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One year early
2 years since I took delivery of my Sapphire Black '15 M5 CP and today it's returned to its maker (or at least a dealer thereof) with my gratitude for a safe 2 years...but without many regrets.
I have enormous respect for the car...it offers towering performance, with flickering traction control lights in 4th gear at 100 mph on warm, dry tarmac, yet transforms into a comfortable all day cruiser capable of eating up huge mileage. Handling can be comfortable or taught and precise at the press of a button. Amazing!
But despite all these wonderful attributes, I never really bonded with the car. Never fell in love with the driving experience. The main reason, I think was DCT and size.
I've never been a fan of automatics and while DCT is a massive step up in technology, that has entirely succeeded in removing what I HATED about slushboxes, its never really delivered what I love about manuals....that total immersion in the driving experience, a bit like lovemaking without foreplay.
In terms of driving quickly, flappy paddle DCT is amazing and is how I drove the car whenever I wanted 'sporty'. However I never came to appreciate the DCT's 'D' programming with its choice of relaxed but ultimately rather unresponsive cruising or high revving, frenetic sportiness.
So today I took delivery of an Individual Grey Black M4 Competition 6MT and its so lovely to be stirring those gears again. I already feel a bond with this new car that's been missing for a while. Somewhat smaller, a lot lighter and more agile, it doesn't feel like it has the overwhelming low down power of the M5, but it does feel very much at home on the Yorkshire B roads I love to drive.
I always wanted to try an M5, a car whose performance journalists often label as 'bonkers'. It didn't disappoint, but it wasn't such a great match for narrow lanes lined with trees and stone walls. It inspired confidence, provided precision and accuracy so you could always stay precisely on line. Its just that it needed a huge amounts of concentration to guide its bulk and avoid tagging a protruding branch or stone, making the drive rather tiring.
Anyway, I'll probably continue to hang out here.....you never know when the horsepower siren may sing again.
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