BMW M5 (G90) review – more power, more weight, same old M5 desirability?

Does the new M5 - all 5.1m and 2500kg of it - manage to shrink around you and disguise its weight? Incredibly, the answer is yes, yes it does. Some excellent tuning and specific technologies help deliver this confounding result and we’ll explore them in due course but it’s not game, set and match yet, of course; even with this unlikely result in the bag, another crucial question still hangs in the air: is the new M5 a truly desirable M5? 

Since the reveal of the new M5’s size and weight statistics it’s had a bit of a rough ride on forums. Frank Van Meel, BMW M GmbH’s boss, has been left somewhat exasperated, responding to the dragging with the statement: ‘But you haven’t driven it yet!’. He predicted this backlash when he drove the prototype at the Salzburgring in May, having previously taken flack for proposing to make the M5 four-wheel drive. Mind, this isn’t the small matter of adding a couple of drive shafts, it’s the most radical shift in the model’s 40-year history. 

That’s because the M5 has morphed into a 717bhp plug-in hybrid powerhouse of a supersaloon in G90 form, carrying more tech, complexity and weight than any of its forebears. It’s also available as a load-lugging Touring estate for the first time since the E61. As we’ll discuss, what BMW has achieved is remarkable in some ways, but the G90 is a car that we admire rather than adore, with huge bandwidth and capability but lacking the ultimate involvement of the very best M5s.

BMW M5 (G90) in detail 

• Engine, gearbox and technical highlights > BMW’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 combines with an electric motor to deliver supercar levels of power, harnessed by a bespoke M chassis
• Performance and 0-60mph time > Extra weight negates the new M5’s additional power under acceleration – it’s actually slower than the old one to 62mph
• Ride and Handling > Remarkable agility and composure for its size. Compliant ride gives it impressive bandwidth
• MPG and running costs > Don’t expect anything like the claimed 177mpg on longer trips. Shorter journeys can be completed purely on electric power
• Interior and tech > Flashes of red trim, ambient lighting and optional two-tone upholstery is a lot to take in. Infotainment is feature rich but a bit fiddly
• Design > Muscled-up widebody stance has enormous presence, but also takes up a lot of space on the road

Price and rivals

At £111,405, the saloon is no more expensive than the previous M5 Competition, which seems like good value given how much more tech is crammed in. Oddly, the new M5 doesn't have an awful lot of competition just yet, with Audi and Mercedes-AMG yet to unveil their new generation hybridised alternatives. The V8-powered Mercedes-AMG E63 is now off sale, with only the £90,860, 577bhp E53 hybrid available. The Audi RS7 is one of the only direct rivals to the M5, still available in pure-V8 Performance form for £116,200.

The Touring, meanwhile, starts from £113,405, and goes straight into battle with Audi’s RS6 Performance, which packs similar speed in a more conventional non-hybrid V8 package for £116,120. 

BMW M5 (2025, G90) specs