2025 BMW 5 Series Review: A balanced luxury sedan
Pros: Comfortable interior; comfortable drive; big trunk; improved tech
Cons: Expensive; base engine doesn’t thrill; not quite as luxurious as it could be
The BMW 5 Series is a midsize luxury sedan that is undergoing a rebirth in this electrified era. After being completely redesigned for 2024, the 2025 model year sees the lineup filling out with higher-performance plug-in hybrid trims, including the new 550e and the hi-po M5 PHEV (which will also offer a wagon body style). What we’ve seen so far from this generation of the 5 Series is more streamlined luxury, with better tech and fewer frills. In its more modest trims, the 5er might not be as sharp of a driving tool as the Audi A6, nor quite as posh inside as the Mercedes-Benz E Class, but that middle ground might just be what you’re looking for in a luxury sedan.
Compared to the previous 5 Series, the updated model adds power, efficiency, space and a big tech upgrade. That said, the new iDrive 8.5 infotainment software still takes some time to learn, and can be frustrating at times. It’s comfortable going down the road, but the base 2.0-liter powertrain left us looking for a little more in terms of thrills. But if you’ve been waiting for hotter options before looking at the new 5 Series, the wait is almost over, with the 550i and M5 coming this fall. Those will surely do more to excite.
For the purposes if this buying guide, we’ll be sticking to the gas-powered (including hybrid) models. If you want to go the all-electric route, check out our review of the visually similar 2024 BMW i5.
Interior & Technology | Passenger & Cargo Space | Performance & Fuel Economy
What it’s like to drive | Pricing & Trim Levels | Crash Ratings & Safety Features
What’s new for 2025?
The 5 Series was all new for 2024 as it entered its eighth generation. For 2025, the existing trims remain largely unchanged, but BMW is introducing the 550e plug-in hybrid, as well as a new BMW M5 with 717 horsepower. Wagon lovers rejoice: The M5 Touring will also be available in the U.S., but its lesser variants won’t be joining.
What are the 5 Series interior and in-car technology like?
The interior of the 5 Series is a good one, with decent materials (whether real leather or vegan), and impressive trim and ambient lighting design that looks high-tech without being too far out there. It lives up to its luxury reputation, being a comfortable place to spend time, with plenty of features to keep its occupants happy. And it’s not all about what you see, as BMW put thought into the things you don’t see, like the hidden air vents in the dash. Still, you can find more comfort and opulence in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
The 5 Series features a single curved panel housing a 12.3-inch instrument panel and 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen, which can also be controlled via a rotary knob on the center console or through voice commands. The iDrive 8.5 software is a huge improvement over 8.0, too. Activating or turning off your heated/ventilated seats and heated steering wheel is now a breeze. Plus, the always-there bottom row of quick toggles makes switching between tasks a million times easier. The whole system is smoother and quicker to react, and the ventilated wireless phone charging pad is a big improvement over BMW’s previous design that had a tendency to cause our phones to overheat when on the pad for too long.
How big is the 5 Series?
The BMW 5 Series seats five. As a fairly lengthy sedan, adult riders will be plenty comfortable sitting in the back seat for long drives. And the extra length in the 2025 5 Series translates to the feeling of a larger car going down the road.
The gas-powered 5 Series’ trunk provides 18.4 cubic feet of cargo space, which is 1.1 cubes larger than the i5’s, and even comes with a spare tire. It’s a pretty big space for the segment, with useful cubbies behind the wheel wells to hold smaller items you don’t want rolling around in the trunk. When the M5 Touring comes around, it’ll offer the most useful shape for packing and max out at a big 57.6 cubic feet with the rear seats down.
What are the 5 Series fuel economy and performance specs?
The 530i is the entry model for 2025, motivated by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine powering the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s good for 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. BMW claims a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds. The EPA rates it at 27 miles per gallon city, 35 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined.
The 530i xDrive features the same motor with all-wheel drive. It’s just a tiny smidge quicker, doing 0-60 in 5.8 seconds. Fuel economy remains the same.
The upgrade trim is the 540i xDrive. It employs a turbocharged 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid tech, good for 375 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. All-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission are standard. BMW lists a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds. It gets 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway and 28 mpg combined.
BMW is soon to launch the 550e xDrive, which adds plug-in hybrid power to the 3.0-liter I6. It’s good for 483 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, with a 4.1-second 0-60 time. Fuel economy and range figures have not yet been disclosed as of this writing.
The baddest 5 Series will be the recently revealed M5, which, interestingly, is a plug-in hybrid. Its 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 and electric motor are good for a total of 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. BMW says it’ll do 0-60 in just 3.4 seconds. While fuel economy figures aren’t yet available, BMW estimates an all-electric range of about 25 miles.
What’s the 5 Series like to drive?
The 530i doles out its torquey thrust via an eight-speed automatic transmission with smooth and speedy shifts. Maximum torque arrives at an early 1,600 rpm, though there isn’t much in the way of accelerative or auditory reward for holding onto gears to redline. The 530i’s engine takes on a muted gruff-and-growly theme through the abundance of sound deadening. There’s a great argument to be made for good-sounding gas engines being the more enjoyable drive partner than an EV, but that’s not the case here, as we prefer the i5 over this generally middling four-cylinder. While we haven’t yet tested them, there’s a good chance that might not be the case for a 5 Series powered by one of BMW’s smooth inline sixes.
The optional M Sport Suspension is still fairly low-tech compared to what’s offered on the full-fat i5 M60 (active anti-roll tech, rear air suspension and rear-wheel steering), but it does come with a more aggressive – albeit passive – damper and spring setup designed to improve handling. As we’ve come to expect from the 5 Series, the 530i xDrive twists its way through a winding road happily with a reasonable amount of body roll and quick reactions from swinging about the chunky, flat-bottom steering wheel. Our test car’s M Sport brakes are likely overkill for most use cases and are hooked up to a responsive pedal for assured stopping power. Overall, it’s quite capable when called upon, but BMW is clearly leaving a whole lot on the table for performance models to come at a later date.
Driven sedately, the M Sport Suspension shows its duality by being a mighty comfortable partner on a rough road. Its dampers do well to eliminate any floatiness over bumps but are still forgiving enough to filter out road imperfections without jostling the cabin too much. It’s essentially exactly as you’d expect it to be: more comfy than a 3 Series, but nowhere near as cosseting as a 7 Series.
What other BMW 5 Series reviews can I read?
2024 BMW 5 Series First Drive: Gas power takes the stage
We try out the redesigned and revamped 530i for the first time.
What is the 2025 5 Series price?
The 2025 BMW 530i starts at $59,375 (including the $1,175 destination charge), while the 530i xDrive costs $61,725. 2025 BMW 5 Series pricing is as follows:
530i: $59,375
530i xDrive: $61,725
540i: $66,375
550e: $73,875
M5: $120,675
M5 Touring: $122,675
What are the 5 Series safety ratings and driver assistance features?
Standard safety features on the BMW 5 Series include front collision warning, blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning. Available features include adaptive cruise control, lane centering steering assist, cornering lights, surround-view parking cameras and a drive recorder. The Active Driving Assistant Pro package adds emergency forward braking and collision evasion, automatic lane change and hands-free highway driving.
The 2024 BMW 5 Series earned a Top Safety Pick + designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and we expect that to remain the case for 2025. The car scored top marks in all testing areas, earning “Good” scores in all crash testing and for its headlights, an area where many vehicles fall short. Its front crash prevention systems also earned top “Superior” scores for day and night performance.
