BMW M5 review

You’re dealing with a lot of functionality and variability here, all of which impact on the experience and physical driving. Just to run you through some of the basics, there are three modes for the drivetrain: e-control to manage/charge the battery for later use, electric to run EV-only and hybrid to make the most of the fuel economy.
If you option the M Driver’s package, you get two more - Dynamic and Dynamic Plus - which do even more things with EV boosting/cooling when wanting to go fast.

Then there are three drive programmes: Road, Sport and Track. Then there is the setup menu, in which you can change… everything. Traction control, brake pedal feel (comfort for soft stop in town, sport for track), sound, damper controls, chassis, drive mode (4WD, 4WD sport, 2WD), steering weight, brake recuperation intensity… it’s a lot.

Yes, you just save your favourite pair to the M buttons on the steering wheel, but from the off, you’re doing a lot of fiddling to get the right set of specs, and you’re never quite sure you’ve found the (very elusive) sweet spot. You feel like it might have been better to get the BMW engineers to just set the car up and give it three modes. But BMW insists this is what customers want, and that they do actually play with all the settings. Maybe they do. But not without an awful lot of distracted puzzling.

That sounds like a lot?

It is, but once you’ve got a good basic set-up, you can actually get going. And the M5 is excellently rapid. The electric motor fills any gaps in the engine’s lower rev-range, so there’s always precise throttle response, and the eight-speed ‘box reacts faithfully; good in town, fast enough on a twisty road. It does need to be pulled pretty regularly when accelerating hard – a function of so much power and eight speeds – but it’s no problem.

The M5 is at its best on a swooping road in the sporty-but-not-insane modes, 4WD Sport and a defined rear bias, relaxed but not ‘off’ traction control settings, response from engine and steering wound up. Even in the streaming wet it’s not scary or a handful, which is what you want from a car with this much grunt. It’s also got excellent body control, neat steering with natural-feeling Active Steer on the rear axle and face-hurting brakes. Considerable size aside, it goes down a British B-road very calmly and smoothly. It’s well balanced, good under brakes and turns in harder and sharper than you’d credit.

So why aren’t you enthusiastic?

Because it all feels very managed. The M5 weighs more than a 5.0-litre V8 X5 SUV. More than the all-electric M60 i5. To get the M5 to operate in a performance sphere that deserves the badge, your driving is ghosted by code. It’s very well done, but is that really what an M5 should be?

Maybe we’ve hit a regulation issue where there’s simply no way around this sort of stuff, but if you compare this car to the last generation, it feels less dedicated, less focussed and ultimately, just less fun. You can still skid it about and do silly stuff - you’ll see them drifting and looking cool - but the natural-born edge of the M5 is softened here.

Isn’t that just to make it a better cruiser?

No, because the old one was already an excellent long haul companion, quiet and calm on motorways, but then able to throw off its cruising cloak and get down to charging business in the blink of an eye. This one is very hard to rouse into excitement. In that it’s much more like a fast electric car. In many ways the area it’s gained most is efficiency – it really is a commendably economical car, easily capable of mid-30s mpg on a long haul. But who’s ever bought an M5 for its economy?

Is there anything you like?

Lots. The EV-only mode works through the gearbox and allows you to use that 40+ miles of silent running to normal speeds. It’s comfortable and spacious, subtle in the less aggressive colours, well made and priced fairly aggressively in this market. And it’s bloomin’ fast no matter what you do.

When you do find the right setup for your style of driving, it’s a very confidence-inspiring car to drive quickly no matter the conditions and driven at up to 75 per cent it does a great job of disguising its weight. Considering the sheer mass involved, BMW's chassis engineers should be very proud of their work. It’s just the sense of excitement and involvement that’s missing.