BMW M5 saloon (2024 – ) review

Why such a low score when it’s a plug-in hybrid with supposed savings in fuel, business-friendly Benefit In Kind rates and all the rest? Don’t kid yourself. The M5 might have the stats to save you a bit in tax and, in theory, the planet but this is at heart a massively indulgent and powerful car built for speed above all else. A starting price of well over £100,000 puts it in a very serious league, and that’s before you start adding options like extra carbon. Still, it’s faster and a bit cheaper than something comparable like a Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid so you can pretend it’s actually a bargain in real terms.

A holding score for now, on the basis the cars we drove were pre-production development hacks still wearing their prototype camo. And we only got a few laps of the track to put them to the test. We’d be weighing up the fact BMW’s M cars get an extra level of testing and development work over the brand’s regular models against the fact the M5 is an unbelievably complicated car, both mechanically and electronically. Not a problem while it’s under warranty. But it would be a brave pill used purchase further down the line.

There’s an amusing tug of war here between BMW’s corporate and regulatory obligations to load its cars with ever more sophisticated safety technology. And the M division’s nod-and-a-wink efforts to minimise their impact so you can enjoy the full potential of its cars without nannying interventions. Rest assured that in normal driving there is every last electronic aid there keeping you safe. But as you work your way up through the M modes the leash gets steadily slacker, up to and including being able to disable the stability control and then switch from predictable all-wheel drive and into a tyre-smoking rear-wheel drive mode. Which with this much power to play with will be something best left to the very brave, or those craving YouTube infamy as they disappear into a cloud of tyre smoke and twisted metal.

Given we’ve only done a few laps of a race track in prototype cars we’ll have to reserve a bit of judgement here. But we did see an undisguised M5 on static display and can report it’s every bit as luxurious as you would expect from a flagship 5 Series, the vibrant contrast between orange leather and carbon fibre on the car we saw certainly on the bold side. Comfort-wise the seats are set higher than we’d have liked, spoiling the sporty vibe somewhat. But the driving position is otherwise excellent and the ludicrous weight of the thing actually plays to its favour in the way it simply steamrollers the road into submission. There weren’t any speed bumps or potholes on the circuit but we did bounce off a few kerbs in our efforts to keep up with the test drivers showing us round and the super clever adaptive suspension barely flinched. This and four-wheel steering help contain that weight and performance to the point where a 2.5-tonne super saloon feels half that and you can fling it about with real abandon. If you can find a road big enough. Apparently, you can do up to 40 miles in silent electric power but that wasn’t really on the agenda for this early drive and we’ll have to report back on what the M5 is like in more real-world situations when we’ve actually driven it on the road.

It costs a hell of a lot of money but you’re getting plenty in return, and not just in performance terms. In the current BMW style the standard spec is basically ‘all-in’ bar a few choice extras like ceramic brakes and an exterior carbon pack. These will be expensive but will be sought after by subsequent buyers so it may yet pay to tick those boxes. Thankfully the rest of the good stuff is included, meaning squishy Merino leather on the seats, a fancy Bowers & Wilkins speaker system, lashings of carbon fibre trim and all the fanciest bits from the latest 5 Series like the illuminated ‘interaction bar’ running across the front of the car. We’re big fans of BMW’s onboard tech as well, the M5 running an M-enhanced version of the familiar dual-screen arrangement with its sharp graphics, tile-based menus and huge range of functionality. Three cheers for there still being a physical turn-and-push control wheel and volume knob for those not sold on operating these basic functions through voice or gesture control!

Sure, the M5 has over 700 horsepower. But it also weighs 2.5 tonnes, and in real terms the latter figure could have a bigger impact on performance than any electrified boost. That is a ridiculous amount of flab for a supposedly sporty car to be carrying but sadly an inevitable by-product of part-electrification. And, credit to BMW M, the team has done an incredible job of disguising it through all manner of electronic and mechanical trickery, to the point where you can indeed fling it around a racetrack like an M3. Or charge along the Autobahn at three-figure speeds. Neither of which has much relevance to the way most owners will use them, and perhaps feels a bit wasted. But there we are. Back in the real world there is a huge amount of configurability to set your M5 up to perform as you want it to, with modes controlling all aspects of the driving experience you can pre-programme into favoured combos via the familiar M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. In theory it’ll do 176mpg and a little over 40 miles without firing up the petrol engine if you work the hybrid system to your advantage, though we’d take that efficiency figure with a hefty pinch of salt unless you’re dedicated to plugging it in every night and only ever do short journeys without waking the beast that is that twin-turbo V8. But if that’s how you’re going to drive it you may as well just get an all-electric i5 and be done with it!