Fast wagons never really disappeared, but they have become much rarer and much more expensive in the West. The new BMW M5 Touring proves there is still real demand for the format, even if that demand now lives mostly in the luxury tier.
In the United States, the M5 Touring starts at $129,350 and packs 717 hp from its plug-in hybrid setup, which tells you exactly how exclusive this niche has become.
China is taking a very different path. Instead of treating the fast wagon as a boutique indulgence, Avatr has turned it into a high-tech, high-performance family car with pricing that looks almost unreal from a Western perspective.
That is what makes the new Avatr 06T so interesting. It is not trying to imitate the BMW formula but to leap far beyond it in power, digital integration, and value.
China Keeps The Wagon Idea Alive
The Avatr 06T comes from the joint venture between Changan, Huawei, and CATL, and it officially launched on April 22, 2026, as the brand’s first wagon. The Avatr positions itself as a sports touring wagon rather than a crossover, which already sets it apart in a market where SUVs dominate almost everything.
Visually, the car leans hard into that role. Avatr says the design was inspired by a diving peregrine falcon, and while that sounds like classic concept car language, the shape itself is low, wide, and convincingly athletic for a practical long-roof vehicle.
It also keeps the details buyers now expect in a Chinese premium EV. There are dual-layer LED lights, an active grille, semi-hidden door handles, optional digital mirrors, roof rails, and a full-width rear light bar that still leaves no doubt this is meant to be a real wagon, not a tall crossover in disguise.
Big Numbers In A Practical Body
The dimensions show that this is a serious premium wagon, not a compact oddball. The 06T measures 194.5 inches long, 77.2 inches wide, and 57.3 inches tall, with a 115.7-inch wheelbase, which puts it squarely in large luxury wagon territory.
The powertrain range is where the story gets wild. Dual motor EV versions make 603 hp or 673 hp, while the top tri-motor model produces 955 hp and can hit 62 mph in 2.78 seconds, a figure that pushes this family-shaped car into genuine supercar territory.
The Avatr also offers a range-extended version for buyers who still want extra distance without going fully battery dependent. That model uses a 1.5 liter turbo engine as a generator, delivers a 205-mile electric range on the CLTC cycle, and reaches a combined range of 777 miles, which is exactly the kind of real-world usability many buyers still want.
A Digital Cabin At A Very Un-Chinese Price
Inside, the 06T looks every bit like a modern Chinese tech flagship. The cabin uses a 35.4 inch 4K panoramic screen, a 15.6 inch central display, and two additional 6.7 inch screens for the digital mirrors, all running Huawei’s HarmonySpace 5 system with AI-based voice and cabin functions.
That digital focus extends to driver assistance as well. Higher trim cars get Huawei’s ADS 4 system with an 896-line lidar setup and 4D millimeter-wave radar, showing just how heavily this car leans into the software-defined vehicle idea that Chinese brands now treat as standard in the premium EV space.
Then there is the price, which is where the 06T becomes genuinely disruptive. In China, it starts at about $31,900 and tops out at about $40,600, which means this 955 hp wagon undercuts the M5 Touring by an extraordinary margin, even though it will stay a China-only proposition for now.
For wagon fans outside China, that is the most frustrating part of the whole story. While buyers in the West are largely left with six-figure choices like the M5 Touring, China is showing that the wagon still has room to evolve into something much faster, much more digital, and far more accessible than anyone expected.
This article originally appeared on Autorepublika.com and has been republished with permission by Guessing Headlights. AI-assisted translation was used, followed by human editing and review.