The new 2013 BMW M5 has its big dose of performance and even a dose of green. The model is much better environmentally than the car it replaces. The M5 sold up through the 2010 model year and carried a 10-cylinder engine under its hood, but it really gulped gas. This latest example has a much more efficient twin turbo V8 instead of the V10.
Mileage figures for the 2010 BMW M5 were a dismal 11 mpg city and 17 mpg highway. The 2013 BMW M5 has been rated with EPA estimates of 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway. The manual transmission model does even better in each measurement with EPA estimates of 15 mpg city and 22 mpg highway.
The other side of the coin is carbon output, which has been reduced by nearly 20 percent.
So does the new efficiency put a damper on performance? The answer is hardly. The V8's twin turbo helps it make 60 percent more horsepower than the V10.
No place is that more apparent than on a track, where the new M5 not only shines, but also feels like a much smaller and lighter car. The engine, chassis and brakes are more than up to the task on Laguna Seca Raceway's twists and turns.The new M5 is going greener because pretty much all cars are. They have to in order to meet increasingly tight standards. BMW's goal is to keep performance while reducing consumption and emissions even in their most ferocious cars.
Consumers who are looking for a really efficient BMW 5 can also now go hybrid.
The new 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 isn't BMWs first gas-electric hybrid, but it's the first time they've offered the system in the popular BMW 5 series sedan.
The gas-electric sedan still performs like a BMW but offers the performance combined with the fuel-saving traits of a hybrid system with EPA estimates of 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway.
The 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 5 is no Prius in the mileage department, but it's no Prius in performance either.
It shows that BMW, like other car companies, is making an effort to be a little greener.
