The 2014 Cadillac CTS was just named
Motor Trend Car of the Year 2014, and the 2014 M5 was one of the contenders evaluated for the award (also see how the
BMW 4 Series Coupe fared).
Here is how Motor Trend had to say about the 2014 M5. Be sure to check out their list of criteria used, as well as the full list of contenders and finalists at the link above.
Contender: BMW 5 Series
By: Jonny Lieberman
We Like: Abusive amounts of power result in skull-cracking acceleration.
We Don't Like: Hefty, complex, and surprisingly numb.
We were quite excited to get our hands on the updated 528i and the new 535d. We'd had a not-very-loved long-term 528i, and hoped the refresh would fix some of what we didn't like (i.e., stop/start). And we're cuckoo for diesels. Sad to say, BMW couldn't get us either car in time for Car of the Year. It did, however, happen to have the new M5 Competition lying around. For $7300 over the $95,125 base price, you get an additional 15 hp; a new, sportier-sounding exhaust system; 10mm-lower ride height from a revised suspension; and 20-inch lightweight alloy wheels. If that seems a little for a lot, it is. Especially considering that you still have to pay an additional $9250 for the carbon-ceramic brakes.
However, said Evans, "It's definitely better than the last M5 I drove." Loh liked this uprated M5, too: "I can say I'd rather have this over the M6." And it's handsome. Said Kiino, "Looks the part. Bulging fenders set over big wheels and huge carbon brakes give it a menacing, powerful look." While the Competition version of the M5 does help the car scoot along better, the old flaws are there. Chiefly, it feels as if you're driving a bank vault with a speedometer that constantly reads 100 mph. Said Theodore, "Deceptively quick, which can get you into trouble. Every time I looked down, I was doing over 100 mph." But the issue isn't speed, which we like. It's that you're way too isolated from said speed. Then there's the whole programmability problem. Kiino put it rather harshly: "Just give me a sport mode or two, but not the 50 million combinations of throttle, steering, transmission, and suspension. Ridiculous and overwhelming." (243 for those who are counting.) The Competition package definitely raises the M5's game, but for the F10 5 Series, it's a case of too little too late.
