The Only Constant: The 2025 BMW M5

"The only constant is change."

---Heraclitus (5th century B.C.)

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher from 2,500 years ago, would despair at how little we've learned over the years.

Americans, car guys---and maybe especially American car guys---prefer the phrases:

"I'll have the usual."

"I like that. I'll have another."

When it comes to cars, we want improvement, but if we could get that without any actual change, that'd be swell.

And I'm as guilty of that as anybody. A little over three years ago, I drove and reviewed the 2021 BMW M5 Competition. And I said then:

"I've driven a lot of cars in 25 years of reviewing them for (part of) a living. The past few years, it's been 104 cars a year. I honestly can't think of another one that was as rock-solid perfect as the BMW M5 Competition."

Unsaid in that was---"I hope the next one is different but exactly the same."

Well, the next one is here, and it is very different. It is 4.2 inches longer, 2.7 inches wider, 1.6 inches lower and...1,014 pounds heavier.

That is not a typo. The 2025 BMW M5 weighs a half-ton more than the 2021 M5.

Some of that is battery weight, because the new M5 is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), delivering 27 miles of pure electric range before the engine kicks in.

Despite a 20% weight gain, the new M5 is still seriously fast. That's because the twin-turbo intercooled 4.4-liter 32-valve V8 and its 577 horsepower aren't working alone. There's an electric motor in there too, and the combined output is 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque---that's 100 horsepower more than the old M5 and an epic 185 additional lb-ft of torque.

That essentially offsets the additional weight. I say "essentially" because the '25 is 0.2 seconds slower to 60 from a standing start (3.0 seconds instead of 2.8), gets to 100 in the same time (6.7 seconds) and runs the quarter-mile in the same 10.9 seconds, but is moving at 130 mph at the finish line instead of 128.

Still---the new M5 is heavy. Yeah, they've offset mass with muscle, but you can feel it. Every BMW 7-Series---BMW's big luxury sedan---except the electric i7 ---weighs less than the M5.

There are a lot of mechanics and electronics involved in making it handle well, but I have to wonder---is this the future? Will we someday have three-ton-plus sport sedans that keep the "sport" in the mix with four-digit horsepower outputs and microprocessors?

And are we okay with that?

Nobody buys an M5 for this, but the new-gen has a significantly bigger trunk---17 cubic feet compared to 14 in the old one.

Rear seat passengers also get half an inch more legroom than they did before---a full 37 inches. But the lower roofline cuts into headroom back there---a loss of 8/10ths of an inch.

The base price of the 2025 BMW M5 is $119,500 ($120,675 including destination and $123,275 including destination and a $2,600 gas guzzler tax).

That money buys a lot, beyond a lot of pounds and a lot of power: M Compound four-wheel ventilated anti-lock disc brakes with black calipers, dynamic brake control and cornering brake control, an M xDrive all-wheel drive system, M rear spoiler and signature M side gills, 20 and 21-inch M dual-spoke wheels, a heated steering wheel, M Shadowline lights, keyless entry, Travel and Comfort system, M seat belts, M multi-function seats with lumbar, four-zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, acoustic protection for pedestrians, Iconic Sounds Electrick, full LED lights with cornering, BMW Assist and BMW TeleServices, ConnectedDrive Services, rain-sensing wipers, a Bowers & Wilkins surround sound audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, wireless device charging, a personal 5G wireless hotspot, a one-year trial of SiriusXM with 360L, Shadowline exterior trim, an anthracite Alcantara headliner, extended Merino leather interior, and a comprehensive suite of active safety features.

For all that standard equipment, there were still some extra-cost options on our test vehicle including the Driving Assistance Professional Package ($1,700), The M Carbon Package ($3,100), the Executive Package with BMW iconic glow kidney grille, front and rear heated seats, front ventilated seats, an interior camera and Parking Assistant Plus ($1,850), Carbon Fiber Silver Thread highlights ($300) and extended Shadowline trim ($2,500).

All that brings the bottom line on the window sticker to $132,725.

There are auto reviewers who say the new M5 is bad. It's not---not by any metric.

It's just bigger and heavier and more reliant on electrics and electronics to move it, move it quickly and keep it tracking while it moves.

BMW used to use the phrase "The Ultimate Driving Machine" in its advertising. Then it meant a machine that you drive, one that rewards your skill at the wheel. I just feel like the equation has shifted with the 2025 M5, and now, it's the car itself and the engineers who built it that are doing most of the work.