BMW M5 Plug-In Hybrid V8 Muscle With Strong EV Range

BMW’s latest M5 takes one of the brand’s most recognisable performance badges and rewires it for an era of emissions targets and plug cables, without losing the core ingredients that made it famous. Under the bonnet sits a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, but it now works with a muscular electric motor and an 18.6 kWh battery to create a plug-in hybrid super saloon – and estate – that can glide through town on battery power one moment and hammer up a slip road the next. On paper, the numbers are outrageous: 727 hp, 1,000 Nm of torque, 0–62 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed nudging 189 mph, with up to 43 miles of electric running and as much as 87 mph available without the engine even waking up.

You feel that dual character the moment you pull away. In electric mode, the M5 shuffles around suburbia almost silently, the big V8 merely dozing in the background while you coast past fuel stations. Call upon the full system, and it responds with a huge, instant shove; the electric motor fills any gaps while the turbocharged V8 piles on speed with a hard-edged growl. Launch control and xDrive all-wheel drive make full-throttle starts almost absurdly efficient, and the exhaust’s active valves can switch from discreet to motorsport-style bark via a simple prod of the mode buttons. For such a heavy car, the way it gathers pace and shrugs off its mass is borderline surreal.

The chassis has clearly had just as much attention. Adaptive M suspension, rear-wheel steering and clever Integral Active Steering conspire to make the M5 feel far more agile than something this long and wide has any right to. On tight, looping roads, it changes direction with real precision, the rear axle tucking into bends at low speeds and adding stability when you’re pressing on. Body control is tidy, yet the ride never feels punishing; it deals with poor surfaces in a way that makes distance driving easy rather than a chore. There is an entire menu of configurable settings for powertrain, damping, steering and xDrive, but the red M buttons on the steering wheel mean you can jump straight to favourite presets without getting lost in submenus.

Inside, the cabin underlines just how far the M5 has moved upmarket over the generations. Space is generous front and rear, with deeply bolstered sports seats that still leave plenty of legroom for those in the back, four-zone climate control and the option of a vast glass roof adding to the sense of occasion. The Curved Display blends a 12.3-inch driver screen with a 14.9-inch touchscreen, all running BMW’s latest Operating System 8.5, complete with an app store, augmented-reality navigation and an excellent head-up display rich in M-specific data. A high-end Bowers & Wilkins audio system can either soundtrack quiet electric journeys or be muted so you can enjoy the V8’s soundtrack instead. The saloon’s 446-litre boot is usefully shaped, and those needing more load space can opt for the Touring, which brings estate-car practicality without diluting the performance recipe.

There are a few compromises. The hybrid hardware rules out DC rapid charging, so you are limited to 7.4 kW AC top-ups that take a little over three hours from empty to full, and the car’s considerable weight is never far from your mind when you are threading it through tight streets. Yet used as intended – plugged in at home, running on battery power through the week and uncorked on the right road – this M5 shows just how far a plug-in hybrid can go when real engineering effort is thrown at it. It remains a devastatingly quick all-weather saloon that can cover huge distances in comfort, only now it can also slip into the role of near-silent commuter with genuine electric range.