BMW M5 First Drive Review

Much has been said about the new, seventh-generation BMW M5 and nearly all of them are about its mass. Reels have been created, too, with many of them comparing the new sedan to a tipper truck or cement mixer. One even likened it to an aircraft carrier.

The car has essentially been 'fat-shamed' by netizens, many of whom probably haven't driven the car. Maybe they haven't gotten behind the wheel of a sports sedan. Or they may never have driven anything because they don't even have a driving licence.

Well, here's a new angle: The latest BMW M5 is like a 'cheat code' you enter in a driving game or racing sim, for apart from being stupendously quick, its performance is so accessible that it makes driving fast and obliterating slower traffic easy. Frankly, too easy.

The M5 looks particularly menacing in low light, and those ducts mean business, too

The obvious bits

The new M5 is as handsome as its predecessor, and the illuminated kidney grilles work just as well here as in the regular 5 Series. Clean, large surface volumes and almost monolithic surfaces dominate the car, making it look muscular.

Of course, the M division has given the car its own unique elements that are functional and aesthetic. Instead of the normal lined grille that you would see on a 520i, the M5's kidney grilles are large air ducts. More ducts are found on the front bumper, and they are all angled to optimise cooling. From afar, you'll see these elements form a pyramid shape.

The designers have wisely refrained from over-styling the car - after all, there's no need to 'shout' when it has so much power

The rear is just as striking. BMW says this M5 is the first to have a 'widebody rear' for enhanced roadholding. But the most eye-catching bits are the signature quad-exhausts, diffuser, and boot lid spoiler. Pay attention to the reflectors here: They're canted forward, so it feels like the car is urging you to drive it harder.

All the M5 test units are equipped with 20-inch wheels and the optional, tasty-looking carbon-ceramic brakes, which are easily spotted thanks to their gold callipers.

Sporty touches like the alloy pedals with rubber inserts are cool, but not everyone will like the 'supercomputer' vibe

The cockpit is equally racy, too. Peer inside and you'll see sports seats with integrated headrests, carbon fibre trim on the dashboard and door panels, and a flat-bottom steering wheel with a red 12 o'clock marker. Interestingly, this is the first time that the M5 has such a steering wheel - not even the last-generation M5 CS has one.

Tech is the name of the game (especially in high-performance executive rockets), so there's no escaping the large screens for the instrument panel and infotainment. Thankfully, the former has M-specific displays, which features the iconic M hues of blue, light blue, and red.

It's easy to tweak your settings, and even easier to recall them with the M1 and M2 buttons

It goes without saying that setting up the M5 to your liking takes some time due to the sheer number of parameters that can be customised. Pressing the 'Setup' button on the centre console opens a menu where you can tweak items such as the braking system (yes, you can choose your brake pedal feel) steering, chassis, and M xDrive.

These settings can then be saved and immediately recalled with the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. So, for instance, M2 can be your 'Chill' mode where all the settings are at their most relaxed, while M1 is your 'Full Send' for when you're alone and ready to have fun.

Twin-turbocharged V8 revs easily and happily, and would have sounded even better with a less-restricted exhaust

Gaming the system

The M5 started out as an 'executive express', and that has been the remit of each succeeding generation. It'll always deliver refinement alongside performance, but calling this seventh-generation model 'high-performance' is an understatement, for this M5 is the fieriest one of them all.

Roads should shudder in fear at what it can bring to bear with the powertrains under its bonnet. There's a 4.4-litre V8 boosted by a pair of TwinScroll turbochargers producing 577bhp and 750Nm of torque. Alongside it is an electric motor that delivers 194bhp and 280Nm of torque.

Now, we cannot just add up the figures because a combustion engine and an electric motor produce peak figures at different points. That said, their combined outputs are 717bhp and 1,000Nm of torque.

The M5 can cross continents at speed, but numerous fuel stops will be required

Are there more powerful cars? Definitely. Are there faster cars? Of course. But is there an executive saloon with two powertrains bristling with this much power? The M5 might be the only contender in this category, at least for now.

'Cheat code' is literally the phrase that came to mind within 15 minutes of piloting the M5, for this sedan makes quick work of nearly everything you come across. The country roads or B-roads outside of Munich, represented by squiggly lines in the car's sat-nav, are ideal roaming grounds for a beast like this one.

The burbly V8 accompanying you is always nice, but it doesn't stay that way for long. With a flexible right foot and much adrenaline coursing through your veins, the soundtrack soon becomes a long growl.

The car can run on full-electric mode if needed, and up to 69km when the batteries are fully charged

But the spine-tingling sensations of speed and directional changes do not materialise - remember, this is still an executive saloon. Yes, the scenery blurs, but what leaves you gobsmacked is the ease at which the M5 piles on the speed.

You think you're going between 50 and 60km/h? Wrong! Glance at the readout on the heads-up display and you're actually doing 150km/h. The sensation of speed isn't merely dulled; it's been downright erased. Only on the unrestricted stretches of the autobahn, when passing 250km/h, does it feel like you're going fast.

Quad-exhausts and reflectors that are canted forward - this is the only view most drivers will see of an M5

Is the car's mass responsible for this? Perhaps, because 2,435kg is hefty. For the record, it's 505kg heavier than the last M5, which weighed in at 1,930kg. BMW says the extra half a ton is from the M xDrive and plug-in hybrid system.

Say what you like about the weight, but frankly, 1,000Nm of torque makes quick work of it, with the M5 taking just 3.5 seconds to rocket from rest to 100km/h. Not impressed? Well, the M5 takes 10.9 seconds to do zero to 200km/h, which is staggering for an executive sedan that you can also drive to work.

The M5 is best described as a rocket disguised as an executive saloon

Fast and flowy

Velocity is the M5's specialty, and it proved it time and time again on those wet B-roads. Overtaking meandering traffic was like being able to enter and exit hyperspace within moments. I recall overtaking a Volkswagen Golf whose driver was going at a decent pace. He only passed us 10 minutes later because we had stopped to film.

The M5 also handles well for its size. Those squiggly lines that are either gentle or tight corners in real life do not faze this car. Goodies such as adaptive suspension and electronically controlled dampers help provide a good ride-handling balance. Meanwhile, the carbon-ceramic stoppers feel meaty and linear, giving you plenty of confidence to brake late before turning in.

This is the first plug-in hybrid M5, and we can only hope the next one isn't all-electric like the upcoming M3...

All you need to do is look for the exit, and your arms and the car do the rest. This is the first M5 to be fitted with Integral Active Steering, which turns the rear wheels by 1.5 degrees to improve the car's agility. It is not the nimblest car around, but given everything we know, it is impressive.

At any rate, the car brings so much confidence that things got hairy at one point, when I underestimated a corner and had to nail the brakes to bring the car back in line. The M5 forgave the error, and we were soon back to scorching the roads as if nothing happened.

An advantage is an advantage

The M5 does a lot of things well, but it's not perfect. I'd prefer it to have more communicative steering, and a louder exhaust would be nice, too. I also wish the cockpit, despite the M colours, didn't resemble a supercomputer.

But I can't complain about how it handled everything thrown at it during a six-hour drive. From country roads to unrestricted autobahn stretches, the M5 conquered it all without leaving me knackered.

So, there's no point discussing weight. Nobody in their right mind buys an M5 expecting it to handle like an M2. Those who've decided to get one probably know what they're getting into. They want a car that makes everything from driving fast to obliterating slower traffic easy. Frankly, too easy.