M5 estate wins the pace race

	Yet with a vast 500-litre boot which can be extended to 1,650 litres with the rear seats folded

It's BMW's new M5 Touring, and with the same 507bhp 5.0-litre V10 engine as the saloon version, it's a seriously quick load-lugger.

Capable of 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds (only 0.1 seconds down on the four-door) and hitting an electronically limited top speed of 155mph, it has enough perfor­mance to outdo most supercars.

Yet with a vast 500-litre boot which can be extended to 1,650 litres with the rear seats folded, as well as an automatically operating tailgate and self-levelling M-tuned air-suspension, the newcomer is practical too.

As you can see from these pictures, it looks every bit as aggressive as the saloon, with the same front end featur­ing a low splitter and flared arches filled by 19-inch alloy wheels.

At the rear there's a neat roof spoiler, while the M5's trademark chrome quad exhaust pipes, emerging from a diffuser-style lower bumper, complete the look.

As with the saloon, the Touring is fitted with a seven-speed semi-automatic transmission offering six driver-controlled settings. The newcomer is also equip­ped with electronic dam­pers while, to help stiffen the Touring's body further, reinforcements have also been made to the side sills and the floor of the lug­gage compartment.

Inside, there's a fresh centre console with eight 'favourite' buttons, allowing owners to access stored phone numbers or radio stations quickly, plus new door panels and trim changes.

The M5 Touring should cost around £65,000 when it goes on sale in May. But it won't be the only new BMW in showrooms, because at the same time, the facelifted 5-Series line-up will also appear. It features a number of exterior updates, including restyled lights front and rear, chrome headlamp surrounds and a reprofiled kidney grille.

Inside, the changes are the same as those seen on the M5 Touring, while under the bonnet, further revisions to the fuel injection and electronic systems have resulted in a claimed economy improvement of up to 25 per cent.