F10 M5

[W12GT]

I test drove an M5 today. I really wanted to like it. But I didn't, but I didn't dislike it either. It seemed a bit tame, the engine noise and exhaust sound were too refined - almost full.

I did love how the car shrank around me:- it felt agile - not in a 911 way but then it's a much bigger car. It certainly felt more pointy than my Panamera; less cumbersome.

Now the weird thing is and I know a lot of people are going to hate me for this but under acceleration my Panamera sounds better. Ok now for the controversial part. It's a diesel.

I've fancied an M5 for ages but ito me it lacked soul an character. The interior didn't exactly make it feel special either - certainly nowhere near the Panamera.

Has anyone else experienced this lack of excitement over the M5?

Thing is I still want to like the M5. Maybe one with an updated exhaust would make it feel more special????

[jm doc]

I think if you want a special interior then you need to go for the M6/M6GC. The M5 has always, in my opinion, been a standard 5 series with outstanding performance, and not a loud or shouty type of car. If thats what you're looking for you should perhaps look at a Merc C63 or similar. In terms of actual performance, it remains an outstanding car.

[turboman786]

Yes I can share the lack of excitement felt with the f10 m5.... But.....it's a trait that seems to run in the m cars, that they don't delight until you really get to know the car

I've had 4 e92 m3s and initially wasn't blown away at all by them, but after learning the car it just felt sublime and I realised that the m3 is a very special car indeed

The same applies to the m5, although I think my money would have to be on the m6 GCSEs purely as it's got a far more special look

[Jazzer]

I don't agree about the interior of the M6 or GC being superior at all.

I find them cramped and a bit, for want of a better description, more for those in touch with their feminine side, the kind of guys who worry about coordinating interiors in their luxury penthouse apartments.

Saying that the M5 is not so luxurious because it's just like a regular 5 series is bordering on knob territory.

The M5 looks just right, suitably aggressive, just like the M3.......way cooler than the others!

😄💘

[W8PMC]

All valid points from the O/P but as someone else has said it's a sign of the times unless you opt to go the true Sports Car/Supercar route.

The whole M experience nowadays is producing a car that's very good at everything. It may not excel in any one area but it wins or at least holds it's own in every way.

I've had mine for nearly 2 years & every time i drive it the car amazes me. It can cruise in a sublime fashion at any speed you select, but went you want to go balls out the car transforms into a banshee & can outperform most other cars on the road. It certainly in my mind is a luxurious place to spend a few hours & i disagree that the interior is close to it's M-Sport relatives as it's very clear once inside that you're in an M car. Yes it blends in to the rest of the range but M's always have & the same applies to Audi RS's & excluding the noise the AMG's. The M5 is the top of the range 5 Series as well as being the high performing variant.

I've done loud cars & i don't want that from an M car. If i wanted noisy then i'd choose a sports/super car as driving around shouting really isn't the done thing nowadays in such cars. You can opt for aftermarket systems if that's your thing but externally the car is more than loud enough & internally you can certainly hear you're driving a powerful V8 when you press the pud pedal.

The M6/GC has got a more opulent interior although is no better equipped i don't think. The main improvement is more leather which of course can be spec'd on an M5, however in the M6 it's standard. That said the like for like M6GC is nearly £30k more list than an M5 & whilst nice in my mind for basically the same car with a different suit it's far too much & not worth it, however with the deals available the gap is far smaller & had the M6GC been launched when i got my M5 & had the figures been close i'd have probably gone for the 6.

I think the true reflection is that the F10 M5 is effortless at what it does. You don't have to ring it's neck to reach warp speeds, you don't need to drive it within an inch of it's life to make rapid progress & it doesn't try to kill you when you push on, even being 600bhp RWD. If the next level of involvement is what you're after then i doubt an M5 is for you as it isn't & doesn't try to be a Sports car.

As regards against a Panamera diesel, i can assume the Pana is no slouch so driving something that's perhaps only 2-3secs quicker to 60 & being surrounded by Porsche trinkets, i can imagine it's a nice place to be, but across country, on track or hooning around the Pana is not going to get dumped very quickly by the M5/6 so really not competitors in anything other than boot space & perhaps price.

[Output Flange]

W8PMC said:

The whole M experience nowadays is producing a car that's very good at everything.

I'm struggling to think of an M car that doesn't apply to.

[Schermerhorn]

The M6 makes more of a statement but the M5 is cooler in my opinion.

Not a mega fan of the Gran Coupe either though can't deny its presence on the road.

[theboss]

I can relate to the tame perception if the OP pottered around town for 10 minutes on a test drive - did you actually get the chance to wring its neck on an open road? I've spent 26k miles becoming accustomed to mine and the way it pulls to the redline in 3rd couldn't be called tame by any stretch of the imagination.

[V5Ade]

I think that the weakest aspect of the F1 M5 is the exhaust note inside the car. I have the competition package car that has the louder exhaust and that still sounds tame inside the car, however apparently it's rather louder outside (my poor neighbours!).
The car is actually a hoot to drive, but it does take time to realise quite how good it is.

[MOBB]

I had one on demo for a weekend last year, for the first hour or so I was underwhelmed

But as I got used to it i started to gel with it

I bought one and love it just as much now as when I picked it up day 1

[ds666]

I also had a 20 mile, test drive at my local dealer and was underwhelmed. Knew I needed to buy one thou and 2000 mile later my view has completely changed .i love it.
An m5 for me is about subtlety. Daniel Craig in a well tailored suit .
Going loud is missing the point for me.

A diesel panamera... please...worse Porsche I've every driven

[Amizade]

W8PMC said:

I think the true reflection is that the F10 M5 is effortless at what it does. You don't have to ring it's neck to reach warp speeds, you don't need to drive it within an inch of it's life to make rapid progress & it doesn't try to kill you when you push on, even being 600bhp RWD. If the next level of involvement is what you're after then i doubt an M5 is for you as it isn't & doesn't try to be a Sports car

Perfectly summed up....glad it's not more shouty, as even in standard form, on the initial 1200rpm idle, it wakes up my wife & kids

[joscal]

Amizade said:

Perfectly summed up....glad it's not more shouty, as even in standard form, on the initial 1200rpm idle, it wakes up my wife & kids

Agreed, I wired the valves open for a while but to be honest was a bit embarrassed with the racket so got the exhaustmeister and am very happy with it. Best of both worlds.

[W8PMC]

Output Flange said:

I'm struggling to think of an M car that doesn't apply to.

Agreed, i wasn't insinuating anything was better or worse about todays M's, purely in the current market the package is perhaps more pronounced as prior to the E60 variant the M5 certainly didn't have quite the volume of competition it does now. The AMG's were poor & the RS6 only arrived onto the market in C5 variant so a high performance luxury saloon sector was probably owned by the M5 prior to the E60. This set against the much larger range these cars sit in with an abundance of different 3 & 5 series sitting in the overall range.