BMW M5 Review: It’s Got A Split Personality

Over four decades ago, BMW decided to take their executive sedan and put it on steroids, coining the term ‘Super Saloon’. Smugly wearing the M5 badge, this super saloon is now in its sixth generation – codenamed G90. However, the G90 M5 has compelled the purists to march towards BMW headquarters with pitchforks and torches owing to its plug-in hybrid powertrain, and two its weight. You must have already seen the memes comparing how heavy this new M5 is comparing it to ridiculous things. That said, we have driven the new M5 at India’s only Formula 1 racetrack. So, you know now how it looks, and how it drives on a racetrack. But today, we are trying something different. We are seeing, how the BMW M5 is to live with in an everyday situation, and we found out that it has a split personality. 

Defining Factor Of An M5

The defining factor of the M5 has always been the powertrain it uses over the standard 5 Series. The first E28 M5 made use of a straight-six engine from the gran-touring race cars. It was the fastest sedan at its time. The E39 M5, which is still considered the greatest M5 of all time, switched to a V8 for the first time, and it is still considered one of the greatest M5 ever.  And then came my favourite M5 - the E60, which used a V10. Oh yes, a V10 in a family saloon. And not just any V10, this engine was derived from BMW’s Formula 1 outing. The next two gens - the F10 and F90 switched down to V8s, however, the latter one offered an AWD configuration for the first time. The reason for mentioning this is that the powertrain of the M5 has been a crucial factor. So now, when this generation of the M5 went PHEV, it made a lot of people rage with anger. But is it that bad? 

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Actually. No. It’s not. And bear with me as I justify this. Firstly, you should know that this is the most powerful M5 to date with close to 727 horsepower and 1000Nm of twisting force. There’s a 4.4-litre S68 twin-turbo V8 under the long bonnet, which has been doing duties in many M cars for some time now. However, this being a proper PHEV, there are also electric motors fed by a 19kWh battery pack. So, you can drive this super saloon for almost 70 km without using a single drop of fuel. You can also start it in EV mode so as to not wake up the neighbours when you take your performance beast out for a drive in the wee hours of the day. 

Still A Road Missile?

Let me round back to the PHEV nature in some time, but let’s turn our attention to how ballistic this M5 is. It’s a rocket. The way this one accelerates, it feels like it's bending the laws of physics. No matter what speed you are doing, you push hard on the accelerator, and it makes Barry Allen doubt himself. Despite weighing almost two and a half tonnes, it accelerates like a cannonball shot out of a cannon. Now we have driven the i5, and the acceleration on that one is much quicker than this, owing to its electric nature, of course. With 600-odd horsepower and 800Nm, the acceleration is genuinely quicker than this much heavier V8-powered M5. But when the M5 does it, the drama that ensues is every boy’s childhood dream. 

Now, the M5s have always been a technological tour de force. They have electronics for controlling every little thing so that all of that horsepower stays in check. Which means there are a lot of settings here. You can control the suspension, the steering, the throttle response and much more across numerous settings, and I am not talking about drive modes – you do get Comfort, Sports and Sports Plus (no gimmicky Eco here in the M5). But changing all the little settings on the move is difficult, so like a proper M, you get two buttons on the steering wheel. You can configure your favourite setup as well, say for the nearest canyon run on M1, and your favourite racetrack on M2. Simply press the one if and when required, and your M5 is ready for the occasion. 

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Shotgun Gearbox

As for the gearbox, it's the familiar ZF-derived eight-speed unit which is used across the BMW lineup, but it has a different personality here. Especially when you are gunning the M5, and gunning is the right term for it because it shifts like a proper shotgun! Brutal – like hammering a nail. And I am not complaining because you need a ferocious and dramatic gearshift in a proper performance car – anything less will feel insufficient. You get carbon ceramic brakes here, which are apt for stopping this machine weighing almost as much as a small mountain. But this isn't something that will stop on a dime. And you do feel the weight when hard braking.

PHEV Driving

But if you're driving this one in and around the city for your daily commutes, you can always leave it in the comfort, and that's where the split personality of this M5 comes in. The PHEV (plug-in hybrid) powertrain - that's the Jekyll version of the M5. 

You can actually start your 700+ horsepower monster in EV mode. There’s an ‘M Hybrid’ button on the centre console which has five settings on it, including - Dynamic Plus, Dynamic Hybrid, and Electric. Yes, an electric mode for an M5, and that's what enraged so many people when this one came out. But the good thing is when you're driving this M5 in this hybrid mode, it behaves like a proper hybrid – like you're driving a Camry, actually. The only difference on this one is, when the V8 kicks in, it sounds and feels like a proper LMP1 race car. 

Comparing this M5 to the Camry does sound a bit outrageous, and I will definitely get a lot of hate for it. But admittedly, that’s exactly what makes this M5 an everyday supercar. Some might not be happy with this as they want their Ms to always be dialled up to eleven. But with the PHEV, the M5, for the everyday commute – it's so easy, be it on your pocket, or be it to the environment. Most of the time, the system keeps the engine shut and tries to move on electric power alone. You can use the engine to charge the battery, but it doesn't charge the battery by a lot. Or you can use an 11kW plug to charge a 19kWh battery pack. 

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With the dual personality of the M5, you still have the confidence, when that time comes, when you have to take your M5 on the racetrack or when you want to do cross-country touring, it still has enough firepower to get you there with a big smile on your face. So, if you think logically, this split personality of this generation M5, it's rather a good thing because I would rather have an M5, a proper M5, with a lot of horsepower from its V8 – but with an electric synergy thrown in to keep the tree-huggers happy, and to be more friendly towards Polar Bears – and still demolish supercars when it comes to it. Rather than have an M5, which is down on cylinders, say a V6 or a straight-six, or down on power as well. So, this M5 with a split personality, and with its plug-in hybrid powertrain, it's a good transition before we actually have a future with an all-electric only M5. I would rather have this one than that.

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Conclusion

This new-gen M5, then, has more to it than meets the eye. Is it still a super saloon? Oh yes, in all cases and circumstances, it has written the books of a super saloon. And now in the PHEV avatar, it is rewriting it. I am glad and thankful that BMW didn’t jump from ICE to EV with the M5. Because an M5 is supposed to do office commutes, take the family of four for long-distance touring, and at the same time, when taken to a racetrack, it can demolish the ego of every single supercar there without skipping a beat. This M5 can still do it all. 

And finally, there’s the price. At 2 crore ex-showroom, it’s not exactly cheap. But consider this, the last Huracan you can buy, it came with a V10, but it made less horsepower than this and yet cost twice as much. And it could sit half as many people as the M5 can. Making this a bargain, isn’t it? Sure, the M5 may not be as flashy or will turn heads as the Raging Bull can. But that has always been the point of owning a sleeper super saloon, right? Cause Clark Kent doesn’t want the world to know just how ‘super’ he really is underneath. 

Pictures by Pawan Dagia