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I Test Drove M5

13K views 69 replies 25 participants last post by  pal joey 
#1 ·
I test drove M5 yesterday. My current ride is 535i with ACS springs.

This is my mini review. This is only my opinion and not trying to offend M5 owners.

POSITIVE (From best to good)

  1. DCT is the best part of M5 over regular F10. It's very quick yet smooth. Even if you try, you cannot make it jerk. It's light years ahead of our 8AT.
  2. Suspension: M5 suspension feels very stable and solid (not floaty) compared to my ACS equipped F10. There's no body roll. The ride is actually better. I think it's due to PSS tires are much more comfortable than RFT. Come on BMW, why do you need to install RFT?
  3. Power: Although most people love the power. For me, having big power on the straight line does not mean that important for me. This is like AMG in the past. Just big power, not much excitement. Past legendary M cars were about delivering driving experience no other couldn't mimic.

NEGATIVE (from most critical to least critical)

  1. The steering is dead. Even older non-M 5-series had more feel than this one. Changing the steering setting only makes it heavier. Sometimes there's fake feel coming from the steering which feels more like random vibration. I don't get why BMW messed it up when they have achieved a steering perfection in E39/E30/E36/E46 era.
  2. Weight: even with great handling, you can feel the car weight. You won't be able to feel the tossable feel that older M5 had over its competitors
  3. Interior: the one I drove doesn't have full leather. It makes the car feel the same as regular 5-series. I think BMW has oversold "M" brand with msport on all cars. Older M userd to have special interior pieces that made them special such as steering wheel, special stitching, M logos, etc.

Verdict:

If you MUST have one car, M5 is the best choice. It is very comfortable as family/business car, it is pretty excited as a "sport" car.

For $100k, I'd prefer to get 528 and used M3. Current M3 gives 9 out of 10 driving excitement. Whereas F10 M5 only give 7 out 10 driving excitement. It's hard to explain what's missing. Current F10 M5 does not give me goose bumps like when I drove older M cars (even with less power < 400 hp).
 
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#6 ·
Man, you really cannot stand to hear anything bad about BMW can you? What does it matter if he's owned / driven an E60 M5? Is he not entitled to his opinion?
 
#3 ·
I test drove M5 yesterday. My current ride is 535i with ACS springs.

  1. The steering is dead. Even older non-M 5-series had more feel than this one. Changing the steering setting only makes it heavier. Sometimes there's fake feel coming from the steering which feels more like random vibration.
I have this sensation on my 535xi MSport. It is very subtle and not like a wheel is out of balance but it is like simulated road feel but it is a very very high frequency vibe in the steering wheel, like lane assist is barely on. I think it is just part of the drivetrain.
 
#4 ·
I've felt a vibration in my steering wheel as well, though sometimes at idle. It's random enough for me to have thought it would be some weird purposeful sensation BMW engineered into it, to simulate some kind of "feel", though that wouldn't make sense as it was at idle....
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the review

curious, have you driven the E39 M5? The recirculating ball setup had always been the Achilles heel on that car - Rack & Pinion would have made it 10 out of 10.
I already drove non-M E39, E46 M3, E60 M5, E92 M3. Among all of these I like E46 M3 steering feel the best. However, it is too heavy for parking sometimes.

A lot of my friends said E36 M3 has better steering than all. But, I never tried it myself.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the review. Some guys love the M5 and some guys don't, unfortunately many of the guys who love the car just won't accept that others don't love it. It's hilarious that they challenge how long the test drive was after they dismiss other cars after short test drives. Either it clicks or it doesn't.

Personally, after a disappointing test drive of the M6, I told the CA not to brother with getting the M5 ready. :(
 
#13 · (Edited)
Thanks for the review. Some guys love the M5 and some guys don't, unfortunately many of the guys who love the car just won't accept that others don't love it. It's hilarious that they challenge how long the test drive was after they dismiss other cars after short test drives. Either it clicks or it doesn't.

Personally, after a disappointing test drive of the M6, I told the CA not to brother with getting the M5 ready. :(
With your Dinan-BBS-PSS-tuned 550i beast, I can imagine you will not be impressed with M5/M6 at all. :)
 
#14 ·
Sounds like our preferences and how we experience cars are very similar. My verdict after a test drive is close although mine is slightly harsher, likely due to showing up and leaving in an M3. And if you don't need the extra space there is imo no need for two cars if you buy an M3, it's not an uncomfortable car.
 
#15 ·
I know what you mean about goose bumps. My previous car was a CL600 and when you took of, or took corners really fast my foot would shake and I would get goose bumps. I havent had this feeling in my 550. Having said that, I do like the 550i but the excitement isnt the same
 
#17 ·
Your impressions (which I share for the most part) were one of the main reasons I went for a 550i M-Sport with Dinan S2 and some 20" HRE P40SCs. There is a Blue F10 M5 in our parking structure at work and it looks great, but I am not interested in switching--especially for the extra $30k+. The M5 is too heavy and not sporty enough. The fact that at least one (2?) comparo has picked the E63 over the F10 M5 was also not a good sign.
 
#18 ·
I havent gotten the Dinan Stage 2 on my 550... yet. Should go ahead and do it? My biggest set back is the fuel consumption. I just got rid of a V12 and the gas difference is huge
 
#28 ·
[*]suspension: M5 suspension feels very stable and solid (not floaty) compared to my acs equipped f10. There's no body roll. The ride is actually better. I think it's due to pss tires are much more comfortable than rft. Come on bmw, why do you need to install rft?
if you switch your exhaust with m5 full exhaust (like in other thread), you will get the same experience as m5 and save $25k ;)
:d
 
#32 · (Edited)
The real sad thing is, for a 100k dollars I can not buy a decent M3.
So I am stuck with the sub par F11 and a Niva!
The good thing is, there probably is not a worse car in the world than a Niva.
So every time I have driven it, the BMW scores 11 out of 10.
As would any other 100 K car, I presume.
Which brings me to the next question;
Which car has the better Nurnburg time, M3 or M5?
A new BMW with steering vibrance should be taken to someone who can fix the tire or suspension problem.
My BMW's never keep any steering vibrance, if any, I have my wheels properly fit and well balanced
 
#34 · (Edited)
Personally I hope that the relative lackluster sales of the M5 is due to that buyers of the M3 and M5 expects a purer more focused drivers car that doesn't try so hard to be an uber comfortable compromise. That M buyers wants the equivalent of Porsche's GTS and GT3 cars. Ultimate and focused driver's cars with high revving NA engines with razor sharp throttle response, an agile and communicative chassi and superior steering feedback. Instead the new M5 is more like Porsche's Turbo cars with massive power and torque in a slightly softer more luxurious setup. To me the 550 is already doing this duty to a more appealing price tag. Maybe the M5 just isn't special enough in the lineup with the out of the box and highly tunable power of the 550, add to that the minimal exterior differences with the M-sport package. Maybe the lineup would have been more complete with a more traditional "purer" M car?
 
#40 ·
What that tells us is BMW will learn some kind of lesson from this. Being that as the F10 fly's off lots, the M5 seems to collect dust.

I think it'll be the F10 is so good of a luxury car from the start, the M5 version just doesn't do enough to warrant the "M" tag, due to it now being considered "held back" by what inherently makes the F10 such an incredible Luxury Saloon. The F10 can be specc'd so well as a non-M that it dangers rendering the M5 practically irrelevant. At one time, getting an M5 wasn't just about better paper specs, it was about a more racey and raw driving experience. Not to mention, the 550i being Turbocharged, you can squeeze out "real world" power performance of an M5, or maybe close to it (or maybe more than it), for a lot less money.

Also, the M Sport Package looks so good, that the M5 styling doesn't stand out from it enough so, I think.

People have to keep in mind, the chassis on the F10 is the same chassis under the Rolls Royce Ghost, the latter being just modified and a larger extension of it (i.e F01 chassis which houses the Ghost is an extended version of the F10 chassis). The F10 is such a BRILLIANT luxury car because the inherent chassis isn't a built up 3, it's a built down 7, and actually a built down Ghost. BMW had to over-engineer this chassis to be inherently capable under a $300+K Super-Luxury-Wafter. Some hate that, some love it. The F10's chassis has an incredibly high torsional rigidity figure due to that, to where the M5 didn't need any additional stiffening up from the basic structure, from what I hear.

.... With that, comes a ton of weight, and isolation. IMO it makes the car over-engineered in this segment, but some find it a huge downside as it's now "too much" in that area. What I can argue makes the 535i a much better car for the common consumer (all that said above), may turn off lots of M5 buyers.
 
#55 ·
What that tells us is BMW will learn some kind of lesson from this. Being that as the F10 fly's off lots, the M5 seems to collect dust.

I think it'll be the F10 is so good of a luxury car from the start, the M5 version just doesn't do enough to warrant the "M" tag, due to it now being considered "held back" by what inherently makes the F10 such an incredible Luxury Saloon. The F10 can be specc'd so well as a non-M that it dangers rendering the M5 practically irrelevant. At one time, getting an M5 wasn't just about better paper specs, it was about a more racey and raw driving experience. Not to mention, the 550i being Turbocharged, you can squeeze out "real world" power performance of an M5, or maybe close to it (or maybe more than it), for a lot less money.

Also, the M Sport Package looks so good, that the M5 styling doesn't stand out from it enough so, I think.

People have to keep in mind, the chassis on the F10 is the same chassis under the Rolls Royce Ghost, the latter being just modified and a larger extension of it (i.e F01 chassis which houses the Ghost is an extended version of the F10 chassis). The F10 is such a BRILLIANT luxury car because the inherent chassis isn't a built up 3, it's a built down 7, and actually a built down Ghost. BMW had to over-engineer this chassis to be inherently capable under a $300+K Super-Luxury-Wafter. Some hate that, some love it. The F10's chassis has an incredibly high torsional rigidity figure due to that, to where the M5 didn't need any additional stiffening up from the basic structure, from what I hear.

.... With that, comes a ton of weight, and isolation. IMO it makes the car over-engineered in this segment, but some find it a huge downside as it's now "too much" in that area. What I can argue makes the 535i a much better car for the common consumer (all that said above), may turn off lots of M5 buyers.
Interesting. You just taught me something. I had no idea BMW used the F01 chassis in the Rolls. I will say this. The F10 5 is my favorite to date. A truly great car and I drive 30k plus miles a year in it. I love the M5 too and think it is worth the money. However, the roads are great where I live. I am in D.C. right now with my 5. I could never own an M5 here. The roads are just too bad. Like Dunderhi I think the M cars are too harsh over pothole ridden roads.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Allthough little put forward in this forum, there is a change going on in the world.
Even in the USA there are more people now than a decade ago that are aware of the consumption of petrol and the effects of that on cars.
This means people make their purchase decision of a car also with the fuel consumpion in mind.
Besides that, it seems that sport car driving on public roads is not what it used to be.
Ask Stealth about his counter measures, things that were not needed when I was younger.
You simply can not drive an M5 the way it is build for on European roads without ending up in serious problems with the speed limiting autourities.
This is not about just a couple of fines, but about loosing your drivers license.
So there is price, consumption, owners cost and only slight usabillity that will have a negative effect on sport saloon sales numbers as for the M5.

But chear up! Things will get worse in the coming future, so get one now, while it is still possible!!
 
#45 ·
Allthough little put forward in this forum, there is a change going on in the world.
Even in the USA there are more people now than a decade ago that are aware of the consumption of petrol and the effects of that on cars.
This means people make their purchase decision of a car also with the fuel consumpion in mind.
Besides that, it seems that sport car driving on public roads is not what it used to be.
Ask Stealth about his counter measures, things that were not needed when I was younger.
You simply can not drive an M5 the way it is build for on European roads without ending up in serious problems with the speed limiting autourities.
This is not about just a couple of fines, but about loosing your drivers license.
So there is price, consumption, owners cost and only slight usabillity that will have a negative effect on sport saloon sales numbers as for the M5.
Very true. Believe it or not, it is the same over here, with TWO slight differences - one good and one bad.

Good one: this place is HUGE when compared to anything in Europe, even rural France seems like a city compared to this. That means cops have no way to control or patrol the roads so they concentrate to ones with most targets. Excellent development for drivers because who wants to drive (I mean really drive) on the roads with other cars anyway?

Bad one: if you can find a road in Europe with almost certainty there will be no cops on it, you can have at it without being worried that you might
a) get shot at through a truck window
b) get police called on you
c) suffer road rage from idiots who have no clue how to drive on a road with corners
Here, you have to worry about those things. You cannot really pass on most two-lane roads because only 1 km or more of a straight counts as "safe" for passing in this country and you better believe that you will enrage people if you pass them on a full line. Even when you pass on dotted line, you better be very careful how you do it because people might perceive your move as threatening, aggressive, driving too fast, unsafe, encroaching their space on the road or simply just generally making them uncomfortable. And they don't like that. What they DO like, though, is making their problems somebody else's problem - in this case their problem is not having a slightest clue how to drive, but they will make it yours if they can.

So, here's the question - why the eff would anybody buy any ///M car in this country? Yet, US seems to be the biggest market for them ...

Truth be told, I now believe I was stupid to buy a lowly 335i - WAY too much car to drive in this country.

But chear up! Things will get worse in the coming future, so get one now, while it is still possible!!
This is very true and might remain the ONLY reason to do something even more stupid than getting N55 3 series and keep it in US. Oh, decisions, decisions ... :D
 
#46 ·
I'll simplify things: In my opinion, I think the M5 is overpriced at $100k and it should be $85K loaded with perhaps the M6 at $92k (instead of $108k which is ridiculous.) Wasn't the E60 around $81k loaded back in 2005? I think they out priced themselves for this generation which means the next M3/M4's are going to start at $70k, watch.
 
#47 ·
If I'm not mistaken, F10 M5 increased by $8-10k compared to E60 which is "ok."

However, you got more "exclusivity" with E60 M5 such as engine that shared parts with F1 race cars, full leather option (was not available on non-M E60), exclusive steering wheel, body kits that were very different from non-m E60, etc.

E60 M5 and E92 M3 engines won engine of the year 4-5 times in a row.

This turbo F10 M5 engine didn't win even in its 1st year.
 
#49 · (Edited)
I just built out an M5 and basically the only option I gave a crap about was the 20"s for $1300 so my MSRP would be around $94k, so I assume a buyer would get at least 7.5% off of that so around $87k is what I'd expect to spend. Then I go back and notice that unless I bump it up to $100k and add the "Executive Package" I can't get heated seats, sat radio nor even smartphone integration (which I assume is just bluetooth) so now, I'm pissed again and have to also bundle in a bunch of options I don't want.

I'd prefer to pick and choose a few options out of the exec package......I also don't like the lack of color choices and I really don't like the blue brakes, maybe that's part of their probs.

M6 was pushing $116k.......sorry at that price I am getting a 911. Here is my reasonably optioned 911S (gotta have a ducktail) for $110k that I would buy all day long over an M6.

 
#57 ·
It's hard to not seem like a Luddite when criticizing any true M, but are these cars supposed to have better gadgets than steering?

I think in 10 years BMW historians may regard the E9x as the last true M series.

All this turbocharging was destined to kill the mystique of the moniker.

I, for one, welcome our new BMW-Lexus overlords. Resistance is futile.
 
#61 ·
I think in 10 years BMW historians may regard the E9x as the last true M series.

All this turbocharging was destined to kill the mystique of the moniker.
I am not a big fan of turbos either but the EPA regulations moving forward have made turbos popular. Look at Mercedes, their AMG and non-AMG V8s are now turbos. Gone are the NA big block engines. DI and Turbos will become more and more popular.
 
#65 ·
Everyone on the planet realizes that the F10 is overweight and doesn't handle well. BMW went too far to the 7 side of the equation with the F10 and strayed too far from the E90 feel of the previous generation. That's essentially the problem with all of the F10 models from the 528 all the way up to the M5. Theres no reason to defend the M5, practically every auto mag says the same thing...the M5 is no longer the best sport sedan in the world. it's too heavy and the electronic steering which was used to save fuel sucks. Theres really no debate on this...Ive owned 2 E92s and now the F10 Msport and the F10 drives more like a good GM car than it does my E92.
 
#68 ·
I agree although I do consider myself an M5 hater. IMO the M5 is impressive sporty fast executive express offering high doses of luxury and tech. However, ultimately the inherent bulk and girth of the F10 M5 limits its lust factor for me. BTW the M5 retains hydraulic steering.<O:p</O:p
 
#66 ·
Sounds like you'd be at least a slightly happier camper if you would have waited to get a 2013 with the passive M Sport suspension (not the higher riding, softer Active suspension which wasn't exclusive to M Sports in 2012). Makes a fairly good difference in tightening up (and lowering) the F10's ride.
 
#67 ·
The same steering wheel vibrations are there with my 535i since day one. Feels like there is a wheel balance issue but it is not the case because it goes away at times - randomly. Very annoying but I don't think that the service can fix it.
 
#69 ·
The M5 is a beast. But it comes down to this.

The extra cost gets you a limited production high performance 500HP+ engine and tranny (about $15k) and forged wheels (another $5k).

I would never be able to open up that kind of power. As it is, I can't open up a 535 all that much. :rofl:

To me, the key to the M5 looking awesome is the color and wheel choices. Some of the color and wheels choices are just nasty.
 
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