One week review - M5 (Competition Pack)
Discussion
It's been eight days since I picked up my new M5 from the dealer, and what fun they've been! You'll all be aware that M5 production has ceased until the seventh generation 5-series gets its M badges, so my car was a pre-registered car on a 66 plate. While that means I didn't get choose my bits and bobs, the car was highly specified anyway so I'm happy - theres nothing missing from the spec that I'd have picked myself.
The 5-series is an important model for BMW; in 2015 it was the best selling large premium car in Europe, as it has been the best selling large premium car in the world for six consecutive years. If a range of cars were a Hollywood family, the 5-series would be the Baldwins. Using that analogy, the M5 is the biggest, most bad-ass of the Baldwins; the BMW M5 is Alec Baldwin - big, brutal, powerful and handsome.
The first thing to mention is the sheer look of the car; its bright metallic orange and looks amazing, especially with black 20 inch alloys. I went to the petrol station (which is becoming a more frequent event than I expected) and the attendant commented on how amazing it looks. I've seen him a couple of times now and he likes to comment about how good looking my thirsty car is. On that fuel economy point; if you buy and M5 and worry about fuel economy, you've got your priorities wrong. I knew the Alec Baldwin liked a drink, and while I'm getting something in the region of 18Mpg, I'm also getting a huge smile put on my face every time I get in the car.
Part of that big smile is the sheer noise and drama that comes from the 4.4 litre, twin turbo charged V8. I know the competition pack adds some extra oomph - I suspect maybe an extra 15Bhp, so unless anyone wants to correct me, I think I have 567Bhp to play with. To put that into context, the Lamborghini Countach Anniversary that kept the world turning in the Pirelli TV advert (google it) only had 455Bhp so I reckon I could keep the world turning and move the moon at the same time if I was so inclined.
I have been quite cautious with the car, keeping the limiter on in areas with a 30-40Mph limit, dare I accidentlaly lose concentration and find myself speeding. Another driver aid to help you is the heads up display, which projects the speed limit and my current speed on the windscreen - it actually appears like the information is displayed over the nose of the car, and does help you keep focus on just how fast you are driving. My restraint in the car is slowly being replaced by carefully extending myself and car to find its limits, and while you don't want to cane it before the 1200 mile 'running in' service, I have lit up the traction control a couple of times and hit the rev limiter once - accidentally as my M2 button settings were wrong and the transmission shifted into manual sequential mode when I'd assumed I'd set it up in auto. The dealer advised me not to use launch control until 1200 miles, but in truth I don't think I ever will - 501lb ft of torque being reined in fills me with serious apprehension. It doesn't matter, the car is amazingly quick off the line without it.
So, keeping the car set up for maximum engine efficiency, the least brutal gear changes and comfort suspension and handling has been my main modus operandi, and in all honestly, the car has been just fine. It handles and goes about everyday driving just like a normal 5-series, and the only indication that you're in anything different is the firmer ride and the noise - Alec Baldwin is certainly louder than his siblings. The difference to a normal 5-series is the driving modes; forget eco, comfort, sport and sport+, instead in the M5, each function has its own settings - so for the steering and suspension, each has comfort, sport and sport+, the engine has efficient, sport and sport+, and the gearbox has 1,2 and 3 - the latter has been scientifically proven as capable of tearing an actual hole through time. The M1 and M2 buttons can be configured however you like, in M1, I have everything on the middle setting, and in M2 I have everything turned up to maximum. In both I keep the traction control firmly on.
In the more sporty modes, I find the steering adds weight, but doesn't offer any more feel - but actually thats fine, because what it does add is the fun factor, and as I get used to the car, I find myself coming on the power earlier when exiting the roundabout and trying to find the limit. In that sense, so far so good. Now, the best handling car I have ever driven is the R56 Mini Cooper, a car that goes where you point it without hesitation, and genuinely deserves the inevitable comparisons to a go-kart that it so often gets. Well the M5 is different, but no worse, it moves around the road safely and predictably and even as I get more confident and give it some more gas, it's perfectly civilised.
Away from the dual carriageways and main roads, I find the car fine in town, although the stop-start is a bit to eager to work - both turning the engine off a bit unnecessarily, and turning it back on again before I need it. One really useful feature is the surround view; enabled by cameras mounted on the front wheel arches, which in their own right are handy when I pull out of a bad junction, or when I am exiting a car park, but when they are put to work with the rear camera they give me a surround view of the car which means I can park what is essentially a very big car with ease - hitting the parking space dead centre first time, every time.
The cameras are easily the best toy on the car, but in general I'm always a bit suspicious of driver aids, I often think they de-skill the driver to the extent that you can rely on the technology too much and forget that you are in charge of a big, heavy and deadly machine, but actually having used the M5 and its cameras for a few days, I have actually found that it makes me more attentive - and they are more than toys they serve a useful purpose in keeping my car and other road users safe. Other handy features include the magic powered boot - which I can open by waving my foot around under the back of the car. Granted I look like a complete idiot in B&Q car park when I'm waving my foot around like I'm trying to dance with a bright orange car while holding two plant pots and bag of compost, but still, it helps.
It seems comfortable for passengers too, I took four passengers out to lunch and all were able to fit in comfortably, and rear legroom and headroom were sufficient. Inside the car is a nice place to be - not just because of the roar coming from up front (and someone suggested and I don't know or care if its true, that this also comes through the speakers), but because it's a nice well built environment, the seats are comfy, the controls and dials are logically distributed and the quality is.... well... germanic. The Harmon Kardon upgraded speakers sound great, but in truth I spend most of my time listening to Radio 4, so they're a little wasted on me.
I'd always wanted a BMW M5, ever since I was a little boy, and until a few years back I never thought I'd own one. I agonised over what car to buy this time - I flirted dangerously with a Porsche Macan, I courted that other famous familiy from Affalterbach, but when I had to make a choice, I remembered what started my love affair with fast german cars in the first place, and I'm so glad that I did.
The 5-series is an important model for BMW; in 2015 it was the best selling large premium car in Europe, as it has been the best selling large premium car in the world for six consecutive years. If a range of cars were a Hollywood family, the 5-series would be the Baldwins. Using that analogy, the M5 is the biggest, most bad-ass of the Baldwins; the BMW M5 is Alec Baldwin - big, brutal, powerful and handsome.
The first thing to mention is the sheer look of the car; its bright metallic orange and looks amazing, especially with black 20 inch alloys. I went to the petrol station (which is becoming a more frequent event than I expected) and the attendant commented on how amazing it looks. I've seen him a couple of times now and he likes to comment about how good looking my thirsty car is. On that fuel economy point; if you buy and M5 and worry about fuel economy, you've got your priorities wrong. I knew the Alec Baldwin liked a drink, and while I'm getting something in the region of 18Mpg, I'm also getting a huge smile put on my face every time I get in the car.
Part of that big smile is the sheer noise and drama that comes from the 4.4 litre, twin turbo charged V8. I know the competition pack adds some extra oomph - I suspect maybe an extra 15Bhp, so unless anyone wants to correct me, I think I have 567Bhp to play with. To put that into context, the Lamborghini Countach Anniversary that kept the world turning in the Pirelli TV advert (google it) only had 455Bhp so I reckon I could keep the world turning and move the moon at the same time if I was so inclined.
I have been quite cautious with the car, keeping the limiter on in areas with a 30-40Mph limit, dare I accidentlaly lose concentration and find myself speeding. Another driver aid to help you is the heads up display, which projects the speed limit and my current speed on the windscreen - it actually appears like the information is displayed over the nose of the car, and does help you keep focus on just how fast you are driving. My restraint in the car is slowly being replaced by carefully extending myself and car to find its limits, and while you don't want to cane it before the 1200 mile 'running in' service, I have lit up the traction control a couple of times and hit the rev limiter once - accidentally as my M2 button settings were wrong and the transmission shifted into manual sequential mode when I'd assumed I'd set it up in auto. The dealer advised me not to use launch control until 1200 miles, but in truth I don't think I ever will - 501lb ft of torque being reined in fills me with serious apprehension. It doesn't matter, the car is amazingly quick off the line without it.
So, keeping the car set up for maximum engine efficiency, the least brutal gear changes and comfort suspension and handling has been my main modus operandi, and in all honestly, the car has been just fine. It handles and goes about everyday driving just like a normal 5-series, and the only indication that you're in anything different is the firmer ride and the noise - Alec Baldwin is certainly louder than his siblings. The difference to a normal 5-series is the driving modes; forget eco, comfort, sport and sport+, instead in the M5, each function has its own settings - so for the steering and suspension, each has comfort, sport and sport+, the engine has efficient, sport and sport+, and the gearbox has 1,2 and 3 - the latter has been scientifically proven as capable of tearing an actual hole through time. The M1 and M2 buttons can be configured however you like, in M1, I have everything on the middle setting, and in M2 I have everything turned up to maximum. In both I keep the traction control firmly on.
In the more sporty modes, I find the steering adds weight, but doesn't offer any more feel - but actually thats fine, because what it does add is the fun factor, and as I get used to the car, I find myself coming on the power earlier when exiting the roundabout and trying to find the limit. In that sense, so far so good. Now, the best handling car I have ever driven is the R56 Mini Cooper, a car that goes where you point it without hesitation, and genuinely deserves the inevitable comparisons to a go-kart that it so often gets. Well the M5 is different, but no worse, it moves around the road safely and predictably and even as I get more confident and give it some more gas, it's perfectly civilised.
Away from the dual carriageways and main roads, I find the car fine in town, although the stop-start is a bit to eager to work - both turning the engine off a bit unnecessarily, and turning it back on again before I need it. One really useful feature is the surround view; enabled by cameras mounted on the front wheel arches, which in their own right are handy when I pull out of a bad junction, or when I am exiting a car park, but when they are put to work with the rear camera they give me a surround view of the car which means I can park what is essentially a very big car with ease - hitting the parking space dead centre first time, every time.
The cameras are easily the best toy on the car, but in general I'm always a bit suspicious of driver aids, I often think they de-skill the driver to the extent that you can rely on the technology too much and forget that you are in charge of a big, heavy and deadly machine, but actually having used the M5 and its cameras for a few days, I have actually found that it makes me more attentive - and they are more than toys they serve a useful purpose in keeping my car and other road users safe. Other handy features include the magic powered boot - which I can open by waving my foot around under the back of the car. Granted I look like a complete idiot in B&Q car park when I'm waving my foot around like I'm trying to dance with a bright orange car while holding two plant pots and bag of compost, but still, it helps.
It seems comfortable for passengers too, I took four passengers out to lunch and all were able to fit in comfortably, and rear legroom and headroom were sufficient. Inside the car is a nice place to be - not just because of the roar coming from up front (and someone suggested and I don't know or care if its true, that this also comes through the speakers), but because it's a nice well built environment, the seats are comfy, the controls and dials are logically distributed and the quality is.... well... germanic. The Harmon Kardon upgraded speakers sound great, but in truth I spend most of my time listening to Radio 4, so they're a little wasted on me.
I'd always wanted a BMW M5, ever since I was a little boy, and until a few years back I never thought I'd own one. I agonised over what car to buy this time - I flirted dangerously with a Porsche Macan, I courted that other famous familiy from Affalterbach, but when I had to make a choice, I remembered what started my love affair with fast german cars in the first place, and I'm so glad that I did.
Edited by RichRichBaboon on Friday 7th April 15:56
Edited by RichRichBaboon on Friday 7th April 15:59
Edited by RichRichBaboon on Friday 7th April 16:00
webwysard said:
Any idea what sort discount can be achieved on a pre reg one ? and how would you know if a car is pre reg ?
Have seen few on 66 and 17 plates with couple of thousand miles, are they pre reg ?
An other question is what's the going rate of finance on these pre regs ? new car APR or used one ?
Mine was £57k, was first registered in November but had only done 21 miles. I didn't use BMW finance - they quoted a whopping 10.9% on their site, so I went with JBR Capital who saved me about £200 a month! Have seen few on 66 and 17 plates with couple of thousand miles, are they pre reg ?
An other question is what's the going rate of finance on these pre regs ? new car APR or used one ?
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