Matt

As many of you know, I had the privelage of driving the M5 a week and a half ago. The first thing I want to point out is that this car is different than any other car I have ever driven. Its rediculously fast and rediculously fun to drive.
The first time I got in the car I realized very quickly that this car is different than most others just by the ambiance of the interior. You walk in and somehow you feel special to be in the presence of this road going God of an automobile. The smell is different, the stitching and leather feels different, the seats are different, and the feeling one gets while sitting is different. I have never been in a car that had such a big impression on a passenger just by stepping into the interior. So basically you walk in the car and quickly realize that this is something special. In fact the only car I ever felt that way about was when my dad brought home a silver E39 M5. Both cars have that M atmosphere that may only be found in the M5's.

Having keyless ignition, I step into the car with the keys in my pocket and press "engine start" button. The engine comes alive with a very milky rumble. Its not a diesel sound like many other people have said but more of a funky vibrating sound. Its not quiet to say the least but it certainly doesnt sound like a deisel. Anyway, the car is awsome. I shift the knob into drive and found that its not similar to any other car I have ever.

I have had experience driving a 993 turbo quite a bit but that was nothing like or similar to the M5. When you step on the gas in a 993 turbo the G's knock you back in your seat and the car feels absolutely frightening. You speed up at a rediculous pace. The M5 acceleration is quite a bit different. You step on the gas in the M5 and the car feels like a rocket but more of a smart bomb compared to the supidly overpowered turbo. Instead of several G's pushing you back the M5 has definitely a smoother torque curve than the turbo. It pulls you to speed very fast but not as fast as the turbo especially at lower speeds. The turbo hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds which is very quick compared to the M5's 4.5 seconds. But speeds above that, 80 to 140 mph, the M5 smokes the turbo because the M5 has to rev to 5500 Rpm for that full torque and horese power to kick in.

It seemed to me that the faster I drove the M5 the more confident it felt weaving in and out of traffic. I found that going 120 in out of cars was easier than going 80. Even so the car was fasster than porsche accelerating on freeway speeds.

I also had the experience of driving the 330i which is somewhat similar to the expereince of driving the M5. The 330 is very confident yet its extremely difficult to convince it to oversteer. The M5 is quite easy. You simply build the reves up around a turn, hit the gas and the tail whips out controllably. Its the most confident over steer I have ever experienced (of course I would never do that in the turbo because I would likely kill myself ) The 330i is very similar though when weaving in and out of traffic, it certainly isnt as fast but the car is stable and has absolutely no body roll through high speed and low speed turning. The 330 is much like the M5 in this way yet it still doesnt feel nearly as fast while accelerating. Also one thing to note is that the 3's steering is a lot heavier than the M5s. It feels more like a direct steering ratio. Even so the M5 felt somewhat better during highway weaving than the 3 although the 330 is almost on par in the bends. Actually I felt more confident in the 3 around bends than the Porsche turbo.

I've also had the privelage of driving a 645. THe feeling of these cars are totally different. The torque on the 6 kicks in at a much lower RPM. The torque on the M5 is most potent as the rev count goes to 5500 through 8000 RPM. Nevertheless the 6 is a great car.

I did however take a Mercedes Benz CLK 500 on a high speed run with a couple of my friends. This car felt nothing like the M5. It was fast but just not nearly as fast (obviously). The M5 felt as though it could hit 200 easily while the CLK struggled very hard to get passed 130. Also while going that fast in the CLK the car had tremendous body roll around the turns on the freeway. The M5 was able to weave through traffic and stay flat through the bends even at 135+ mph. The cars are totally different from each other but the CLK 500 doesnt compete with the M5 so i cant compare it to a CLS 55 or E55 unfortunately.
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concerns...lol

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Just_me

Thanks for the writeup.
I have some input regarding E55 vs M5.
E55 has worse steering-feeling than the M5, more body-roll. E55's are awesome at straightline acceleration and they sound nice but not a very entertaining car to drive compared to the M5. Having an automatic gearbox dont don't help much and not as fun as the SMG and also its more fun to drive a high-reeving car. The M5 feels like a race car, M6 feels even more like a race car.
M5 is in another league compared to the E55 IMO.

BTW a friend of mine bought a E55. He have owned a lot of M's in the past and he is going back to M again. He also own a 996TT and its for sale cause he doesnt think its good for everyday use but its one hell of a car he says.


Be careful with your driver license

Matt

Well its good he's back on our team . Yes and I do have to be careful. Thats why im taking it easy for a while because its a natural fact that everyones luck eventually runs out.

Yaz AMG

Lucky you. I wish I could even sit in an M5, let alone drive it.
Your father really trusts you with such an impressive machine

I love the M5 more and more every time I spot one on the streets of New York. I don't like the E60 5er much, but this M5 is growing on - so irresistible.

Thanks for the write up

NSL

Thanks Matt for the review. The M5 has been on my mind ever since I test drove one (http://www.germancarzone.com/showthr...6&page=1&pp=10) or should I say 'quietly infatuated' with its prowess. Such a fun car to drive!

Matt

Our reviews are very similar. I suppose everyone has that reaction after driving the car!

Just_me

I would like to add that the M5 feels very nimble despite being a big car. E55 feels like a big boat compared to the M5. M5 is such a great car that I have problems to believe that the new M3 will be better but if I know BMW correct the M3 will be a better and more fun car to drive than the mighty M5

Porsche Guy

I've spent over a month driving the new M5 in a wide variety of situations so I would like to add my thoughts on the car.

The M5 makes everything you do feel special. Just as Matt said, there is an unique atmosphere about the car. I could spend all day just looking at it. Silverstone II is really a wonderful color; it's basically a really light blue with some silver which just gives the car something extra. It stands out just enough in this sea of silver cars we live in. I want all my cars to be Silverstone II! Whenever I get inside, I get excited. It's like I'm 5 again and in a toy store. Everything in the car is covered in (white and I love it!) leather and the driving position is quite good with seats that have more controls than I could ever need. Heads up display is a nice touch and I've found i-drive very intuitive, sooo much better than MB's command. Everything is just like you would expect. Driving around is fun and in P400 it feels just like any other car, although SMG in auto is painfully stupid and slow (such a disappointment). When you hit the M mode everything changes the car really wakes up, of course this all depends upon how you set up M mode. Flooring it with everything set to the max is certainly fun, but you can't drive like that all the time. In normal driving, M mode is more of a hassle than anything else as the throttle is too sensitive for slow driving. Yes, I could change from P500 Sport to just P500, which gives me all 500hp but lessens the throttle (same as P400/default), but let's put our egos aside for a minute and just admit that we don't need 500hp for most situations. I would proclaim the M5 to be king as far as daily drivers go. Nothing can touch it in terms of versatility.

This wonderful versatility comes at a price. While the M5 is very accomplished people need to understand that this car is a tank. Great suspension, a powerful engine and everything else can only do so much to overcome physics/inertia and the fact that the car weighs 4,000+ lbs. This car will kill you if you're not careful. 500hp gets things moving quickly. Sure, flooring it on the freeway and weaving around traffic is one thing, but pushing it through backcountry roads (with an e36 M3 on your bumper) is quite a different story. (Let me just say that the e36 M3 is damn fast on the windy stuff as it's over a 1,000 lbs lighter than the M5) The M5 does a great job concealing its weight and can certainly pull hard on the straights but you know you're boarding on the laws of physics when you try and push it just as hard through a turn. I've had a couple of experiences where DSC has come in quite handy. Moral of the story, I like the M5 more on the highway than on the backcountry stuff, which is expected. However I get the feeling that a lot of people would consider this car neck and neck with an F430 or something of that nature in any environment, which just isn't the case. The M5 is amazing sedan, but it's still just a sedan no matter what you do to it.

Just_me

Matt and P.G are your M5's using the new startbutton or is it the key?

As you probably know, the new M5 are having vanos problems. Anything that happen to your M5's or have you got it fixed?

Porsche Guy

All US M5's are 2006 models which means they have the starter button, but you still have to put the key in the ignition for it to work. Matt has keyless ignition so (as I understand it) he doesn't have to put the key in the ignition for the starter button to work.

I had a new vanos line put in after BMW informed dealers to install a new one. I never had one break on me, although I did experience massive fluid loss on a couple of occasions. The worst was I lost 1.0 liter of oil in 50 miles!

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