I drove the BMW M5 for a week — and it’s the reason why gas guzzling sport sedans have new life

Let me start off by saying that by no means would I ever want to buy a gas guzzler, especially having tested many of the best electric cars out there. But after spending a week of driving the 2025 BMW M5, it’s an excuse for anyone to drive a sports sedan with poor fuel economy.

Why’s that? Well, that’s because of how it can tap into all-electric power as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). This isn’t my first rodeo testing one out, having just been impressed recently by the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Since it has a dedicated electric battery, the BMW M5 has a range of 25 miles using nothing but all-electric power.

That’s important because it supplements its 14 mpg combined fuel economy, which can mean fewer gas fill ups in between. Even though the exact trim I drove comes in at a staggering $146,225 cost, it’s a luxury sports sedan that is a lot of fun and cool to drive.

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2025 BMW M5: Specifications

2025 BMW M5: Testing summary

I drove a total of 261.2 miles in my week’s worth of testing the 2025 BMW M5 Sedan, resulting in average fuel economy of 38.4 mpg. For the first two days, I made sure to use its all-electric power before defaulting back to gas-electric — so the results are a bit skewed. But despite this, it doesn’t come close to matching the fuel economy I’ve gotten with other PHEVs like the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, Kia Sportage PHEV, and Lexus RX450h+.

Then again, the BMW M5 Sedan isn’t anything like those PHEVs because it’s really not trying to break records for efficiency or fuel economy. Performance, handling, and speed are top priorities for this sports sedan, but having that all-electric power is helpful to lessen the need to refill on gasoline.

If you charge every night, you’ll have a full battery that’s capable of getting the M5 upwards of 25 miles according to BMW. In my testing, however, I found charging it came out to about 33 miles of range — which I’ve tested to be pretty accurate running through the all-electric range with one long distance drive.

2025 BMW M5: What I Like

You get 33 miles of all-electric range

This is without question the biggest selling point in my opinion about the 2025 BMW M5 Sedan. You wouldn’t catch me ever wanting to buy a gas guzzler that gets about 14 MPG combined fuel economy, but it does bring up the conversation about how gas-powered cars in general could get a new lease on life.

Much like the other plug-in hybrids I’ve tested, I can lean on nothing but its all-electric power to save the gas for later on. And since it’s able to get back a full charge overnight through a standard 120V outlet, I’m not as concerned about the terrible fuel economy it gets. In fact, this is the kind of thing that could remold people’s misconceptions about EVs.

Aggressive design meets shimmery paint job

When I drove to the nearest convenience store with a gas station, one of the attendants stopped me as I was getting out of the M5 because he was so fixated on the paint job. Honestly, I felt the same way because the Sepia Metallic paint job looks muted at first, appearing all gray, but when the light hits it at just the right angle, it shimmers in gold.

It’s a dazzling light show I’ll admit, which is made better by the sporty design language of the M5. The wider stance of the M5 paired with its low clearance to the ground distinctively gives it an aggressive stance. It brought out the youth in me that craved sporty styles all those years ago. Really, it’s luxury meets sporty at its finest.

Tight steering and power when you need it

The 2025 BMW M5 is one of the most fun rides I’ve had in the last year, just coming up short of the BMW i4 M50 Gran Coupe, Lucid Air Touring, and Mini Cooper Countryman EV on my list. Still, the 717 hp performance produced from its 4.4 liter M TwinPower Turbo V-8 engine delivers outstanding response, which paired with a tight steering, makes it a breeze at rounding tight corners and getting to cruising speed.

There’s an M1 boost button on the steering wheel that prepares a boost to enable maximum acceleration at 30 mph, which results in extra power when I need to accelerate. There are also the paddles on the steering wheel that lets me shift the gears manually, which sort of mimics an arcade style racing experience.

Auto-dimming headlights

I confess that BMW has some of the best looking lights around in its vehicles — like how the BMW iX grill lights up at night — and the M5 Sedan is no exception. While it has the same eye-catching lighting sequence whenever it’s unlocked with the key fob, I really love the tech behind how its headlights automatically dim.

The high beams in particular really show off this process the best, as they slowly turn on when it senses there’s no vehicle in front of me. When it does sense one, it performs this breathing action that slowly brings down the light so they’re not blinded. It’s cool and works rather well in knowing then to turn on and off, so that’s one less thing I’m having to manage while driving.

Smooth ADAS, slick looking HUD

Naturally, a luxury vehicle at this price point comes with all the premium features you can think about. Two of the most notable include its smooth Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) called "Active Driving Assistant" that allows the vehicle to maintain cruise control speed, while applying the necessary braking, acceleration, and steering all on its own.

There’s also an augmented view for navigation that overlays directions onto the live feed of the camera in the front of the M5, which is then shown on the driver’s display. There’s also the slick looking head-up display that’s projected into the windshield. Not only is it one of the sharpest I’ve come across, but it’s also one of the largest HUDs.

Tiny vents

Stepping inside of the BMW M5 is a journey to another world with the amount of ambient lights, large screens, and comfortable seats it has. One thing that stands out to me are the tiny air vents around the dashboard. I do appreciate the minimalist and clean look BMW’s aiming for, but it could’ve spared some room for more vents. The ones for the back seats are actually larger, so trying to cool myself down on a couple of warmer days took a while.

2025 BMW M5: What I Don't Like

Terrible all-gas fuel economy

Not surprisingly, I’m not much of a fan of its all-gas fuel economy, which is why I can’t stress enough about how its all-electric battery power can help offset things. After my second day of driving the 2025 BMW M5, I didn’t charge its battery and kept to nothing but gas power.

That’s when I began to see my average fuel economy begin to dip, but you shouldn’t be shocked considering this is a performance vehicle. You’re not going to buy it for its fuel economy. That’s for sure.

2025 BMW M5: Bottom Line

Like I’ve said earlier, there’s no way I would ever want to buy a gas guzzler — especially one that gets 14 mpg combined. Nor would I ever want to spend this much on any vehicle for that matter.

But the 2025 BMW M5 Sedan does prove something that I’ve been a staunch supporter of: the need for more PHEVs. Despite the laughable fuel economy, the fact that it gets 33 miles of all-electric range breathes in new life to gas-powered cars. I’m not saying it’s going to be what drivers solely will rely on, but it certainly helps out in lessening the burden of buying gasoline.

There are few sports sedans that’s this much fun to drive, but the combo of being able to use gas and electric power certainly helps in giving it a wider appeal outside of car enthusiasts.

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