2025 BMW M5 review: Big shoes to fill

Recently, and in anticipation of the arrival of this very car, I found myself on a hillside with six generations that had gone before: the E28 original, the E34 that was current when I entered the industry, the E39 – the first V8 M-car, the nutty E60 – the first V10 M-car and the F10 and F90, the modern M-cars which, like this G90, featured different versions of the same twin turbo 4.4-litre V8. And, if you’re interested and to be brief, I thought the E28 charming but just a little too quaint, the E34 as fabulous now as it had been 36 years ago, the E39 the perfect blend of dynamic ability and long distance comfort, the E60 wildly overrated, the F10 considerably underrated and the F90 a really good take on what a modern M5 should be. Forced to say which was best, I’d gone for the E34, but with the F90 not far behind.

So where, then, in the pantheon is the G90 likely to end up? Well, if power were the only measure, it would be like the sun with the others mere planets rotating around it. Thanks to the addition of a powerful hybrid drive, the new M5 now puts over 700bhp at the driver’s disposal, whereas the old car couldn’t even muster 600bhp. Torque has risen even more. So it’ll be wildly faster then. Surely?

Surely not. It’s actually fractionally slower according to official claims: thanks in no small part to the addition of that hybrid drive, the new M5 is the best part of half a tonne (453kg to be precise) heavier than the old. It is only 60kg lighter than a Bentley Flying Spur limousine. I can hear the groans from here.

“It’s as well-appointed as you’d expect a six-figure family car to be”

But fear not, because this is the point where I tell you all about the four-wheel steering (new to the M5), the Active M Differential, adaptive dampers, the fact the air springs of the normal 5 Series have been replaced with sporty coils and the fact it can still switch between four and rear-wheel drive. And how these systems contrive to disguise the weight so well the car is, today, as much fun as ever, but with a benefit in kind tax saving to make Rachel Reeves weep at all the revenue you won’t be sending to the Treasury.

Except for one small point: they don’t. It’s not as much fun as ever, it’s actually quite a lot less fun if it can even be described in such terms: the most-powerful, least-entertaining M5 there has been.

Which really should come as a surprise to no one. You simply can’t slap an entire Caterham of weight onto a car and somehow not expect people to notice the difference. This is, indeed, a very different kind of M5.

And in many important ways, a better one. You may ask how important is that sense of agility and communication found in lighter cars to your everyday life? Surely the plush comfort of the interior, the quietness deriving from the fact it’ll complete most journeys on electricity alone and the financial implications of having a lower alleged CO2 output than my hedge trimmer is what really matters here. And, of course, the fact it’ll give you bhp bragging rights in the pub because no one, perhaps save readers of Motor Sport, even knows let alone cares about power-to-weight ratios.

It is a very complete car. I don’t like the messy looks, though there are plenty of BMWs far less easy on the eye, but it’s spacious and as well-appointed as you’d expect a six-figure family car to be. It also offers an extraordinary range of configurations, with individually selectable settings for the powertrain mapping, hybrid activation, transmission, suspension, steering, brakes, sound, number of driven wheels… And you can choose two presets to store on the red M-buttons so once you’ve decided what you like there’s no need to go burrowing around in the sub menus again.

As for the badge, we’ve spent years watching BMW playing fast and loose with that M letter, be it creating M versions of unworthy crossover SUVs or using it as a trim level on standard models. But the moment you put a 5 after it, you are making a statement, leaning on a heritage and creating a level of expectation to which it should be able to meet. And while the latest M5 is still blisteringly fast, both in a straight line and point to point, I can’t imagine anyone setting an early alarm purely to savour the driving experience on offer. It’s just not that kind of car.

Perhaps I’m in the minority of those who thinks that’s a shame. Most who drive a new M5 won’t arrive having just driven all the others. I am sure, too, that BMW is simply reacting to what its customers want. But it’s still my job to say whether I think this car represents a step forward or back for the M5 dynasty and for all its many attributes, I have no doubt about that. Just as we motoring hacks are fond of saying “less is more” in the context of cars like the Porsche 911, it works the other way around too. And for all the new M5 has gained it is what it has lost that remains uppermost in my mind.

BMW M5

• Price £110,500
• Engine 4.4 litres, eight cylinders, petrol, turbocharged, hybrid
• Power 717bhp
• Torque 737lb ft
• Weight 2435kg (DIN)
• Power to weight 295bhp per tonne
• Transmission Eight-speed double clutch, four and rear-wheel drive
• 0-62mph 3.5sec
• Top speed 155mph (limited)
• Economy 176.6mpg
• CO2 37g/km
• Verdict Pays the penalty for its heft.