of that, an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission contributes a further 194 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to the magic of different power curves, the combined system outputs are 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.

In most situations where the two power sources are working in unison, the M5 does feel more muscular than the Taycan. The electric motor provides the instant response necessary, and enough shove to keep the eight cylinders silent for around town duties. BMW quotes 25 miles (40 kilometers) of electric range and that is entirely possible without really trying.

Get out of the city and the M5 hauls. There’s a noticeable squat under full throttle acceleration as the front tires scrabble for grip for just a moment, and then the whole 5,530-pound (2,550-kilogram) package rockets down the road. It’s violent, fun, and just a little rough around the edges. Accompanying the now-blurred surroundings is a deep, bassy rumble from the quad exhaust pips, which finds a sharper edge as the tachometer sweeps past 6,000 rpm.

Shift quality varies quite a lot. While the eight-speed auto is masterful in normal modes, whether left in full auto or conducted via the sizable paddle shifters, the shifts can arrive with a jolt in the sportier settings. Here it’s key to dial the powertrain setting down, which is thankfully easy to do via the dedicated M screen (though not as easy as when the button was simply on the shifter). Saving your mix-and-match favorites to the two M buttons on the steering wheel is also handy, up to and including the option of disengaging power to the front wheels entirely.

At low speeds there’s a lot of chuntering from the M-tuned xDrive system, like a 4WD binding.

Fuel economy? I saw better figures than the last M3 I drove (around 21.5 mpg or 11.0 L/100 km), and it would stay that way if I had a way to charge the M5 at home.

Taycan GTS: The Taycan’s powertrain is simpler. Horsepower is down no matter what: it’s 596 hp in normal situations and 690 hp with Launch Control active. Torque peaks at 583 lb-ft.

Having a smaller torque figure than its pony count gives the Taycan GTS an almost naturally-aspirated ICE feel. The power delivery is clean, quick, and ultra linear. There is no wasted energy here, not a moment where the tires feel overwhelmed. On a charge, focus hard and you can hear the two-speed rear transmission switch ratios, but there’s never any noticeable disruption to power delivery. The Taycan simply goes.

Activating launch control in any Porsche is hilariously easy (and thus it is the best system of its kind). The extra 94 hp provided is the only time the GTS feels as quick as the M5; in fact, according to both brands’ official timings, the Taycan’s 3.3-second run to 62 mph (100 km/h) pips the Bimmer by 0.3 seconds. And this being a Porsche, it’s an easily repeatable feat, with no derating.

But it’s a little too good. Too easy, too ruthless. The existence of the Ioniq 5 N has made it clear that EVs can have more interactivity, so the lack of simulated shifts makes the Taycan experience slightly one-dimensional. I do like that spaceship-style whir when really going for it, though.

Officially the Taycan is rated to 279 miles (449 kilometers) of range, with 97.0 kilowatt-hours of usable charge. That’s bang-on with what I found, even with a good amount of spirited driving rolled in.

M5 Touring: Neither of these wagons are exactly lightweight, but the M5 is still carrying nearly 400 more pounds. This isn’t noticeable around town or in low-speed corners, where the quick steering and prodigious grip from the 285/40 Michelin Pilot Sport S 5s give the big Bimmer the urgency of a hyper puppy. It’s on quicker, decreasing radius corners where there’s that niggling sense of hesitance, as an F-150’s worth of weight is leaning on the outside front tire. To M’s credit the big (optional) carbon ceramic brakes, measuring 16.5 in up front (420 mm) are more than capable of hauling all this heft down from any road-legal speed, and unlike earlier generations they’re ungrumbly and perfectly progressive. While the driver can feel the weight shifting around, the M5 Touring remains remarkably level through corners.

There’s a good, neutral balance here, and obviously there’s plenty of power to get into a lot of stupid situations if you’re feeling particularly reckless. The Touring is a whole lot of car too, a fact you’re keenly aware of every glance in the side mirrors. Which makes its steering such a sore spot. While the tiller is quick and well-weighted in its standard mode, it has that all-too-common modern M issue of layering on artificial-feeling resistance in sportier settings. It makes it harder to fully trust the M5, which is too bad, because the agility through corners and the serious acceleration that shrinks distances between them creates an enticing rhythm.

Taycan GTS: By contrast, the Taycan’s steering is quite possibly the best bit of its dynamic makeup. Clean and progressive and possessing genuine feedback, the perfectly-sized wheel is a joy to sit behind. The Taycan also benefits from rear-axle steering, and in both vehicles it is seamlessly woven into the dynamics of the car. There’s no odd floating sensation from the rear, just the distinct sense the wheelbase is somehow 18 inches shorter than it was when leaving the house.

The low center of gravity and lighter curb weight has the Taycan feeling like a comparative featherweight. It rips into corners with just as much enthusiasm (and sheer mechanical grip) as the M5, but there’s more room for adjustment after initial turn-in, and a willingness to go along with it. The Taycan dances, highlighting the natural flow of the road. The M5 insists on bending the tarmac to its will.

Slowing the Taycan down is as natural and communicative as the steering, with strong initial bite and a progressive pedal. 

M5 Touring: The M5 comes only with just this new-generation style of M front bucket seat. They are, in a word, excellent. Striking a balance between the old standards and the super supportive but uninviting “thigh-spreaders” found in something like the M2 CS, it’s easy to spend an entire day ensconced within them.

Second-row passengers will find much more room in the back of the Bimmer. Not just legroom, but the straighter roofline pays off with more headroom as well. The M5 has more storage space too; it has a useful advantage with the seats up (17.7 cubic feet / 500 liters) and that becomes a massive advantage with the rear row folded flat (57.6 cu ft / 1,630 L).

While both cars have adaptive suspensions and multiple drive modes, its the M5 that covers a broader range of ride quality. Shift the various parameters to their left-most options and the M5 is positively coddling in its comfort and quietness. It never gets sloppy either: the body control is still tight and positive. Sharp bumps do find their way into the cabin, but smaller humps and broken surfaces are dispatched with ease.

Taycan GTS: While the latest 911 GTS inches ever closes to GT3 territory and can thus sometimes be too harsh for public roads, there’s nothing of the sort with the Goldilocks-spec Taycan. It breathes with the road the way the best Porsches do, hoovering up broken pavement and smoothing it out as it passes.

The Taycan’s seats are similarly shaped to those in the M5, and similarly comfortable. They feel tailored for someone just a little narrower, though both models offer plenty of adjustments. Porsche’s ventilated front seats are effective, but I don’t appreciate that the feature is optional at this level.

The Taycan’s stylishly tapered tail does limit storage capacity. Not only is it a smaller space (14.3 cu ft / 405 L), but the higher lip makes it harder to simply slide items in. The seats-down space is 41.3 cu ft (1,171 L). Don’t forget the 2.9 cu ft (81 L) frunk!

M5 Touring: The current 5 Series cabin is a healthy mix of classic BMW cabin layout and modernized trim. Yes, button count is down, and there are touch sliders for the climate controls (!), but the rest of the important controls are still huddled around that downsized shifter. I personally dig the big light-up crystal trim that bisects the dashboard; it’s a more interesting bit of ambient light theater than a simple LED strip, especially with the associated M animations.

This seating color combination is a new favorite for me. Officially it’s Taupe Grey and Deep Lagoon, and it’s the latter color that has a shimmery, almost color-shifting aspect to it. Fun stuff.

M5 Touring: iDrive 8.5 still isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but it has significantly cut down on the amount of menu-diving in previous setups. There’s lots of customization options as well, allowing drivers to tailor the main menu to their liking. Special note to the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which isn’t just more powerful than the system in the Taycan, but crisper and cleaner when the volume is turned up.

BMW’s driver assistance systems are numerous, and they all work well. The adaptive cruise control is very natural, and the 360-degree camera is clearer with less fisheye effect.

Taycan GTS: Porsche’s infotainment system follows the brand’s general philosophy: not as flashy as some of its fellow Germans, but usefully simple in operation. The basic color coding makes it a cinch to operate via peripheral vision, too. The Taycan offers battery pre-conditioning that can work with the native navigation system as well, which is useful if you’re on a long-distance trip and want to minimize fast-charge time.

While the Taycan can come with Porsche’s InnoDrive setup, this one sticks to the typical adaptive cruise control. It’s good but its inputs can be somewhat binary. Porsche’s camera setup has more distortion, too.

M5 Touring: The M5 Touring starts from $138,000 CAD in Canada, and there aren’t much boxes to tick beyond that other than exterior and interior colors; in this case $6,000 CAD for Frozen Brilliant White and $1,000 CAD for the Taupe Grey and Deep Lagoon Merino Leather. The only other additions here are the Advanced Driver Assistance Package ($2,000 CAD), carbon brakes ($10,900 CAD), and rear sunshades ($500 CAD). Total damage? $160,955 CAD.

Taycan GTS: The Taycan GTS Sport Turismo starts above that, at $172,450 CAD. Now admittedly there’s a lot on this tester’s lengthy spec sheet that I would skip: the total outlay is a shocking $198,280 CAD. But there’s also a lot I wouldn’t skip, like the rear axle steering ($1,520 CAD), heated and ventilated seats ($1,380 CAD), and Premium Package ($6,730 CAD).

Few vehicles have proven as divisive as the latest M5. It’s easy to focus in on that chonky curb weight, but the fact is the current M5 is a continent crushing super sedan, capable of whisking four adults across vast distances in comfort and burning up a track at the end of it. It’s simultaneously a little rough around the edges but also strangely digital in its feedback, but its breadth of abilities is deeply impressive. And the Touring is way, way cooler than the sedan.

Despite being the EV of this comparo, the Taycan feels more analog in its responses. As ever with models from Stuttgart, it commands a sizeable premium, but this remains one of the single best one-car-to-do-it-all options out there. If you’ve got the cash and are ready for the electric life, the Taycan is the choice here.

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