Photo Comparison: BMW M5 Touring vs Audi RS6 Avant

We almost can’t believe it either, but BMW has made good on its promise to bring the M5 Touring to the States. Now that we’ve seen it, the logical next step is to compare it against the rest of the segment. Fortunately for us, the superwagon segment is sparsely populated these days, and the longroof Bimmer really only locks horns with the Audi RS6 Avant. Without further ado, here’s how the M5 Touring stacks up against the Audi RS6 Avant.

Exterior Design

Alright, let’s clear one thing up here: there are no losers between these two. Both wagons have some truly epic proportions that set them apart from everything else on the road. Even better, there’s almost no way to confuse the two for one another. In the front, the BMW is a bit louder than the RS6 Avant, mostly thanks to an illuminated (and far larger) grille and wider headlights.

Around back, both wagons offer aggressive styling featuring angular, narrow taillights and a quad-tipped exhaust. The RS6 has a fewer jagged edges, and overall a little bit more of a streamlined look. The M5 Touring gets a bigger spoiler and a more prominent, jagged diffusor.

From the side, take your pick. Both offer long roofs, bubbled-out fender flares, giant alloy wheels, and painted brakes. While they’re both distinct, there isn’t much separating the two. The M5 Touring appears to be fractionally longer, which would mirror the A6 Avant vs. 5 Series Touring comparison. Both do the superwagon moniker justice in their own way.

Interior Design

Inside, the M5 Touring comes with standard 5 Series appointments with a dash of M goodies for good measure. So, the steering wheel has a 12-o’clock marker, M1 and M2 buttons flank the steering wheel, and the seats are slightly sportier. Basically, the same can be said for the Audi RS6 Avant, but there’s definitely an edge of sportiness to the M5 Touring’s interior that the Audi doesn’t quite match. The M5 Touring is very 2AMGerman discotheque, but I expect the RS6’s dancing days are long behind it.

It should be said that neither interior approach is wrong; they’re just different. Understated and even a little anonymous are a bit of a theme with the Audi RS6 Avant. That is not the case with the M5; it’s very in-your-face, inside and out.

Performance

The M5 Touring and Audi RS6 Avant both use twin-turbocharged V8 engines totaling four or more liters. Audi’s 4.0-liter makes 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. The M5 Touring makes the same power as its sedan counterpart from a twin-turbo 4.4-liter. So, you get 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.

If you read things on the Internet, you’ve probably already heard that the M5 is heavy. We don’t expect the M5 Touring to weigh any less than its sedan counterpart, and it will very likely outweigh the 4,982-pound Audi RS6 by 450 or so pounds. The added power and instant torque from the battery might help the M5 outperform the RS6 Avant, but we’ll have to wait and see. We will say that the RS6 Avant has an extraordinary soundtrack; the M5 Touring better live up to the challenge.

Technology

Like aesthetics, both of these cars essentially do the same stuff with a different level of flair when it comes to technology. Android Auto, CarPlay, app connectivity, Wi-Fi…you name it, both of these six-figure sleds probably have it. Newer Audi models come with a dual-screen display that loses most the buttons, but it is smoothly-integrated and a little bit cleaner looking than the screen simply plopped on top of the dash. Again, no losers here.

The BMW M5 Touring looks like everything that was promised and holds up against the segment’s current standard-bearer, the Audi RS6 Avant. We’ll have to get some seat time to know how much better the M5 drives than the Audi and how much the extra weight impacts the vehicle. Which would you take?