Here’s What I’m Most And Least Excited About The New 2025 BMW M5

The arrival of a new generation of BMW M5 is always a momentous occasion. It’s quite simply, one of history’s greatest automotive icons. Since BMW and its performance M Division conceptualized the idea over 40 years ago, it’s served as the benchmark of what luxury sports sedan perfection is and should be. It’s a reputation that’s defined the M5 as the yardstick for everyone else to beat. So when a new generation arrived just yesterday, it certainly generated quite a buzz.

When a car like the M5 defines and leads an entire niche, one that also influenced Mercedes-Benz to create the E-Class AMG, and Audi with its RS6, all of which are performance icons in their own right, it immediately has some big shoes to fill. The automotive world wouldn’t be right if the BMW M5 ceased to exist or took some other shape or form.

And thus, with all eyes are on BMW’s latest G60 M5, including mine, marking the seventh generation of M5 to ever grace existence, the pressure is on. Here are my thoughts.

Excited: The Looks

When the eight generation G60 5 Series arrived earlier this year, it was certainly met with mixed reviews, primarily with its exterior design. At first, I personally was a bit skeptical about the exterior design appearing a bit, generic. But in the midsize luxury or executive sedan space, mundane and generic, or low-key appearances, have always been a part of this segment. As German executive sedans, they were always primarily meant to appeal to yuppies and the old door-to-door fax machine salesperson types, not your average young-buck teenage racer.

Thankfully, cars like the BMW M5 and even the 5 Series proved that being an old fax machine salesperson didn’t have to always be boring, particularly if you like to drive. The 5 Series’ exterior designs, however, have always been a spot of interesting contention. But if one considers the arrival of previous generation of 5 Series models, they too were often received with mixed reviews about exterior aesthetics. It’s always been a bit of a recurring theme with BMWs.

When revolutionary designs such as the E60 generation of 5 Series arrived, it, at the time, was too met with mixed reviews about its exterior appearances. It’s an era that’s often defined in BMW’s history as the “Bangle-Butt era,” when BMW’s design team notably comprised of lead designers Chris Bangle and Adrian van Hooydonk. The term “Bangle Butt” described the unique, protruding trunk shapes on the E60 5 Series, E63 6 Series, and the E65 7 Series.

Though as controversial as those designs were, Bangle’s and Hooydonk’s influential designs left a lasting legacy that still exists in some of BMW’s current designs today. While Bangle and Hooydonk’s influence now seems to have disappeared into the history books, the new 5 Series’s exterior design doesn’t seem so bad.

With the M5’s far more aggressive design, with its pronounced wheel arches to accommodate the wider axle track widths, the sportier and more angular and aggressive front fascia, and that wicked rear lower spoiler design with the quad exhaust tips. Maybe it’s the pictures, maybe it’s eye-catching the Frozen Isle of Man green painting. Either way, I kind of like the way the new M5 looks. It’ll certainly look mean as it charges up behind your and into your rear-view mirror.

Excited: The Performance

Who else isn’t excited about being able to go bat poop insane fast in a BMW M5? Performance is obviously a highlight. And that it is, thanks to inheriting the wicked twin-turbo V-8 gas-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain from the XM crossover SUV. It’s been tweaked, however, to fit the M5’s slightly lighter chassis and sportier driving persona. Total system output, as BMW claims, is 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, which is a crap ton.

To put that into perspective, that’s 317 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque more than the E39 M5 from the late 1990s and early 2000s, which still isn’t a slow car, even by today’s standards. The E39 M5 produced 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque from its 4.6-liter naturally-aspirated V-8. Granted, that was over 25 years ago at this point.

Some have already decried the fact that the new M5 is slightly slower to 60 than the outgoing model, according to BMW’s record keeping. But the difference is only a couple tenths of a second, and thus, largely negligible. What’s likely going to be most impressive about the M5’s performance is its ability to accelerate while rolling, meaning it’s going to handle overtaking like nobody’s business.

With a fabulous twin-turbocharged V-8 from BMW M coupled with the extra and smooth power assist of an electric motor, I anticipate that the acceleration of the M5 is going to be outrageous and sublime. Yes, I know, electric and gas cars can both be insanely fast in their own forms. But there’s something intoxicating about the increased effortlessness of acceleration when you bundle good ‘ol classic ICE power with electric power.

Excited: There’s An M5 Wagon On The Way And We’re Getting It

I’m not the biggest wagon fan and the M5 Touring estate wagon isn’t news either. But I also don’t disparage their purpose, they drive nearly exactly the same as their sedan counterparts, but with more space to do things. What’s not to love?

That said, it’s an exciting moment for any petrolhead to see an M5 Touring actually comign stateside because even though M5 wagons existed in Europe since the E34 generation, it’s always been forbidden fruit for North Americans. That is, until now.

Recent reports and rumors confirm that the M5 Touring will make it to our shores for the first time in history, likely in a bid to compete with the Audi RS6.

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Not Excited: The Handling

If you’re probably not already wondering, how is the new M5 slower than the old M5, and yet, have 90 hp and 185 more torque? You may or may not have heard, but the new M5 weighs an astonishing 1,045 pounds more than the old M5 Competition. That’s a whole half-ton more, a.k.a., no small number, especially on the scales.

The old M5, which weighed about 4,345 lbs with the high-po M5 CS dropping to 4,114 lbs, was already pushing the limits with what one can do with two plus tons worth of car. Sure, the new M5 is also likely going to find some way to question Newton’s laws of physics with breakneck performance and handling. But two and a half tons, or 5,390 lbs for the new M5, does not sound promising. It makes the last couple generations of M5, which had already grown pretty porky, look like complete featherweights in comparison.

I don’t have any doubt that the M5 is going to be fast and fun to drive, but such heavy and porky numbers on the scales do take their toll and there’s only so much engineering that can go into such a heavy car. Weight just ruins everything—it ruins the ride, handling, performance, fuel economy, and even takes a toll on maintenance with the wear on tires.

Not Exited: The Ride

Speaking of which, I’m also already not looking forward to the ride. Yes, most if not all BMWs have a pretty smooth ride, but that’s only on perfect freshly paved asphalt. Usually if there’s any sort of imperfection resembling a pothole a crater field, it always ends up with one bracing for his or her back to be shattered. Newer BMWs have improved their ride.

But with the new M5 weighing as much as it does, I can only imagine how cringeworthy it might be. No matter the suspension engineering, nothing can hide how heavy electric drive gear and equipment is. It’s mainly down to the drive system’s central battery pack, which is what makes up most of the new M5’s added weight.

BMW M engineers are some of the best, but as other electrified cars have shown with their weight problems, there’s only so much engineering a team can do. I can already anticipate the new M5 having a hefty and heavyweight feel to it, particularly as its wide and stiff performance tires slap sprung weight down hard onto the road surface as the suspension works to keep two and a half tons of German performance sedan from bottoming out.

The new M5 may be sublime when driving with haste on a smooth, paved surface. But I don’t have high hopes for the ride quality as past instances of heavy performance cars have proven, ride quality takes the biggest hit.

I Won’t Really Know Until I Drive It

Of course, this is all speculation as I have yet to lay physical hands on the new BMW M5 and actually spend some time with it, both behind the wheel and as an overall experience. As a longtime BMW fan, I’ve long accepted the fact that we’ll never see outstanding and incredible vehicles like the E28, E34, E39, and even E60 generations of M5, all of which have become legendary icons for the ability to offer such a pure and performance-bred driving experience in a practical package that you can use every day.

I also have no doubts that the new M5 will be fast, fun, and impressive to drive like all other M5s have been in the past. And it will most certainly deliver on its premise of serving up supercar performance in a practical, commuter car package. Though I won’t know for certain how I feel about it until I actually drive it.