Discussion
Toilet Duck said:
One of the biggest cons is that main dealers sometimes take them home for 60 mile test rides without informing the owner.
Also owned by very different groups of people. Some care about their cars, some dont. Im in that camp that would prefer to buy from someone who cared.
robinh20mrv said:
I hated mine, sold it after a month, did not like it from the first, wish i had not bought it,
MURDER on petrol......the worst EVER, my cayenne turbo was better! (and it was re-mapped)
I now have a E90 M3 and love it!!
Seriously? - I've heard the opposite from a few, ie, regret switching to the M3.MURDER on petrol......the worst EVER, my cayenne turbo was better! (and it was re-mapped)
I now have a E90 M3 and love it!!
For it's size, I'm seriuosly impressed by the M5. The handling and change of speed is so much fun.
Perhaps i was just unlucky,
I go up north a lot and it was just too big, I also felt it was not gripping very much so i fitted ps2s over the contis and it was a wee bit better, but not enough for me,
i also hated the gearbox ( have a had a E46 M3 SMG ) so i was up to speed with the gears, it was just a horrid car
traded it in for a Alpina B6s and it was night and day! But even that i felt was too heavy for my type of roads so i bought a Porsche 997 C2s, great car, superb grip and loads of fun
But...i need more room so i got a X6, then a Cayenne turbo and now the M3 and its just perfect for me, fast, fun and i can chuck all my s
te in the boot for a weekend away
mind you the brakes are a bit pish, so i am getting a full set of aps fitted with pagid pads in the spring, and also if the bank balance allows a pair of BMW competition seats as i feel i sit a bit high,
but no regrets at all getting rid of the M5.....i still have nightmares about the fuel consumption
I go up north a lot and it was just too big, I also felt it was not gripping very much so i fitted ps2s over the contis and it was a wee bit better, but not enough for me,
i also hated the gearbox ( have a had a E46 M3 SMG ) so i was up to speed with the gears, it was just a horrid car
traded it in for a Alpina B6s and it was night and day! But even that i felt was too heavy for my type of roads so i bought a Porsche 997 C2s, great car, superb grip and loads of fun
But...i need more room so i got a X6, then a Cayenne turbo and now the M3 and its just perfect for me, fast, fun and i can chuck all my s
te in the boot for a weekend away mind you the brakes are a bit pish, so i am getting a full set of aps fitted with pagid pads in the spring, and also if the bank balance allows a pair of BMW competition seats as i feel i sit a bit high,
but no regrets at all getting rid of the M5.....i still have nightmares about the fuel consumption
^^ thats why its such a marmite car. I came from a C5 RS6 and was so used to having a silky smooth 550lbft available at almost no revs that my first couple of test drives left me feeling really cold and anti about the whole M5 deal. It struggled out of roundabouts, needed alot of revs to overtake anywhere near quickly and the gearbox was a big pain in the backside. I often lkeft the car feeling frustrated that it didnt perfom. I knew i wouldnt like D mode so ive only ever driven in paddle mode, thus relieving me of any more disapointment. I didnt want to be put off completly by crap auto mode.
It was only after i drove a Schnitzer mapped saloon at my local dealer that the whole thing started to make sense. The sales girl who took me out really wanted to see what it could do too so she let me loose without the usual 'grey safety brief'. P400 is numb at best and thats never going to change. However, with all the right settings and a safe environmoent to work in i really got to grips with what the car was capable of. The gear changes are perfect when pressing on and the power is relentless when your in the sweet zone. And the sound........... its addictive.
Taking that experience in and remembering that this car is designed to work best under pressure i set about trying to work out how best to get round the labour of regular town driving. It took me the best part of two months with my current E61 to figure out my ideal settings, the best shift points, the best way to feather the throttle when shifting and how hard to press the peddle when coming out of junctions etc. Now im used to it i find it second nature. I now find myself feeling for the paddles when driving my missus manual alfa, or feathering the throttle on downshifts and hard upshifts. The car is very intuitive when you give it a chance. It now feels like its exactly how a car should feel, like the Audi was wrong, or the Alfa would be better if the gearchanges broke your neck.
Part of the package is being able to forgive its sins as a crap town car. If you can do that then you will be rewarded with stunning performance and feel when the roads are just right. If you really cant deal with the lumpy SMG and lack of torque then i'd suggest looking at the Audi RS range or Merc AMG's. But what you gain in tyre shredding low down torque and easy overtaking you lose in top notch handling and mind bending top end performance.
Oh, and yes the fuel economy really is that bad. Im averaging 9mpg at the mo.
It was only after i drove a Schnitzer mapped saloon at my local dealer that the whole thing started to make sense. The sales girl who took me out really wanted to see what it could do too so she let me loose without the usual 'grey safety brief'. P400 is numb at best and thats never going to change. However, with all the right settings and a safe environmoent to work in i really got to grips with what the car was capable of. The gear changes are perfect when pressing on and the power is relentless when your in the sweet zone. And the sound........... its addictive.
Taking that experience in and remembering that this car is designed to work best under pressure i set about trying to work out how best to get round the labour of regular town driving. It took me the best part of two months with my current E61 to figure out my ideal settings, the best shift points, the best way to feather the throttle when shifting and how hard to press the peddle when coming out of junctions etc. Now im used to it i find it second nature. I now find myself feeling for the paddles when driving my missus manual alfa, or feathering the throttle on downshifts and hard upshifts. The car is very intuitive when you give it a chance. It now feels like its exactly how a car should feel, like the Audi was wrong, or the Alfa would be better if the gearchanges broke your neck.
Part of the package is being able to forgive its sins as a crap town car. If you can do that then you will be rewarded with stunning performance and feel when the roads are just right. If you really cant deal with the lumpy SMG and lack of torque then i'd suggest looking at the Audi RS range or Merc AMG's. But what you gain in tyre shredding low down torque and easy overtaking you lose in top notch handling and mind bending top end performance.
Oh, and yes the fuel economy really is that bad. Im averaging 9mpg at the mo.
robinh20mrv said:
Perhaps i was just unlucky,
I go up north a lot and it was just too big, I also felt it was not gripping very much so i fitted ps2s over the contis and it was a wee bit better, but not enough for me,
i also hated the gearbox ( have a had a E46 M3 SMG ) so i was up to speed with the gears, it was just a horrid car
traded it in for a Alpina B6s and it was night and day! But even that i felt was too heavy for my type of roads so i bought a Porsche 997 C2s, great car, superb grip and loads of fun
But...i need more room so i got a X6, then a Cayenne turbo and now the M3 and its just perfect for me, fast, fun and i can chuck all my ste in the boot for a weekend away
mind you the brakes are a bit pish, so i am getting a full set of aps fitted with pagid pads in the spring, and also if the bank balance allows a pair of BMW competition seats as i feel i sit a bit high,
but no regrets at all getting rid of the M5.....i still have nightmares about the fuel consumption
Hated M5. Liked X6.I go up north a lot and it was just too big, I also felt it was not gripping very much so i fitted ps2s over the contis and it was a wee bit better, but not enough for me,
i also hated the gearbox ( have a had a E46 M3 SMG ) so i was up to speed with the gears, it was just a horrid car
traded it in for a Alpina B6s and it was night and day! But even that i felt was too heavy for my type of roads so i bought a Porsche 997 C2s, great car, superb grip and loads of fun
But...i need more room so i got a X6, then a Cayenne turbo and now the M3 and its just perfect for me, fast, fun and i can chuck all my s
te in the boot for a weekend away mind you the brakes are a bit pish, so i am getting a full set of aps fitted with pagid pads in the spring, and also if the bank balance allows a pair of BMW competition seats as i feel i sit a bit high,
but no regrets at all getting rid of the M5.....i still have nightmares about the fuel consumption
Just goes to show how personal likes and dislikes are with cars. I found the B5 dull compared with the M5 (it's not a dull car, expect by comparison with the M5). I also found the X6 M pretty unexciting.
I'm mystified by the complaint about the M5's grip. I didn't like the Contis in the rain, but the car gives huge confidence on PS2s.
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