2025 BMW M5: Did BMW Get It Wrong?

• The BMW M5 is all-new, and this time, it features a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
• It's also gained almost 1,000 pounds in the process.
• Did BMW get it wrong or has the new M5 defied our expectations?

BMW's addition of nearly half a ton of mass to the new M5 in the form of a battery pack and electric motor is, for many fans of the brand, sacrilege. But the smart people in Munich have a knack for taking your expectations, chewing them up and spitting them right back out at you. 

What the M5 gained

Believe it or not, the M5 now weighs 5,259 pounds — almost exactly 1,000 pounds more than the last M5 Competition we put on our scales. But our test car had the carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon roof and other weight-saving measures, so it actually could've been heavier if it was optioned differently. The M5 Touring (wagon) should be heavier still.

That new hybrid system — with its electric motor sandwiched into the transmission — augments the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 to the tune of 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. BMW wouldn't allow us to performance test the new M5 when we had one through Edmunds HQ recently, so we aren't able to objectively tell you if it's quicker, slower or just the same as the previous M5. What we were able to do, however, was log hundreds of miles in the real world with BMW's stalwart supersedan.

It takes a while to set this car up before you hit the road. The usual Normal, Sport and Sport Plus modes for the powertrain, dampers, steering and even the brake feel are all here, but this M5 is a hybrid. As a result of the electrical assistance, there are modes for the regenerative braking when you're off the throttle, and individual settings to change whether you want the battery to deploy fully, maintain its state of charge, or recharge via the engine's supplemental power. 

All of the modes and settings have granted the M5 a wider breadth of personality than ever before. Dial everything up to its maximum and, just like the M5s before it, this car obliterates gaps in traffic and seemingly shortens the length of straightaways between corners. You get a familiar gut punch from the gear shifts, vicious power delivery from that V8, a ride so punishing you almost feel bad for the pavement beneath you, and steering that's rewardingly sharp and direct. 

But you also get something else. As you do your best to control your 2.5-ton land missile, you can tell everything around you is taking some pain. You're beholden to the ultimate grip of the tires, and you sense the stress all the mechanicals are under. The transmission, the differential, the half-shafts — everything is in a fight with how weighed down this car is, especially through corners. Throw in how wide this car feels from the inside and the new M5 is far from an effortless go-fast experience.

Once you turn everything back down to Comfort mode, a totally different M5 appears. The gear shifts are smooth, the interior is whisper quiet, the ride is supple, and the body well controlled. The whole thing eases up a little bit, and you can start to appreciate the inherent goodness of the M5's cabin materials, the somehow couch-like yet supportive leather bucket seats and the excellent visibility from all angles. 

The M5 pulls away from most stops in its electric drive mode, and when the engine does turn over, it'll rev to its heart's content without the slightest undue vibration. The M5 was always a good grand tourer, but now it's a great one. After a 225-mile road trip along the California coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and back, I wasn't even slightly fatigued. Neither was the M5, always blending the electric motor and V8 engine in perfect concert as it managed just under 23 mpg along the way — for anything with more than 700 hp, that is nothing short of exceptional. 

What the M5 has lost

BMW already had a fast-car formula on its hands, so it elevated everything else about the M5 experience and, in doing so, drowned out the unique M edge. As a result, this big blue meanie feels a lot more like a very potent version of the standard 5 Series, not the out-and-out supercar-slaying menace and knife-edged sport sedan it used to be. It's still aggressive, sure, but that ferocity is buried far deeper in this car's bones, and you as the driver have to work harder to make it deliver. 

Is that what an M5 is supposed to be? That depends on what you're buying it for, and BMW probably doesn't care because this car is still fast as heck and checks all the necessary boxes. But if you ask us, somewhere on its way to becoming the most well-rounded and versatile version of itself, the M5 lost the charm and the focus that made it, well, the M5.

Photos by Tyler Clemmensen