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BMW M3 vs BMW M5

What's the difference?

VS
BMW M3
BMW M3

2023 price

BMW M5
BMW M5

$259,900 - $263,900

2025 price

Summary

2023 BMW M3
2025 BMW M5
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 6, 3.0L

BI Turbo V8, 4.4L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
10.4L/100km (combined)

10.3L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Carbon pack a little (a lot) silly
  • Thirsty as all get out
  • Design a little polarising (though I like it)

  • Awkward boot
  • Brake and steering feel
  • Low on hooliganism
2023 BMW M3 Summary

There’s no point waxing too lyrical here, because the facts surrounding the M3 Touring are more than exciting enough.

It’s a (kind of) family friendly wagon with oodles of space and practicality. It’s also an unhinged performance weapon with a thumping 3.0-litre twin-turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder engine.

And it has been years — decades, even — in the making. So, has it been worth the wait? Let’s strap in and find out.

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2025 BMW M5 Summary

Balancing luxury car comfort, hot hatch agility and supercar speed is no easy task, yet that is what made the six previous generations of BMW's M5 so iconic. 

In seventh-generation ‘G90’ guise, the M5 has another skeleton in the cupboard: the toughest emissions regulations that Europe, and now Australia, have ever seen.

A twin-turbo V8 was untenable and going battery electric was not an option. Plug-in hybrid was the only answer. For the new M5, BMW combined a revised 4.4-litre ‘S68’ bent eight with a punchy electric motor for 535kW and 1000Nm

Problem is, the G90 is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest BMW M cars of all time, especially in CS trim. And thanks to a circa-600kg weight hike to nearly 2500kg, the new M5's 0-100km/h claim is actually slower than the old 'F90' M5. 

Doesn’t exactly sound like a big leap forward, does it?

A drive through the Central West of NSW and around the iconic Mount Panorama racing circuit gave us answers to two questions. Does the M5 work on Australia roads, and does BMW M's latest super-sedan represent progress?

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Deep dive comparison

2023 BMW M3 2025 BMW M5

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