The seventh-gen BMW M5 sedan will be joined by a wagon for the first time in Canada
Today, we tend to take a lot of things for granted. In just about any modern car, the brakes brake and the steering steers; pre-M5 it was more a case of brakes that slowed and steering that guided. Almost 40 years after its launch, the original E28 M5 still has it going on. When launched it had power, a keen steering setup with some real feedback and the brakes needed to deal with the elevated speeds. Driving one of these beauties proved it’s still up to the challenge of a rapid run through the Alps!
Now comes the latest BMW M5. As it has been with each previous generation, the latest takes big steps forward. As usual, it has more power and the handling is even more tenacious, but this time around it’s also greener — it shifts from gasoline to plug-in hybrid (PHEV). It was a surreal experience romping around the 4.255-km Salzburgring racetrack, outside Salzburg, in a camouflaged M5!
What’s new with the BMW M5 for 2025?
The seventh-generation M5 is bigger, bolder, better looking and the sedan will be joined by a wagon for just the third time, and the first time in Canada. The Touring is a big deal for those who demand a true performance car, but have family commitments — it represents the perfect anti-crossover; full details will be announced in August. Touring aside, the M5’s biggest change is the adoption of a PHEV powertrain. The key is the electric side adds more elasticity and urgency to the drive. The M5’s throttle response has always been fast; the addition of an electric motor adds instant-on torque to the low-end, so the throttle response is even more right now!
What’s under the hood of the 2025 M5?
It starts with a twin-turbocharged, 577 horsepower, 4.4-litre V8 that works with an electric motor that’s incorporated into the eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission. The combination has a net output of 717 horsepower. As for torque, the engine makes 553 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,400 rpm. The electric side adds 206 lb-ft, however, there is a twist — there’s a gear set between the electric motor and transmission input shaft, so the effective torque value is 332 lb-ft. The result is an immediate response whenever the throttle is nudged. The secret is the engine and electric motor combine to produce more torque than the transmission can handle, so it’s capped at 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm). Now, rather than being a limiting factor, it means the power curve is no longer a curve, it’s more of a straight line that runs from just off idle to just shy of redline. It is a superbly refined sledge hammer that delivers an official run to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. It feel faster and is cemented by an 80 to 120 km/h time that comes in at 2.2 seconds!
Part of the turn of speed comes from the Boost Control mode. Anywhere between 32 and 144 km/h, pulling the left paddle shifter for more than a second puts the drivetrain and suspension into hyper and ready to deliver peak performance.
Why pick a PHEV over a regular hybrid?
The question when designing the next M5 is always how much weight do you put into it and what return do you get for the added weight. Obviously, any hybrid system is going to add weight, but if you add weight, you must maximize the advantage. A PHEV is not much heavier that a regular hybrid system, but it brings much more energy. In this case, a battery with a usable 14.8 kWh of power. This means the new M5 has the energy needed to deliver 40 km of electric-only driving using the EPA test cycle.
More importantly, the PHEV setup has the energy needed to sustain the M5’s elevated level of performance over multiple hot laps before exhausting the battery. The plus is the electric motor not only delivers instant torque, it also doubles as a generator to capture otherwise wasted energy and return it to the battery. A regular hybrid setup? It might manage one lap at full chat before forcing the system to go gas-only.
Does the 2025 BMW M5 handle with the same tenacity?
You know it! The handling side starts with the M Adaptive suspension that controls body motion with millimetre precision. This keeps the car flat and the P285/40ZR20 front and P295/35ZR21 rear tires planted, which allows the M xDrive all-wheel-drive system to get the power down with authority. It works with a stability control system that has varying degrees of intervention, including off! When the stability control is off, xDrive can be switched to two-wheel-drive for an “unfiltered performance experience.” Does that mean drifting experience? At the back-end, the M Sport rear differential delivers torque vectoring, which helps the M5 to turn-in with less steering input.
To avoid the extra weight introducing dreaded understeer, the PHEV’s battery is placed between the axles and low in the body, so its positioning helps the centre of gravity. The M5 also has a slightly longer wheelbase and wider track to maintain the overall balance and, more importantly, to preserve the M5’s where-you-steer-is-where-you-go drive ethic. To further the cause, it also gets rear wheel steering. This has been used in full-on BEVs to mask the curb weight — it’s a very effective way of making a 2,600-kg car feel significantly lighter. The latest is larger than its predecessor, so it not only helps low-speed maneuverability, it also sharpens the steering response at speed by bringing a faster response to input and better high-speed stability.
The final part is the choice of tire. Without grip, it doesn’t matter how powerful the engine or how competent the suspension. If the tires cannot maximize the ability, it’s a lost cause. BMW worked with several tire suppliers including Michelin, Pirelli and Hankook to find the best rubber for the M5. Where some makers hogtie a true performance car by making it dance in the automotive equivalent of army boots, the M5 is a ballet dancer wearing the right slippers.
It has grip, grip, and yet more grip. In other words, all of this work does a masterful job of masking the M5’s almost 2,500-kilogram curb weight — it really does feel nimble and more dialed-in than expected.
Is the 2025 M5 a true track car?
The answer is yes, and the M5 stuck to the business of cornering even as my nerve was starting to give up. You see, my built-in yaw sensor (the old puck-o-meter) had some defined limits, so it told me when it was time to back off before I become the twit sitting in the gravel trap. The M5’s ability destroyed my previous limits and pushed them to new heights altogether. Even then I admit I didn’t manage to come close to challenging the M5’s extraordinary limits.
The M5’s traction and ability came to the fore in three key places. First, it was roaring down the back straight. Technically, it really isn’t a straight because it’s comprised of turns seven, eight, nine and 10. When driving at sane speeds this series of twists do not really qualify as corners — if the driver clips the left, left, right and left apexes it forms a near straight line. However, ramp the speed up to mind-numbing and these once lazy bends become real corners that generate real lateral forces.
The next pucker-inducer was the corner at the end of the nearly-straight run. It was a long looping corner that led to a neat series of twisties and on to the main straight. I built my speed up through this sweeper lap by lap, but never did quite reach peak velocity where the tail was twitching. The final hurdle was the main straight. Here the speeds qualified as I-dare-not-look fast. Hammer down the straight and, as you reach the 100-metre board, jump on the brake pedal to get the speed down to that needed to get through the turn one/two complex. Again, those tires provided the grip needed by the optional monster-sized ceramic rotors to slow the M5 in breathtaking fashion.
While I never really did challenge the M5’s true ability, I did appreciate it for its flawless handling, blazing turn of speed and raw stopping power. In the hands of a seasoned racer running just shy of ten-tenths, the M5 laid the Salzburgring racetrack to waste — it really did dance beautifully.
What’s the Canadian pricing for the 2025 BMW M5?
Final thoughts
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