BMW M5 Touring (G99 wagon) vs Macan Turbo Electric

[masmole]

It might seem Apples to Oranges but they’re more similar than you might think.

Yes, one is a plug-in hybrid and the other fully electric but both in the same ballpark as far a combination of luxury, performance, and utility.

Both are hatchbacks with room for family road trips, similar 0-60 times, both can run fully electric, both are extremely heavy but tuned to defy the laws of physics, and both are nearly identically priced, once comparably equipped with most of the options.

I test drove both and here are my findings:

- the M5 felt heavier. It probably is heavier but I was shocked at how much more massive it felt when thrown into turns compared to the Macan Turbo.
- the M5 had nicer and more comfortable seats, though it did lack massage seats and is not even available as an option
- the Macan Turbo has better seating position and overall driver ergonomics. It was easier to find a perfect driving position and controls are more intuitive. To be fair, I own a Taycan and 992 so maybe I’m a bit Porsche biased with this aspect.
- the Macan Turbo was more playful and felt more rear-biased. However, the M5 supposedly has a rear-drive mode that can send all 717hp to the rear wheels which sounds like a hoot, but they would not let me do this on the test drive. Understandably so.
- the M5 has a much larger rear trunk, but to be fair it does not have a frunk thanks to a twin turbo V8 sitting up front instead.
- both cars felt somewhat numb with steering, but I was surprised that the Macan Turbo had just a bit more feedback than the pedigreed M car. What’s odd was the M5 had rear axle steering standard while the Macan Turbo I drove did not have rear steer optioned. So theoretically, a Macan Turbo with rear axle steering will shine even more over the vaunted M5 in this category?
- Macan Turbo had more NVH than the M5, but both are good. This was tricky to evaluate because the Macan is fully electric, had 22” wheels, and the one I drove had a rear wiper which meant no noise-insualted glass while the M5 had fake engine sounds piped in with faint real engine sounds in the background. But definitely more wind and tire noise from the Macan, especially when running the M5 in electric mode only.
- the M5 can be optioned with carbon ceramic brakes for only $8k! I wish we could do the same with a Porsche Macan Turbo
- the M5 Touring is a bit ugly to me. It’s menacing but it’s not a looker like the RS6 Avant. I love wagons but I actually prefer the sedan variant of the M5 over the Touring, but still happy that BMW finally decided to bring an M wagon to America. Macan Turbo is a supermodel compared to the M5 Touring.
- Macan Turbo is more fun to drive. Apart from the glorious V8 sounds (though mostly faked/amplified via speakers) the M5 really takes a back seat to the Macan Turbo in terms of overall handling, toss-ability, how it behaves through the turns and transitions, and the overall responsiveness of the chassis. Again, this might be a little Porsche owner bias on my part, but I would pick the Macan Turbo based on this alone.

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[Budget M3]

Appreciate your insights, but IMHO your initial statement about Apples and Oranges rings truer than you might think.

These cars are in completely different classes. Yes, they can both haul people and stuff, and they have similar costs, but that’s about it. Compact SUVs can also haul stuff and go off road, M-wagons do not. BEVs have range limited by their HV batteries and charging infrastructure, PHEVs have theoretically unlimited range since they can take advantage of the refueling infrastructure. Weight is similar, but it is distributed quite differently in different sized packages which completely explains why the Macan felt smaller and more nimble.

The M-car also comes with an expectation of extreme luxury as the flagship of the M-car lineup (XM notwithstanding). The Macan punches way above its weight (pun intended!) in the luxury dept, but it’s not intended to be in the same class As a flagship from BMW.

Even though I am a die hard BMW enthusiast, too, I did not cross shop the two and doubt there will be very many who will.

just my $.02….YMMV

 

[masmole]

Appreciate your insights, but IMHO your initial statement about Apples and Oranges rings truer than you might think.

These cars are in completely different classes. Yes, they can both haul people and stuff, and they have similar costs, but that’s about it. Compact SUVs can also haul stuff and go off road, M-wagons do not. BEVs have range limited by their HV batteries and charging infrastructure, PHEVs have theoretically unlimited range since they can take advantage of the refueling infrastructure. Weight is similar, but it is distributed quite differently in different sized packages which completely explains why the Macan felt smaller and more nimble.

The M-car also comes with an expectation of extreme luxury as the flagship of the M-car lineup (XM notwithstanding). The Macan punches way above its weight (pun intended!) in the luxury dept, but it’s not intended to be in the same class As a flagship from BMW.

Even though I am a die hard BMW enthusiast, too, I did not cross shop the two and doubt there will be very many who will.

just my $.02….YMMV

Oh I agree that it‘s Apples to Oranges when it comes for the target audiences. Most shopping for the Macan EV are looking for an electric car with the Porsche cachet at a lower cost of admission (by Porsche standards) and most shopping for the M5 are expecting an M5, or similar super sedan. Personally, I’m just looking for a Taycan sedan replacement that has a bit more utility. I was dead set on getting another new Taycan but in Crossturismo or Sport turismo form, until I test drove a Macan EV and became smitten. Having owned three generations of M5 in the past (E60, F10, F90) I owed myself the due diligence of at least test-driving the newest and fattest M5 to date, especially since it’s now finally available as a wagon in America. Having done that, I still insist they are similar enough and assuming another buyer has a comparable use case as me, they owe to themselves to definitely cross-shop the two. I certainly would be happy to have either one. It’s almost a toss-up for me and actually would favor the M5 if my wife had decided to get an EV for herself. Instead, she just picked up an ICE X5 M60i so that will become our family road trip car and I’ll be the one that can continue to roll with a range-limited BEV.

 

[Budget M3]

Oh I agree that it‘s Apples to Oranges when it comes for the target audiences. Most shopping for the Macan EV are looking for an electric car with the Porsche cachet at a lower cost of admission (by Porsche standards) and most shopping for the M5 are expecting an M5, or similar super sedan. Personally, I’m just looking for a Taycan sedan replacement that has a bit more utility. I was dead set on getting another new Taycan but in Crossturismo or Sport turismo form, until I test drove a Macan EV and became smitten. Having owned three generations of M5 in the past (E60, F10, F90) I owed myself the due diligence of at least test-driving the newest and fattest M5 to date, especially since it’s now finally available as a wagon in America. Having done that, I still insist they are similar enough and assuming another buyer has a comparable use case as me, they owe to themselves to definitely cross-shop the two. I certainly would be happy to have either one. It’s almost a toss-up for me and actually would favor the M5 if my wife had decided to get an EV for herself. Instead, she just picked up an ICE X5 M60i so that will become our family road trip car and I’ll be the one that can continue to roll with a range-limited BEV.

Definitely a first world dilemma!

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