A BRIGHTER FIVE STAR? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The seventh generation BMW M5 is familiar - yet very different. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 95

BMW's M5 is the yardstick against which all serious performance saloons are judged, a car that in seventh G90 generation form gets Plug-in Hybrid tech for the first time. The company insists that the bespoke PHEV set-up is compatible with its brand values: it's certainly dramatically boosted the output of this model's re-fettled 727hp 4.4-litre V8 powertrain. Rear-wheel steering's been added to sharpen things through the turns and there are a myriad of drive mode settings to make this the most configurable performance car on the planet. Munich, it seems, has thought of almost everything.

Backgroundword count: 238

BMW invented the executive super saloon with their M5 and though Audi's RS 6 and AMG versions of Mercedes' E-Class have offered stiff competition in recent years, for many, this remains the definitive motorsport-bred business blaster. Time to rate this G90-series seventh generation version. From the outset in 1984, this model line was all about straight six power, normal aspiration and rear wheel drive, but over the years all these original staples have evolved as BMW sought to reinterpret what the ultimate super saloon should be. A V8 engine arrived for the E39 third generation version in 1998. And turbocharging was adopted for the fifth generation F10-series version in 2011. With the sixth generation F90 model of 2018, we got 4WD too. In short, the M5 has had to evolve considerably with every passing generation. Even so, few would ever have expected it to become a Plug-in Hybrid, but that's just what we've got with the seventh generation G90 design, a car that arrived in mid-2024. BMW claims it had little choice but to make this change; without significant electrification, there was the risk of not being allowed to sell it in certain markets. But pairing this car's trademark big V8 with PHEV tech has produced a much weightier confection that proved hugely challenging for the company's M division to engineer. It's all created a fresh chapter in the history of one of our favourite high performance standard-setters.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 513

Mercedes AMGs and Audi RS models are all very well but for many enthusiasts, this is the only badge that matters in this segment. We'll admit to being among them. We've tested every generation of M5 over the last forty years - but nothing quite like this seventh G90-series incarnation, powered as it is by the most potent engine ever devised by BMW's high performance M division. We were told that last time round with the previous F90-series model, but it's more difficult to believe here because the new S58 4.4-litre V8 beneath the bonnet has slightly less power than the old car's same-capacity S63 series V8. As a result, there's also a slightly slower 0-62mph sprint time, an inferior power-to-weight ratio and, perhaps most significantly, 465kgs of extra weight. But 270kg of that extra bulk is there to facilitate the electrified addition to this M5's drivetrain that's increased total output so much. From 625hp in the old F90 M5 Competition to 727hp here. 585hp of that is from the engine and 197hp from an electric motor energised by an 18.6kWh battery large enough to make this a performance PHEV, with an all-electric range of up to 47 miles. Ignore the EV drive modes and this M division-curated confection shrugs off its prodigious 2,435kg kerb weight with bombastic speed, 1,000Nm of torque hurling this hottest ever 'Five' to 62mph in 3.5s en route to 179mph (if the optional 'M Driver's Pack' is fitted). Power is channelled via a toughened-up version of the 8-speed automatic transmission you'd find on a regular combustion 5 Series and there's a 'Boost' mode you can activate to prompt faster acceleration by pulling on the wheel's left hand gearshift paddle. So it's fast enough in a straight line. Where you might worry, given all that extra bulk, is in this beefier G90 series M5's ability to tackle the turns. The Garching engineers fretted about this too and spent six years on handling development as a result. For sharper corner turn-in, they added rear-wheel steering ('Integral Active Steering' in BMW-speak), which can turn the back wheels by up to 1.5-degrees. Plus there's a wider track, re-tuned steering, bespoke kinematics and elastokinematics on both axles and an adaptive suspension set-up able to adjust the new Bilstein dampers independently at each wheel. BMW's resisted the temptation though, to add the active anti-roll bars that are fitted to the M60; apparently, the M5's passive ones give more linear, natural levels of body roll. Thanks to the Hybrid system, there's now an even wider choice of drive modes - 'Hybrid' and 'M Hybrid' (which mix the power sources), 'Electric' (full-EV), 'Dynamic' (for track and fast road driving) and 'Dynamic Plus' (for all-out system power). All that's before you start accessing the centre screen to adjust chassis, steering, brakes, all-wheel drive and transmission, saving your preferred to settings to the red M paddles provided for the purpose behind the steering wheel. On the move, expect to notice this G90 series model's extra weight; but on tighter roads, you'll notice it's considerably wider width even more.

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