BMW M5 review

BMW invented the super saloon around 40 years ago with the original M5 but it’s never been afraid to update the formula – and the seventh-generation BMW M5 we're reviewing here makes the most radical leap yet.

You see, for the first time in M5 history, plug-in hybrid tech is part of the package. An 18.6kWh battery and a single electric motor work in harmony with a twin-turbo V8 petrol engine to deliver a staggering 717bhp. In addition, BMW is once again offering an estate car version – the M5 Touring – alongside the four-door saloon.

Performance? In a word, colossal. The 0-62mph sprint takes just 3.5 seconds. That’s supercar territory – and a world apart from the BMW 5 Series it's based on. Yet at the press of a button, you can tap into an official electric-only range of up to 42 miles. This might be the first M5 you could sensibly run as a company car.

You don’t get hybrid tech without a weight penalty though. In fact, with a big drive battery, an electric motor and four-wheel drive, this is the heaviest BMW M5 ever, tipping the scales at around 2.5 tonnes.

So have BMW’s engineers managed to mask that heft? And how does the M5 compare with the best performance car rivals? Let's find out...

For several generations now, the BMW M5 has gone big on configurability, starting with the arrival of the E60 version in 2005. Back then you could fine-tune the gearbox response, the suspension and even how much power the engine served up. It seemed incredibly complex at the time, but compared with the new M5, the E60 feels laughably simple.

Now you have control over the M5's suspension, brake-pedal feel, hybrid modes, exhaust, stability control and four-wheel drive system. You could lose hours chasing the perfect set-up. But thankfully once you’ve cracked it you can save two configurations to the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel so you can return to them instantly.

Before diving into the M5’s wilder side, a simple press of the red starter button brings the car to life in its calmest form. The suspension eases into its Comfort setting, and if there's enough charge in the battery the drivetrain defaults to electric mode.

When it's in that mode, the M5 behaves like a relaxed electric car with 197bhp at your disposal – enough to keep up with traffic quietly with little effort.

The M5’s low-speed ride remains controlled most of the time in its softest Comfort setting, but the occasional thump from the rear over speed bumps is enough to jostle occupants around in their seat.  The firmer settings are a bit too brittle to be used all the time. The softer-riding Audi RS6 soaks up city scars more effectively.

Meanwhile, rear-wheel steering makes this the most manoeuvrable M5 yet. At up to 43mph the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts to enhance agility, then above that speed they turn in the same direction.

This is not a whisper-quiet car though. Even in electric mode there’s an artificial but surprisingly convincing V8 hum, rising and falling in sync with your accelerator inputs. The sound helps to mask the transition to petrol power – unless, that is, you’re in Dynamic mode. In that setting, the engine fires up with a soft kick that lets you know the fuel gauge is about to drop.

Press harder on the accelerator pedal and the thrust is staggering – more SpaceX rocket than BMW 5 Series. Even from speeds that would see you locked up in the UK, the M5 accelerates with brutal, linear force. Plus, there's instant response, no matter the gear, because the electric motor fills in any turbo lag. Even when you run out of battery, you can use the engine to charge it up again.

It’s almost too effective for its own good: the V8 revs eagerly to 7200rpm but with such a potent mid-range there’s little need to chase the redline. Except to hear the engine that is...

BMW has worked to enhance the sound with artificial augmentation, which means the M5 is a clear step ahead of the Mercedes AMG C63 and Porsche Panamera for aural appeal. It’s much louder than the V8 in the Audi RS6 too.

What about the M5's mighty kerb weight. Have BMW's engineers managed to conceal it? Well, yes – mostly. By fitting bespoke tyres, adaptive suspension and the rear-wheel-steering system, they've made a car that weighs more than a Bentley Bentayga steer and turn like a proper M product.

When you're driving the M5 on the road, there's a real energy to direction changes, aided by steering that's quicker and lighter than before – a bit like the set-up in an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. 

As a bonus, the M5's brakes are well-integrated, with the regenerative braking system blending seamlessly into the feel of the optional carbon ceramics.

But there is a limit. Take your M5 on a track where you can push it beyond eight tenths, and the suspension can't fully contain the body’s movements. The front tyres start to feel overwhelmed and lose grip a bit sooner than you may expect.

It’s more noticeable in the M5 Touring, but in either car it's enough to make you dial things back a notch and adopt a smoother, more measured rhythm.

In fact, generally, the M5 feels more like a BMW Alpina performance car than a model from the brand's M motorsport division – precise, luxurious and startlingly fast, rather than razor-sharp and raw like a BMW M3. Even so, its grip balance feels less neutral than an Audi RS6 and is more rewarding for it.

Real and artificial engine sounds aside, this is the quietest M5 yet. Even at Autobahn speeds, air slips past with barely a murmur and there’s only a mild level of road noise and tyre thump generated by the wide tyres.

“Most owners won’t care that BMW has replaced the physical gearshift lever with a switch, but as a car enthusiast I think it's sad that the experience of banging up and down the gears is no more.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

If we had one gripe with the previous BMW M5, it was that its interior didn’t feel sufficiently distinct from the standard BMW 5 Series. However, with this new model it seems like the design brief was: “Wherever the driver looks, they should be reminded they’re in an M car.”

The result is a flat-bottomed steering wheel, carbon-fibre shift paddles and generous helpings of (optional) carbon-fibre trim. The bright-red starter button adds to the theatre, while M Division-coloured seatbelts, an M-embossed iDrive rotary controller and configurable ambient lighting that can show the M colours (blue, violet and red) provide further flourishes.

Gone are the carbon-fibre-backed bucket seats from the old M5 CS. The seats in the new BMW M5 are far more forgiving, offering a great balance between lateral support and comfort, along with an impressively low driving position.

All-round visibility is good, especially with the M5 Touring’s additional side windows at the rear providing a clearer view over your shoulder. That said, the M5’s width can make threading it into tight spaces a challenge.

Front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera and autonomous parking assistance are all standard. If you wish to park your M5 using your phone, you’ll need to specify the Parking Assistant Professional pack.

As for the M5's dashboard, the 12.3in digital driver's display and 14.9in central touchscreen are housed together in one panel to give a sleek, almost panoramic look. The driver's display is supported by a standard head-up display, which can show everything from your speed to full-colour maps.

BMW’s latest iDrive infotainment system, featuring a 5G connection, is one of the best on the market, with crisp graphics, swift responses, and a largely intuitive interface. You can control it using the touchscreen or – for less distraction – a rotary dial.

Our only real criticism of the M5's interior? Adjusting the interior temperature requires a trip to the infotainment touchscreen or voice control (good old-fashioned physical buttons or dials would be so much more user-friendly).

“Any button in the M5 that’s red does something that has an immediate impact, so you get a bright red starter button and two drive mode buttons. I like that design logic." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

The new M5 is capable of out-running small passenger planes but that doesn’t mean BMW has compromised on practicality.

While it removed the centre storage cubby of the last-generation M5 CS to save weight (yes, really), in this new M5 storage space is plentiful. You get two cupholders, a large cubby beneath the central armrest and wide door bins.

As for rear space, it's comparable with what you find in an Audi RS6 or Porsche Panamera, meaning a generous amount of head and leg room for two six-footers to be comfortable. A central rear passenger gets a narrower seat and has to straddle a hump in the floor.

As for the M5 saloon's boot, it has 466 litres of space (a regular BMW 5 Series has 520 litres). It’s therefore a touch smaller than what you get in a BMW M3, and rather than being a simple square shape, the load bay is full of contours that can be restrictive when you're trying to load in bulky objects. We’ve yet to test it, but we suspect it's big enough to swallow around six carry-on suitcases.

For better practicality, there's the M5 Touring. This estate car version has 500 litres of boot space below its load cover, expanding to 1630 litres with the rear seats dropped. For comparison, the Audi RS6 (which is available only as an estate car) has 565 litres of boot space with the seats up.

As standard, the M5’s rear seats split and fold in a 40/20/40 configuration, matching the flexibility offered by the RS6 and Porsche Panamera.

“The volume of the M5 Touring’s boot is technically identical to that in the M3 Touring, but I suspect the M5’s boot will prove more usable because it's wider and longer.” – Steve Huntingford, Editor

Only you can decide whether spending a six-figure sum on a 700bhp performance car makes logical sense, but in relative terms in both saloon and Touring forms, the BMW M5 is competitively priced, undercutting an equivalent Audi RS6 or Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. 

As a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the M5 should be quite a bit cheaper to run than an RS6 – if, that is, you keep the battery charged up. The official fuel economy figure is 141mpg, but with a discharged battery expect to see around 23mpg. 

Speaking of charging up, you can fill the PHEV battery in about two hours, 15 minutes using an 11kW three-phase home EV charger, or about an hour longer with a regular 7kW one. Alternatively, you can use the engine to top it up while driving. The efficiency will plummet if you do so, but the upside is that you’ll have the full 717bhp to deploy when you reach an empty stretch of road.

The M5's 43-mile electric-only range (41 miles for the Touring) puts it in a lower BIK tax bracket than the Audi RS6 making it cheaper to run as a company car. The same is true of a PHEV Panamera, but both will cost more in BIK tax than an electric car, such as the Audi e-tron GT or Porsche Taycan.

The M5 comes pretty well equipped as standard, with goodies such as keyless entry, electrically adjustable memory seats, four-zone climate control, wireless phone charging, adaptive LED headlights, a light-up front grille, a heated steering wheel and a powered bootlid or tailgate.

We can see a high proportion of buyers ticking the box for the appropriately named Ultimate Pack. It costs more than a Renault Clio and gets you fade-resistant carbon-ceramic brakes, heated rear seats, an M Carbon exterior package, ventilated front seats, Alcantara headlining and extra driving assist features including adaptive cruise control.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP haven’t tested the M5 specifically, but the BMW 5 Series it’s based on scored five stars out of five when it was assessed. The M5 has a host of electronic driver aids, including blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking (AEB) and rear cross-traffic alert as part of the standard-fit Driving Assistant Pack.

In our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, BMW finished eighth out of the 31 manufacturers ranked, above Audi (24th), Mercedes (22nd) and Porsche (21st).

“Carbon-ceramic brakes are the most expensive piece of kit on the BMW M5 options list but I think they'll be a popular choice among buyers.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here