- Facelifted M5 swaps curved display for a tablet screen.
- Panoramic iDrive replaces the traditional digital cluster.
- Exterior updates include slightly smaller kidney grilles.
It feels like the BMW M5 sedan and Touring have barely had time to settle in, yet an update is already in motion as part of the Neue Klasse push. Their exterior will get a refresh, but the real upheaval is inside. The cabin is set for a comprehensive overhaul, and it could end up looking quite different from the current car.
There’s nothing especially wrong with the current M5’s cabin, whether you pick the sedan or the estate. It runs BMW’s familiar Curved Display, which blends the infotainment and digital instruments into one sweeping panel, and it gets a chunky three-spoke steering wheel to remind you this is still an M car. Even so, change is coming.
Read: BMW Is Injecting Future Neue Klasse DNA Into Its M5 Touring
For starters, fresh interior shots of the 5-Series Touring show the Curved Display is on its way out. In its place sits the tablet-style screen from the second-generation iX3, mounted at the center of the dashboard like it has somewhere else to be.
SH Proshots
More telling is what you do not see. There is no traditional instrument cluster at all. Which points to one obvious conclusion: the updated M5 will likely adopt the iX3’s Panoramic iDrive head-up display, projected across the base of the windshield
Other elements appear to have been lifted straight from the iX3. Most obvious is the slightly unconventional two-spoke steering wheel, complete with oversized control pads on both sides. Before the purists start drafting complaint letters, relax. This setup is understood to be for testing purposes. While it may find its way into regular 5-Series models, the M5 itself is expected to stick with tradition and retain a three-spoke wheel.
Like the iX3, the updated M5 Touring also features a newly positioned engine Start and Stop button on the center console, along with a crystal gear selector.
Design Changes
The cabin is not the only area under review. BMW is also fine-tuning the exterior across the 5-Series range, including both the M5 Sedan and the Touring.
Initially, the luxurious model was tipped to receive the full Neue Klasse design overhaul, but recent prototypes suggest something more restrained. For example, the kidney grilles of the current car will be retained, albeit slightly smaller. Alterations will also be made to the headlights, and changes are also on the cards for the front bumper.
Round the back, it will remain largely recognizable. The main change comes in the form of updated taillights, rather than a wholesale rethink.
As for what sits under the hood, do not expect surprises. Currently, the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged plug-in hybrid V8 muscles out 717 hp and 738 lb-ft, which is just about enough to offset the car’s massive 5,530 lbs (2,475 kg) heft.
