F10 M5 - B road fun?

[premixer]

toying with the idea of F10 M5 as a second family car, but wondering are they too big to be enjoyable on the B roads? I'm not in the UK, but imagine most New Zealand back roads are similar to UK ones from various youtube vids and so on.

Currently have a X5 M50D which is a beast of a family wagon, and a F22 M235i which is a fantastic wee sports car, but ithe M235i is kind of like a gateway drug, its so good in my opinion, that it leaves me wondering how good is a full blown M car? Don't really need the size of the M5, but the pricing on them is much more attractive than the M3's that I could buy the M5 and have a large chunk of change spare over buying a similar year M3.

Are they a fun backroad blaster or does the size just make them a bit of a chore to pedal down a fun tight twisty road?

[MOBB]

It is a big car, but like all good M cars they manage to feel smaller and more nimble than expected when pushing on, go for it!

Having said that, I also had an M2 OG and that was epic, the one car I miss over all the others

[BlueJ]

I've only had mine about three months so am still exploring handling, but it's an easy car to thread down a twisty road and place precisely despite it's size.

It's a great way to make progress but the performance is SO strong that you can't really stretch the engine (other than in the v. low gears) on single carriageway roads unless you have no regard for your licence or social norms!

I'm not complaining - I think it's an absolute weapon - but I suspect a lower powered car that was pushed closer to it's performance limits would be more involving.

Go for it - they're superb cars, and they also do the family bit with ease. Good luck!

[R33FAL]

Nice car, i had one for 8 months. I would definitely suggest you do a test drive, as i didnt find mine particularly exciting to drive- in fact its the reason i got rid of it. On a B road it feels massive and its a bit of a “point and shoot” machine. Also a non comp pack will try to kill you anytime you push on in anything other than perfectly dry conditions.

I would suggest a 911 if you need 4 seats and fun on a B road!

[MikeM6]

I've not driven an F10 so I can't really say too much, however, my brother in law had an M235i and then an M4. He reckoned both were great, but the M235i was more fun on B roads, probably as the the bigger car was a bit too much. I can only imagine the M5 to be even more overkill.

For some of the roads near me, my MGB is more fun than the M6 as i can push it harder and feel more involved.

[Chamon_Lee]

Had an M6 GC.
It won’t be fun like your thinking. It’s too much of a weapon. I mean you’d need to be absolutely on it to make it feel remotely fun or exciting. Huge power, excellent grip once tyres up to temp in dry but it’s just too much.

You’ll wanting something smaller and closer to 350 bhp to be more fun (400 max) imho

[paddy1970]

My neighbour had one and he used to join me and my 2014 R8 V10 plus for a Sunday morning blast in the countryside. I could not loose him, although he may be a better driver! The car is very quick.

One morning, we swap cars and we both came to the conclusion that the M5 is more of a GT car than a b road champ. Don't get me wrong, it is immensely capable and will keep up with anything on a public road but it is not as enjoyable as a sport car or a supercar. You really feel the weight of the M5.

He has since sold the it and got a 2015 991 Targa 4S. However, the 911 cannot accelerate as fast as the M5 and he can only keep up with me on twisties.

[jm doc]

F10 has problems getting the power down through the rear wheels and TC light is basically permanently on. It's certainly bottom of my list of M5's. E39, E60 and F90 all better. The F90 is head and shoulders above the rest with 4WD and the handling is truly amazing for a car of it's size and on B roads can keep up with almost anything out there.

Apologies if that's not the answer you were looking for.

[garystoybox]

Definitely not a B road car. Big sweeping A roads are where it’s at it’s best from my ownership experience. Hugely limited traction in damp/wet conditions. Really need a straight road to get the power down. Although my f90 M5 is a great daily, it’s still not what you’d take out for fun on a B road blast. As per the other comments, you’d be much better off with something lighter imo.

[premixer]

Was lucky enough to spend some time behind the wheel over the weekend from a very helpful local BMW club owner.

What an amazing machine that has left me very conflicted. Would be a simply amazing machine for 95% of all driving, but that 5% punting down twisty bit of road would be its downfall. Definitely a large car especially after arriving for the drive in me 2 series, but my god that power and speed is simply next level, was giggling like a naughty school boy every time i punched the throttle to the firewall.

Maybe only slight disappointment was the lack of engine noise in the cabin, car seems almost to refined and removes some of the theatre of that engine launching you into the distance.

Almost need both the M5 and keep the 2 series, shame I don't have the garage space for 3x cars, as would be a great 3 car garage with the X5, M5, and M235.

[jm doc]

garystoybox said:

Definitely not a B road car. Big sweeping A roads are where it’s at it’s best from my ownership experience. Hugely limited traction in damp/wet conditions. Really need a straight road to get the power down. Although my f90 M5 is a great daily, it’s still not what you’d take out for fun on a B road blast. As per the other comments, you’d be much better off with something lighter imo.

The traction is phenomenal in the F90, but awful in the F10. Massive difference.

[Ollerton57]

jm doc said:

garystoybox said:

Definitely not a B road car. Big sweeping A roads are where it’s at it’s best from my ownership experience. Hugely limited traction in damp/wet conditions. Really need a straight road to get the power down. Although my f90 M5 is a great daily, it’s still not what you’d take out for fun on a B road blast. As per the other comments, you’d be much better off with something lighter imo.

The traction is phenomenal in the F90, but awful in the F10. Massive difference.

I wouldn't say it's awful. I find it best to have MDM on as the traction control can kick in too early and too often if you have traction fully on. In the winter with wet and greasy roads, yes it'll struggle if you suddenly floor it, but I find it's fine for most of the time albeit with a bit of slip.

[theboss]

They aren't half as compromised as everyone would have you believe. I just covered a few hundred miles in mine late at night and still can't think of anything much better for the job tbh, and that included the choice of taking 60 miles of Shropshire A/B roads instead of the M6/M54. They are great for their duality as big comfy cruisers whilst still offering great composure both at speed on a motorway and on a back road.

Sure a smaller car is better at the B road stuff but then who wants to cover substantial distance in that with family in tow.

[freenote]

Might be slightly off topic but my e82 135i n54 is for me the perfect B road blaster. And if you want more power a remap will get you close to 400hp. Fit some unrated suspension and diff and I think it’s an excellent package and as long as you have a bmw scanner handy it’s easy to fix the few problems that may come up.

Yes a 1M would be better but price difference is £40k

Just my two pence and what keeps me switching between that and the f82 m4 comp.

[Chamon_Lee]

theboss said:

They aren't half as compromised as everyone would have you believe. I just covered a few hundred miles in mine late at night and still can't think of anything much better for the job tbh, and that included the choice of taking 60 miles of Shropshire A/B roads instead of the M6/M54. They are great for their duality as big comfy cruisers whilst still offering great composure both at speed on a motorway and on a back road.

Sure a smaller car is better at the B road stuff but then who wants to cover substantial distance in that with family in tow.

I see this on a lot of threads: confusing capability with fun. No one says the M5 F10 isnt capable. I mean its brilliant and as others have said it can keep up with many a supercar. That doesnt make it fun. something you really enjoy or excites you taking down a A/B road.

[theboss]

Chamon_Lee said:

theboss said:

They aren't half as compromised as everyone would have you believe. I just covered a few hundred miles in mine late at night and still can't think of anything much better for the job tbh, and that included the choice of taking 60 miles of Shropshire A/B roads instead of the M6/M54. They are great for their duality as big comfy cruisers whilst still offering great composure both at speed on a motorway and on a back road.

Sure a smaller car is better at the B road stuff but then who wants to cover substantial distance in that with family in tow.

I see this on a lot of threads: confusing capability with fun. No one says the M5 F10 isnt capable. I mean its brilliant and as others have said it can keep up with many a supercar. That doesnt make it fun. something you really enjoy or excites you taking down a A/B road.

We all have different definitions of fun. Personally I have found my F10 to be great fun when, for example, filling it to the rafters with family stuff and driving 150 miles across Welsh A and B roads to the coast and back. I've driven it to Berlin and Leipzig and hit over 190 on the autobahn (when the car was destricted) and then detoured to smash a few ring laps on the way home. Why would I do that if it weren't much fun?

Or when I was a passenger in an F10 M5 ring taxi lap with 2 of my mates and we were all laughing and giggling like school kids the whole time - instead of complaining about how such a monstrosity can't possibly be much fun.

What I'm saying is that its capable of being a very fun car whilst still providing the capability for long distance comfort and refinement and I don't think there's much out there that can beat it in that regard (and price).

[olliete]

I have an M6 F12 so hopefully am sufficiently close to the F10 chassis to comment

1. The M5 is not a sports car - it does a great job at convincing you that it is, but it is heavy, it is long and it is wide. These components make it flawed whenever you point it at a B road and add some speed into the equation

2. The M5 is a fantastic all rounder with space, comfort and generally good reliability, all cars in this class suffer from the same challenges: they are not agile sports cars

Of course there are better cars for a British b road, but the M5 will still make you smile madly on the right b road in the right chassis setting (agree that you should get it into MDM at every opportunity because traction is too intrusive) - keep the suspension in comfort, dial the engine up to sports +, stick it into manual and go out first thing in the morning and you will have fun.

I also think it handles well on the limit for the power, it naturally wants to understeer and only tries to kill you if you are silly with the throttle - it is a long car so it won't suddenly wrap itself around you if you are careful in dry conditions. I also think the traction is fine for ~600hp (and i love a car that oversteers at the slightest prod of the throttle)

[Chamon_Lee]

theboss said:

Chamon_Lee said:

theboss said:

They aren't half as compromised as everyone would have you believe. I just covered a few hundred miles in mine late at night and still can't think of anything much better for the job tbh, and that included the choice of taking 60 miles of Shropshire A/B roads instead of the M6/M54. They are great for their duality as big comfy cruisers whilst still offering great composure both at speed on a motorway and on a back road.

Sure a smaller car is better at the B road stuff but then who wants to cover substantial distance in that with family in tow.

I see this on a lot of threads: confusing capability with fun. No one says the M5 F10 isnt capable. I mean its brilliant and as others have said it can keep up with many a supercar. That doesnt make it fun. something you really enjoy or excites you taking down a A/B road.

We all have different definitions of fun. Personally I have found my F10 to be great fun when, for example, filling it to the rafters with family stuff and driving 150 miles across Welsh A and B roads to the coast and back. I've driven it to Berlin and Leipzig and hit over 190 on the autobahn (when the car was destricted) and then detoured to smash a few ring laps on the way home. Why would I do that if it weren't much fun?

Or when I was a passenger in an F10 M5 ring taxi lap with 2 of my mates and we were all laughing and giggling like school kids the whole time - instead of complaining about how such a monstrosity can't possibly be much fun.

What I'm saying is that its capable of being a very fun car whilst still providing the capability for long distance comfort and refinement and I don't think there's much out there that can beat it in that regard (and price).

All you've done is describe what the car was designed for which is a GT car and its clear you admire it for what it can do as I did my M6 GC. Again though it doesn't make it fun A/B blaster.
As for you giggling at the ring im sure you'd be doing that regardless of any car.

[theboss]

Sorry I must be deeply mistaken. There I was thinking that I've managed to have fun in my own daily family car in nearly 150k miles of ownership whilst living in a rural county with superb driving roads on my doorstep . I thought this may be of some relevance to the OP's question but apologies again.

[premixer]

Thanks for all the feedback both positive and negative, certainly not making the decision an easy one (real first world problems!)

Out of interest, drove a 2017 M4 in the weekend, and was mildly underwhelmed by it to be honest, quick car and I adore the looks of them, but stepping out of the M235i into that, it certainly didn't feel twice the car that the price tag was suggesting.