Anything really surprised you about the M5's performance

[SteveC]

There are a few things about the M5's performance that have really exceeded my expectations.

1. Wet weather grip. My M5 was delivered in December and traction on cold roads was rather poor. As the days warmed up, I have actually been amazed at how well the standard Michelins and M5 chassis grip on wet roads. I was expecting it to be a bit of a handful but its actually quite the opposite....very confidence inspiring with good amounts of feedback. My Z4M was always ready to bite you on even damp roads but the M5 has moved on a long way.

2. Performance in manual mode. I was expecting the car to be fast. I was not expecting the degree of violence the M5 CP delivers

3. Precision of on-power cornering. Again I was expecting such a heavy car car to be a bit of a handful on tight, twisting roads but as long as you're putting reasonable drive through the back wheels, the car stays tight and neutral. On trailing throttle the car tends to understeer but unlike fast Audis for example, a little more throttle will tighten the line and ultimately provoke oversteer. This is very confidence inspiring and makes tight winding roads a real joy, where throttle and steering work perfectly together.

4. Cruising ability. On nice smooth tarmac the M5 can provide levels of comfort and refinement that's totally surprising in a car that behaves like a hooligan at the press of a button and a pedal.

5. Headlights. Driving quickly on any sort of road, dipped headlights of old would often fail to illuminate sufficient tarmac for the speed, requiring a certain degree of caution. This almost never happens with the M5's intelligent lights. I've never been flashed by oncoming vehicles, yet have never been left with insufficient illumination. This makes night driving a lot more relaxing

[fkim119]

Just like you said, how it could be so tame and a touch of a button it can turn into a wild animal.

[MOB]

For me it's the way it pulls above 100mph, mental

[Bigmuz7]

When it gets traction .. the power delivery is explosive... I sometimes wonder if the claimed 0-60 is just an average ?.. mashing the throttle on a high grip surface like zebraflex has you looking at sky, its mental. This is the first M5 ive had , but had other powerful brands, so I'm still on the learning curve with it.

I think I'm primarily impressed with the DCT .. it is very impressive piece of work. Also the electronic diff control which prevents you 'loosing' it, theres something very clever going on there, because it lets you get a lot of power down, even on less grippy surfaces without inducing a full slide, or sideways action. I know you'd expect that of a traction control system, but, it doesent kill all the power like many do, but, still doesent loose control

My first M5 and I have to say theres a lot to like, although I was always sceptical of pure RWD cars with that power, particularly in a temperate climate like the UK

[MyF15+F85]

Originally Posted by SteveC

There are a few things about the M5's performance that have really exceeded my expectations.

1. Wet weather grip. My M5 was delivered in December and traction on cold roads was rather poor. As the days warmed up, I have actually been amazed at how well the standard Michelins and M5 chassis grip on wet roads. I was expecting it to be a bit of a handful but its actually quite the opposite....very confidence inspiring with good amounts of feedback. My Z4M was always ready to bite you on even damp roads but the M5 has moved on a long way.

2. Performance in manual mode. I was expecting the car to be fast. I was not expecting the degree of violence the M5 CP delivers

3. Precision of on-power cornering. Again I was expecting such a heavy car car to be a bit of a handful on tight, twisting roads but as long as you're putting reasonable drive through the back wheels, the car stays tight and neutral. On trailing throttle the car tends to understeer but unlike fast Audis for example, a little more throttle will tighten the line and ultimately provoke oversteer. This is very confidence inspiring and makes tight winding roads a real joy, where throttle and steering work perfectly together.

4. Cruising ability. On nice smooth tarmac the M5 can provide levels of comfort and refinement that's totally surprising in a car that behaves like a hooligan at the press of a button and a pedal.

5. Headlights. Driving quickly on any sort of road, dipped headlights of old would often fail to illuminate sufficient tarmac for the speed, requiring a certain degree of caution. This almost never happens with the M5's intelligent lights. I've never been flashed by oncoming vehicles, yet have never been left with insufficient illumination. This makes night driving a lot more relaxing

Well put indeed.

I have had E92 N55 prior to my M5, now I thought it was a step up for me , in luxury and over all performance, but.... couple of days ago, after some time driving the M5 I had to test drive the EXACT same E92 N55 like I had ( customer wanted my feedback on their car ) and that is when I felt the difference, whooooly crap, car felt underpowered ( well obvious ), luxury ( well.... ) but the ability to take the corner ( that was some scary experience ) that totally threw me off, I did remember the car being much better in all the aspects, and I was mistaken ( a loooot ).
Now in the retrospect I feel that I have made a fantastic upgrade not even knowing initially how good of an upgrade. Love my M5

[Andynev1982]

Foot to the floor in S3 - second gear into third a never fails to put a huge grin on my face!