These Are the BMWs BMWBLOG Editors Beloved Driving in 2025

Yearly, the BMWBLOG workforce spends 1000’s of miles behind the wheel. Press automobiles, prototypes, long-term testers, observe classes, highway journeys, mountain passes, and day by day commutes all mix collectively into one lengthy spotlight reel. By December, it turns into surprisingly tough to single out only one automobile.

And but, that’s precisely what we requested our workforce to do.

Not the quickest BMW. Not the costliest. Not the one with the very best spec sheet. Simply the BMW that left the strongest impression in 2025—the one which reminded us why we care about driving within the first place. The solutions this 12 months span many years, drivetrains, and philosophies. So let’s dive proper ine.

Sean Kealey: 2025 BMW M2 Six-Pace Handbook

For Sean, the reply was speedy: the 2025 BMW M2. This 12 months’s updates—extra energy, inside refinements, and expanded colour decisions—didn’t change the M2’s core mission, and that’s exactly why it resonated so deeply. The G87 M2 represents one thing more and more uncommon: a rear-wheel-drive, inline-six-powered coupe that prioritizes engagement over abstraction.

On canyon roads round Los Angeles, the M2 felt each potent and playful. It delivered actual efficiency with out intimidation, inviting the motive force to push tougher quite than stepping in too early. For Sean, it recalled a formative reminiscence—driving alongside as a passenger whereas his father drove a then-new E46 M3 Coupe. That sense of pleasure, stability, and mechanical honesty remains to be alive right here.

What shocked him most, although, was how full the package deal felt. In calmer drive modes, the M2 settled into daily-driver obligation with ease. The cabin remained quiet, the trip compliant, and the suspension refined when not pushed into full assault mode. The rear seats are usable, the trunk sensible, and nothing concerning the expertise felt compromised.

In immediately’s market, Sean sees the M2 as one thing near a unicorn: a guide, rear-wheel-drive sports activities automobile with real on a regular basis usability and close to supercar efficiency at a worth that also feels attainable. For him, it wasn’t simply probably the most enjoyable BMW of the 12 months—it was a reminder of what BMW does finest.

You’ll be able to watch the complete evaluate under:

Nate Risch: BMW M2 CS and BMW M5 Touring

Nate’s picks sit at reverse ends of the BMW spectrum, but each left equally sturdy impressions. His first selection, the BMW M2 CSbuilds straight on an expertise he had two years in the past on the BMW Efficiency Heart. The usual M2 impressed him then for being nearly too straightforward to drive shortly. The CS takes that formulation and sharpens it.

Suspension upgrades, elevated energy, and the acquainted CS carbon-fiber therapy—bucket seats, weight discount, and a outstanding rear spoiler—remodel the M2 into one thing way more targeted. Nate describes it as a contemporary interpretation of the basic M3 ethos, infused with motorsport aggression. Each on-ramp feels just like the exit of Flip 1 at Circuit of the Americas. Each drive feels deliberate.

It’s not only a quick automobile. It’s a automobile that makes you need to get up early simply to drive.

His second choose shocked even him.

Lengthy a fan of wagons and equally skeptical of huge, heavy autos, Nate didn’t anticipate to fall for the BMW M5 Touring. But it surely utterly rewrote his definition of an excellent day by day driver.

On paper, the numbers are staggering: 717 horsepower, immense weight, and real utility. On the highway, the M5 Touring by some means defies physics. It carries gear like an X3, accelerates like an excellent sedan, and nonetheless feels keen and responsive when pushed. BMW’s engineering makes its mass really feel nearly irrelevant.

The duality sealed the deal. One second, it’s a refined long-distance cruiser returning as much as 54 MPGe. The following, it’s able to operating 11-second quarter miles with out breaking a sweat. For Nate, it’s the final word Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde machine—and probably the most spectacular all-around autos BMW has ever constructed.

Chuck Vossler: BMW X5 xDrive50e

Chuck’s favourite BMW of 2025 is a reminder that greatness doesn’t at all times shout. His choose, the BMW X5 xDrive50emight not be the apparent selection amongst M automobiles and efficiency icons, but it surely made sense the second he defined why. The X5 has lengthy been one in every of BMW’s best-selling fashions, and residing with the plug-in hybrid model revealed precisely why.

It’s an excellent long-distance companion. The cabin is snug and thoughtfully appointed, the elevated seating place conjures up confidence, and options like heated and ventilated seats and a heated steering wheel matter once you really use a automobile year-round. For Chuck, who spends time in Colorado’s snowy mountain areas, the mixture of all-wheel drive and floor clearance made the X5 really feel effortlessly succesful.

What actually shocked him, nonetheless, was the way it drove.

Reasonably than a indifferent hybrid expertise, the xDrive50e delivered real athleticism. With a 0–60 mph time of 4.6 seconds and seamless electric-assisted torque, it felt energetic and responsive. Totally charged and fueled, whole vary exceeded 500 miles—preferrred for highway journeys with out fixed planning.

With the M Sport package deal and a trailer hitch for a motorbike rack, the X5 xDrive50e turned the right match for Chuck’s life-style. Sensible, environment friendly, and quietly partaking, it proved {that a} BMW doesn’t have to be loud to be particular.

Kanon: BMW iX xDrive50 (and a Motorrad Honorable Point out)

For Kanon, selecting a favourite BMW annually isn’t simple. With numerous drives—and rides—blurred collectively, narrowing it down requires reflection.

He briefly thought of being cheeky and naming a 1973 BMW 3.0 CS, probably the most stunning automobiles BMW has ever constructed. However his ultimate choose was way more surprising: the BMW iX xDrive50.

As BMW’s present EV reference level, the iX impressed Kanon by how cohesive it felt. Luxurious, efficiency, inside design, and expertise all labored collectively with out drawing consideration to themselves. Energy supply was easy, the cabin genuinely inviting, and the expertise intuitive quite than distracting.

What stood out most was the iX’s real-world effectivity relative to its dimension, mixed with a way of calm and refinement that made it straightforward to dwell with. It didn’t attempt to replicate a combustion-era BMW—it merely labored by itself phrases. For Kanon, it was the quiet confidence of the package deal that made it his favourite BMW drive of the 12 months.

As BMWBLOG’s resident Motorrad professional, he couldn’t go away issues there.

His favourite two-wheeled BMW of 2025 was the 2025 BMW R 1300 RT. Fully redesigned, the brand new RT brings real sport again into sport touring. Regardless of its dimension, it proved agile, partaking, and endlessly succesful.

Days spent driving by means of the Southern Appalachian mountains of North Georgia and Alabama marked the spotlight of his driving 12 months. The R 1300 RT entertained, shocked, and impressed at each flip—proof that touring bikes can nonetheless be deeply involving machines.

Boerium Horatius: BMW iX3 (Nue Class)

For me, the selection was clear. My favourite BMW of 2025 was the BMW iX3, a automobile I uniquely skilled twice—first as a prototypeand later in manufacturing kind. That uncommon alternative provided a transparent view into what BMW’s Neue Klasse philosophy actually represents.

Each instances, the takeaway was the identical: distinctive driving dynamics.

Regardless of being a totally electrical SUV, the iX3 proved succesful on observe whereas remaining an excellent day by day driver. The stability between agility and luxury felt intentional, not compromised. A lot of that comes all the way down to Neue Klasse expertise and the brand new Coronary heart of Pleasure central laptop, which integrates energy supply, braking, regeneration, and chassis management right into a unified system.

With an EPA-estimated vary of round 400 miles and ultra-fast charging functionality of as much as 400 kW, the iX3 addresses real-world EV considerations with out turning them into advertising slogans. It merely delivers.

It was not solely my favourite BMW of the 12 months—it’s my subsequent automobile, and one I consider will redefine expectations for BMW and the EV section as a complete.

Steven Paul: 1999 BMW M Coupe

Steven’s choose takes us again 26 years. His favourite BMW of 2025 wasn’t new, wasn’t electrified, and wasn’t chasing efficiency information. It was a 1999 BMW M Coupe, pushed for the primary time solely after he had already purchased it.

Due to its shut ties to the E30 and E36 3 Collection, the M Coupe felt instantly acquainted. The steering is splendidly communicative, the S52 inline-six delivers energy with character, and the automobile’s famously unconventional styling feels purposeful quite than quirky. The boundaries are approachable, encouraging exploration quite than intimidation.

Driving it rekindled Steven’s love for BMW and reminded him why he turned an fanatic within the first place—and in the end, why he ended up at BMWBLOG. In a 12 months dominated by cutting-edge tech and large efficiency figures, his favourite drive was a reminder that a few of BMW’s biggest achievements have already stood the take a look at of time.

Respect your elders.

What These Picks Say About BMW in 2025

Taken collectively, these decisions inform a compelling story.

BMW’s future is electrical, quick, and technologically formidable—however its previous nonetheless issues. Whether or not it’s a Neue Klasse iX3, a 26-year-old M Coupe, a plug-in hybrid X5, or a fire-breathing M2, the frequent thread is connection. The perfect BMWs of 2025 weren’t simply spectacular—they had been those that made us need to preserve driving.

And that, greater than something, remains to be very a lot a BMW trait.