The only thing this superfast sedan lacks is a proper emotional connection with the driver.
The BMW M5 PHEV clad in Isle of Man Green paintwork. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe
Italian carmakers are renowned for striving to create emotional connections between man and machine. Ze Germans not so much. They stick to extreme proficiency sans emotion.
The all-new G90 BMW M5 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a prime example of German efficiency at its very best. Getting a sedan weighing 2 510kg to go from 0 to 100km/h in a mere 3.56 seconds is simply incredible.
While it’s slightly slower in the 0 to 100km sprint than its non-hybrid F10 predecessor, which clocked 3.28 seconds in our road test, it does make up time the further the sprint drags on. At the quarter mile it clocked 11.38 seconds compared to 11.22 and through the half mile it ran a 17.67 compared to 17.61. At the latter mark its speed of 252km/h is already faster than its predecessor’s 250km/h.
The G90 BMW M5 features the F10’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine plus and 18.6kWh lithium-ion battery and rear electric motor. This produces a system total of 535kW of power and 1 000Nm of torque which is available for 10 seconds. It is up 75kW/250Nm from before and sent to all four wheels via eight-speed Steptronic transmission. But the G90 needs to move an additional 660kg, which explains the initial deficit off the line.
It’s the clinical way in which this car goes about its business that had us yearning for the famous Italian “passione”. Just a sprinkle to brighten up its rather stoic – or dare we say stereotypical German – demeanor.
The BMW M5 PHEV’s exterior is a splendid mix of sexy curves and sculpted masculinity which works brilliantly with the Isle of Man Green hue. Yet the interior is very sanitised. Its Curved Display consisting of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.9-inch iDrive infotainment system might be a sign of the times we live in, but the screen-like digitalisation even continues beyond the screens to the air vent controls and the lock/unlock function on the driver’s door.
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The lack of physical switchgear, which often plays a major part in setting the scene for sportiness in performance cars, deprives the BMW M5 of a flashier persona. The small gear selector and electronic parking brake switch in the centre console is very serene and almost feels like button on gamer controller. It is just not the same without the bulky contrast-stitched leather gear levers and handbrakes which added to performance cars’ racy aura in the past.
What does help is a plush flat-bottom leather sports steering wheel with prominent red M1 and M2 switches, alloy foot pedals and sporty front seats. The latter in the case of our tester was clad in the very interesting combination called Black and Cognac.
You have a choice to select one of the BMW M5’s pre-set driving modes or configure your own to store on the M1 and M2 switches. Whichever you choose, once you hoof it you quickly realise it’s a case of when rather that if you’ll get arrested for speeding.
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It is stupid fast and kept in all-drive drive, ridiculously easy to drive fast while the car utilises both the engine and electric power to optimise the experience. You can try it in rear-wheel mode (2WD), which is one of three driving modes offered alongside 4WD and 4WD Sport, just make sure your will is in order once all that brutal power going through the rear wheels only makes the tail step out.
But like the sterile interior, there is a distinct lack of emotion in the way the M5 behaves on the road. Judged on its acceleration times you would expect your body to jerk back from a brutal launch, violent gear shifts and a roaring V8 soundtrack. Quite the opposite. It is supersmooth, excellently balanced and almost disturbingly quiet as it skedaddles into three digits on the speedometer.
While it rides on the same platform as the garden variety 5 Series, the M5 received quite a few hardware enhancements. These include new kinematics for the double wishbone front and five-link rear axle, a stiffer front subframe, wider front and rear tracks and increased torsional rigidity for the body and chassis mountings.
The BMW M5 furthermore features retuned M adaptive suspension reinforced strut towers for the shock absorbers. Munich also revised the Active M differential and retuned the electrically assisted power steering. Rear-axle steering now comes standard.
Throw all these improvements into the mix along with the additional power and the M5 does not feel almost 700kg heavier than before. Its handling is brilliant and M compound brakes with 410mm discs and six-piston callipers at the front and 400mm brake discs with one-piston callipers at the rear gives it the stopping power it needs.
Considering everything the M5 does right, which is a lot, I will rest my case longing for more snap, crackle and pop if the German designers tell me, you don’t need pyrotechnics for perfections. But can they at least just crack a smile in doing so?
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