When can we expect an AWD M5?

[mondie]

Living in deep dark NE Scotland this is of more interest to me than those living down south. I understand the next M5 will be AWD but when will that be? I saw an AWD E63 in Austria a few months back so I guess we can expect an all paw E63 before to long too.

Cheers

[HoHoHo]

New 5 series is due 2016 so I guess mid 2017?

Probably 600hp and a complete monster whuch will really benefit from AWD

[BentleyM3]

Has this been confirmed or just assumption due to other marques going that way?

[AW10]

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2017-bmw-m5-xdriv...

[paulmc]

mondie said:

Living in deep dark NE Scotland this is of more interest to me than those living down south. I understand the next M5 will be AWD but when will that be? I saw an AWD E63 in Austria a few months back so I guess we can expect an all paw E63 before to long too.

Cheers

If the M5 was 4wd it would be sitting in my drive now( I actually ordered a new M5 again but cancelled as I knew lack of traction would annoy me like last time). My RS6 is pretty awesome but I just like BMW. On saying that part of the charm was its price. its a good bit cheaper than the RS once they chuck in 4wd will that change??

[W8PMC]

BentleyM3 said:

Has this been confirmed or just assumption due to other marques going that way?

I've heard no mention of BMW confirming this & TBH i'd not get another M5 if they do go AWD.

[HoHoHo]

W8PMC said:

BentleyM3 said:

Has this been confirmed or just assumption due to other marques going that way?

I've heard no mention of BMW confirming this & TBH i'd not get another M5 if they do go AWD.

My lease ends prior to the new M5 being released however I find it difficult to think of another daily drive that does the job so well. Not having AWD isn't the end of the world for me.

[W8PMC]

HoHoHo said:

My lease ends prior to the new M5 being released however I find it difficult to think of another daily drive that does the job so well. Not having AWD isn't the end of the world for me.

Same here unless BMW get a jog on. Mine ends May 2017.

Car's on the radar to replace my M5 are the RS6 Performance Edition, S8+, M6GC or the Tesla.

[joscal]

I read it's going to be an option, so no need to panic. I live in sunny Ireland and will definitely be going 4wd assuming it drives well. I've only seen the sun twice this year😂

[paulmc]

W8PMC said:

Same here unless BMW get a jog on. Mine ends May 2017.

Car's on the radar to replace my M5 are the RS6 Performance Edition, S8+, M6GC or the Tesla.

So you will have an RS6 4wd but not a M5 4wd?? 4wd M5 in the UK would be a fantastic car, anything over 500bhp in 2wd is a waste.

[W8PMC]

paulmc said:

So you will have an RS6 4wd but not a M5 4wd?? 4wd M5 in the UK would be a fantastic car, anything over 500bhp in 2wd is a waste.

What i love about the M5 is the more authentic driving experience & better involvement, engine up front & drive from the rear makes for a far more exciting drive as having driven/owned many powerful AWD cars i've got a little bored of the mash it & go approach. AWD would numb down the overall experience for me so if the M5 went that route i'd probably head back towards Audi who for me in this class of vehicle are the Master of AWD.

I've considerably more than 500bhp & not yet felt any of that power can be described as wasted. I'm in the camp that if the weather is properly cr@p then i slow down a little & alter my driving style so not a concern for me. Also clad my M5 in Winter Tyres now so am hopeful when the temps 'eventually' drop then i'll still be just fine traction wise.

[paulmc]

W8PMC said:

What i love about the M5 is the more authentic driving experience & better involvement,

But your new car choice is predominately 4wd. Very Very few people buy the M6. So I guess its a dull boring 4wd future for you lol

[W8PMC]

paulmc said:

But your new car choice is predominately 4wd. Very Very few people buy the M6. So I guess its a dull boring 4wd future for you lol

How so? Tesla & M6GC are both RWD.

I'm not saying i don't like AWD, hell i've had enough of them over the years, just a little bored with the lack of involvement.

Just saying that IF the next generation M5 is AWD then i'd unlikely consider that as an option as it would become a me too car in the sector with it's biggest differentiator (RWD) removed.

Timing for my change will be Spring 2017, so the new M5 won't even be on the market which kind of restricts me to what's available at the time. My dream car currently is the 991 Turbo S, but i'm pretty sure my finances won't quite stretch to one within the next 18mths so will have to pass up on that for another few years.

[paulmc]

W8PMC said:

How so? Tesla & M6GC are both RWD.

I'm not saying i don't like AWD, hell i've had enough of them over the years, just a little bored with the lack of involvement.

Just saying that IF the next generation M5 is AWD then i'd unlikely consider that as an option as it would become a me too car in the sector with it's biggest differentiator (RWD) removed.

Timing for my change will be Spring 2017, so the new M5 won't even be on the market which kind of restricts me to what's available at the time. My dream car currently is the 991 Turbo S, but i'm pretty sure my finances won't quite stretch to one within the next 18mths so will have to pass up on that for another few years.

yes but I doubt you will buy either. 911 4wd also.

bored with the lack of involvement, must be the way you drive lol

Nah I am only yanking your chain. Everyone is different in what they like. I liked the M5 but too little traction for me (obviously the way I drive). I think the 4wd M5 would be worth a drive. M5 being 4.4 must have huge potential for big power if it can put it to the road

[W8PMC]

paulmc said:

yes but I doubt you will buy either. 911 4wd also.

bored with the lack of involvement, must be the way you drive lol

Nah I am only yanking your chain. Everyone is different in what they like. I liked the M5 but too little traction for me (obviously the way I drive). I think the 4wd M5 would be worth a drive. M5 being 4.4 must have huge potential for big power if it can put it to the road

The C7 RS6 was my obvious choice before i decided on the F10 M5 as i've a closer affinity to Audi than i have to BMW & to add to that i hated the E60 M5 i owned a good few years ago so approached the F10 M5 with care. I drove several C7 RS6's & even had one on an extended test drive & although it was a fantastic package, having had a 650bhp GT-R for a year or so i just didn't really enjoy the point & squirt drive the RS offered. I can't fault it, but other than the noise it just didn't excilerate me in the way it drove as it (like the GT-R) was so predictable.

My F10 M5 is far from standard & i get very little issue with traction, perhaps having the 19" wheels rather than the 20"s is a factor, but even when outputting a huge dollop more torque & power, traction doesn't cause me an issue as long as i appreciate what i'm doing & where i'm doing it. I also track my car fairly frequently, so driver involvement was a bigger deal with this chapter of car history than perhaps it was a few years ago. You do of course have to drive the M5 differently to the RS6 as just mashing the loud pedal in less than dry road conditions isn't going to produce the same results in both cars, but that's fine as once rolling the difference in their applications is almost night & day & i enjoy that. As an aside, playing out round Spa a couple of months back, my lardy M5 was within a couple of seconds a lap of 991 GT3's being driven by on a par drivers & that was in at best average-poor track conditions as we'd seen sleet & snow on the 1st day. This is a track with a very good time being 3mins, so 2 seconds adrift is hardly a poor show.

I'd no doubt still try the AWD M5 out of curiosity, but i rate Audi's application of AWD above BMW's so if i was to get a performance saloon again & AWD were the only available options, i'd very likely lean back towards Audi.

[EricE]

I personally expect all future M cars to have optional AWD.
The torque from the turbo engines these days is too much to use with RWD in anything but perfect summer conditions. The very small percentage of buyers who cares about weight and "uncorrupted steering" will be able to spec RWD and everybody will be happy.

I would definitely consider an AWD M4 because living near the alps, the extra power of the current car is unusable at least half of the year. BMW tends to do solid rear biased RWD systems, I'm sure it would still be quite fun to drive.

[Jazzer]

I appreciate why the OP would love a 4WD M5, but surely that's not really needed further south?
Learning to drive a RWD monster is a lot of fun and really rewarding....4WD would be so dull in comparison.
I believe BMW will test the market by offering 4WD alongside RWD.....could market them as the boy's version and the man's version!!

[paulmc]

I think we are all coming to the same conclusion. Further down south you live the less impact 2wd has. I am way up past Aberdeen and am growing webbed feet. 2wd is not even a consideration (after my last M5) for me now. No matter how you drive if its wet most of the time there is just no point. 4wd can be fun going sideways is very doable.

[Wills2]

4wd is boring, you can have fun in an M5 at 20mph try that in an RS6

[mondie]

paulmc said:

If the M5 was 4wd it would be sitting in my drive now( I actually ordered a new M5 again but cancelled as I knew lack of traction would annoy me like last time). My RS6 is pretty awesome but I just like BMW. On saying that part of the charm was its price. its a good bit cheaper than the RS once they chuck in 4wd will that change??

I considered the RS6 Paul but it was just too much money so we bought an A8 4.2 TDi and a weekend car. Once I can have an AWD M5 I will be back in. An adjustable centre diff would be great in the M5, adjustable from 80/20 to 50/50. Sorted! Be nice to think that BMW would make both AWD and RWD versions but I cannot see that happening, the volumes would be to small in RWD for both surely.