Discussion
After 2 years of V10 tomfoolery the time has come to move on, so today I struck a deal to sell the M5 and in 2 weeks time it will disappear from my driveway.
Mixed feelings about it going really, to sum up the last 24 months;
- amazing performance in full M mode
- ride on 'sport setting' far too hard for UK roads so never really used
- active seats were great and I never stopped smiling when using them in 2 years
- a couple of minor problems which the dealers were inept at fixing
- fuel economy surprisingly good (!) over 24 months and 31k miles the obc shows an average of 17.1 mpg
- tyre wear pretty reasonable too
- SMG terrible in traffic and at slow speeds, almost impossible to drive slowly smoothly
- full auto mode on SMG is nothing short of a joke
- SMG fantastic when out of town and really suits the car, the novelty of full throttle S6 upshifts never wears off
- head up display possibly the best thing on the car, someday all cars will have it
- fuel range poor, 200 miles between fill ups means a lot of stops at the garage which is a real pain and seriously limits long range cruising
Am I buying another bmw? No, the key reason, the quality of the aftercare service. I dont expect to pay in excess of 40k for a car and have idiots working on it. The local dealers are a joke, to be fair mine is the only m5 they see, but even so.....
So to sum up, as an every day drive the m5 delivers great thrills and if your normal driving is mostly out of town there isnt much to come close to it.
7.5/10 over 2 years for me.
S
Mixed feelings about it going really, to sum up the last 24 months;
- amazing performance in full M mode
- ride on 'sport setting' far too hard for UK roads so never really used
- active seats were great and I never stopped smiling when using them in 2 years
- a couple of minor problems which the dealers were inept at fixing
- fuel economy surprisingly good (!) over 24 months and 31k miles the obc shows an average of 17.1 mpg
- tyre wear pretty reasonable too
- SMG terrible in traffic and at slow speeds, almost impossible to drive slowly smoothly
- full auto mode on SMG is nothing short of a joke
- SMG fantastic when out of town and really suits the car, the novelty of full throttle S6 upshifts never wears off
- head up display possibly the best thing on the car, someday all cars will have it
- fuel range poor, 200 miles between fill ups means a lot of stops at the garage which is a real pain and seriously limits long range cruising
Am I buying another bmw? No, the key reason, the quality of the aftercare service. I dont expect to pay in excess of 40k for a car and have idiots working on it. The local dealers are a joke, to be fair mine is the only m5 they see, but even so.....
So to sum up, as an every day drive the m5 delivers great thrills and if your normal driving is mostly out of town there isnt much to come close to it.
7.5/10 over 2 years for me.
S
Whilst my opinion may have no bearing...... If you haven't ordered anything yet, try a 123d coupe....marmite car I know but since I sold the M5 and had others,, this car has been the most enjoyable since....not as quick(obviously!!!) but an absolute hoot to drive :-)
Still miss the M5 though :-(
Still miss the M5 though :-(
skeeterm5 said:
Am I buying another bmw? No, the key reason, the quality of the aftercare service. I dont expect to pay in excess of 40k for a car and have idiots working on it. The local dealers are a joke, to be fair mine is the only m5 they see, but even so.....
S
Main Dealers are a bunch of muppets....always have been. No idea why people put so much store in a FBMWSH???? I would much rather see a bunch of stamps from a respected independant. S
Just wanted to add my 2p's worth.
I had an M5 too and recently swapped it for a 335i M Sport Saloon, it just feels like a much more usable car and one that I intend to keep for a good few years.
Auto gearbox is a million times better than SMG and in DS mode it revs quite nicely.
Fuel consumption is almost twice as good, does 300 miles on a 63 litre tank, my M5 did 170-190 on 70 litres. Currently getting 23-25 mpg.
Smaller, lighter and feels very nimble, don't think it would be too far behind on a track but of course would never beat an M5 in any race (unless I get DMS to remap it for me!)
No regrets at all and don't miss anything about the M5 apart from the slightly bigger cabin space, the new 5 series sport in 535i might be a consideration when they come out.
Daz
I had an M5 too and recently swapped it for a 335i M Sport Saloon, it just feels like a much more usable car and one that I intend to keep for a good few years.
Auto gearbox is a million times better than SMG and in DS mode it revs quite nicely.
Fuel consumption is almost twice as good, does 300 miles on a 63 litre tank, my M5 did 170-190 on 70 litres. Currently getting 23-25 mpg.
Smaller, lighter and feels very nimble, don't think it would be too far behind on a track but of course would never beat an M5 in any race (unless I get DMS to remap it for me!)
No regrets at all and don't miss anything about the M5 apart from the slightly bigger cabin space, the new 5 series sport in 535i might be a consideration when they come out.
Daz
Edited by Daz507 on Wednesday 14th July 10:03
I HAVE to agree about the dealers. SOOO frustrating!
As for the ride, I've done 90k in mine now! I have no problem at all with the gear box, most of the time in auto S2 and have no problem, even in London. I cruise most of the time in P500 S2 soft suspension and find it no trouble at all.
As fuel, interestingly, I did a few long runs recently and due having my PA in the car with me set the cruise control to 70, and I actually managed 27mpg and when I was on 300 miles and reading quarter tank left I pulled into garage thinking the fuel gauage sensor was faulty again! But nope! I've done this a few times since and sticking to 70mph is a shock! No fun though! My best run was actually 328 miles out of tank! Funny story is it was reading 40 miles left, but an R8 blasted past me and it would just be plain rude NOT to go and play.... long story short wopped him, got off motorway then ran out of fuel!
I simply can't imagine a greater car for every day use and obscene performance.
On a side not I simply couldn't imagine WHAT else I would get into after the M5, nothing would feel right if didn;t have better performance!
As for the ride, I've done 90k in mine now! I have no problem at all with the gear box, most of the time in auto S2 and have no problem, even in London. I cruise most of the time in P500 S2 soft suspension and find it no trouble at all.
As fuel, interestingly, I did a few long runs recently and due having my PA in the car with me set the cruise control to 70, and I actually managed 27mpg and when I was on 300 miles and reading quarter tank left I pulled into garage thinking the fuel gauage sensor was faulty again! But nope! I've done this a few times since and sticking to 70mph is a shock! No fun though! My best run was actually 328 miles out of tank! Funny story is it was reading 40 miles left, but an R8 blasted past me and it would just be plain rude NOT to go and play.... long story short wopped him, got off motorway then ran out of fuel!
I simply can't imagine a greater car for every day use and obscene performance.
On a side not I simply couldn't imagine WHAT else I would get into after the M5, nothing would feel right if didn;t have better performance!
Edited by M5 Mark on Wednesday 14th July 10:13
I drove a 06 M6 yesterday (friends), all of what has been said is true, fantastic when on A roads and motorway the SMG comes into its own. Around town it wasn't great very long pauses between shifts. On this particular car the clutch had a habit of juddering sometimes when pulling away in 'D'.
Also I didnt' think it felt fast, but only when the rev needle was heading towards 6K did it start to show the 500 horses.
Only comment the owner made was the mpg around town, but motorway driving was around 25.
I thought the ride was ok as well seemed alot better than my Saab even on the hardest setting. HUD is excellent, all cars should have gadget.
NST
Also I didnt' think it felt fast, but only when the rev needle was heading towards 6K did it start to show the 500 horses.
Only comment the owner made was the mpg around town, but motorway driving was around 25.
I thought the ride was ok as well seemed alot better than my Saab even on the hardest setting. HUD is excellent, all cars should have gadget.
NST
Nice to see I'm not alone on this! I cant see me buying a BMW again, having run 7 of them and several M's over the years.
Great cars on the whole, but their attitude and after sale service is woeful and they just dont care that its bad.
My last car was a 2006 M3 which I loved, but hated dealing the with dealer. My Bro has a 2005 M5 and while he loves it, the quality versus my M3 are in a differnt league. I would love to BMW have some tough years and have to get back to the basics that raised them to the lofty seemingly untouchable position they are in today.
Great cars on the whole, but their attitude and after sale service is woeful and they just dont care that its bad.
My last car was a 2006 M3 which I loved, but hated dealing the with dealer. My Bro has a 2005 M5 and while he loves it, the quality versus my M3 are in a differnt league. I would love to BMW have some tough years and have to get back to the basics that raised them to the lofty seemingly untouchable position they are in today.
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