Here’s Why A BMW M5 Touring Is The Perfect Car To Visit The Calgary Stampede

This high-performance estate packs 727 brake horsepower – almost as much as the legendary Calgary Stampede. Motoring editor Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby discuss.

Test Drive: BMW M5 Touring

JT – Like horses? Then Calgary is probably on your bucket list of places to visit in North America. The centre of Canadian cattle ranching, it hosts the annual Stampede – an epic rodeo festival that celebrates everything good about our equine friends.

JT-P – It was also home of the Winter Olympics in 1988 when Eddie the Eagle, Briton’s underdog skier, became an international superstar – even though he finished last!

His car ran over my foot during a press scrum on his return home to Cheltenham, but that’s another story. Calgary is close to the Rockies and the gateway to the Canadian outdoors. It’s also the friendliest, most laid-back city I’ve visited in ages.

Do you think the BMW helped? I mean, it’s a proper brute of a car with a 4.4-litre engine and four noisy exhaust pipes that scream ‘I’ve arrived!’.  Add a battery pack and it’s supercar fast.

There are few estate cars that go as quick as the M5 Touring. No wonder that when I pulled up at the Fairmont Palliser, Calgary’s most historic hotel, the doormen were all vying to valet park. The M5 is pricey at £112,500 but it does carry five people and their luggage with consummate ease.

Well, I know you struggle to travel light! Is the Palliser a good location to explore the rest of what the city has to offer?

I’d say. It’s right next to the Calgary Tower, a 190 metre observation point that offers incredible views across the plains of Alberta. A revolving restaurant at the top is now a major tourist attraction. Nearby are the shops of Stephen Avenue Walk – expect a lot of cowboy hats.

Exterior of the Fairmont Palliser Hotel beside the Calgary Tower

And what about the hotel? A grande dame of a place!

The lobby is vast. The hotel opened in 1914 as the Canadian Pacific Railway moved west. It’s the place to host an event in Calgary and has welcomed everyone from the late Queen to Brad Pitt.

A smart car is essential then. Where did you drive the BMW?

Once I’d hauled myself away from the Hawthorn Dining Room – the burger is legendary – I just pootled around the city, with occasional fun on the highway. This latest, hybrid estate Touring has the ability to cover about 28 miles on battery power only.

Just enough to make it to the office! I imagine the battery is more about boosting performance?

Exactly. Although the M5 has a massive V8 petrol engine to punch out lots of power, that extra boost from the battery takes it to supercar levels. That’s 0-62mp in 3.6 seconds, with all-wheel drive and every kind of driver aid to keep it in a straight line.

I’m not sure everybody will like the styling but that muscular stance is a statement of intent. What about the interior?

The odd thing is, the Touring luggage area is only slightly larger than the M5 saloon. Fine if you have a dog but the back seats don’t fold flat, so carrying larger objects isn’t that simple. Otherwise, it’s classic BMW: a sporty feel to everything and a seriously chunky steering wheel.

Go on, admit it: the M5 is a terrific drive.

It absolutely is! Only the Audi RS6 estate comes close. If you like horsepower that doesn’t involve a saddle, the M5 is the ultimate family car – a storming estate that will head up any stampede.

Find out more about the 2025 BMW M5 Touring at bmw.co.uk

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.