Introducing my 2014 Sakhir Orange M5 w/Comp Package from UK - (long!) writeup & pics

[DJ Willby]

Hi! I've been a long time reader, but not really posted here before. I love the forum, and it really helped kept me sane in the months of waiting for my M5 to be delivered

I'll put the pics at the end of this post if you want to jump straight there! Firstly my writeup...

I've had the car since September, I wanted to wait a few months until I posted up about it here so I can give a better opinion of it. Well... I absolutely LOVE it! If I could design a car myself (and I definitely can't!) then this would be it.

The Options I Chose

I spent many weeks deliberating over all the various options... to be honest it kept me up for many nights and this forum helped a lot in my choices. In case it helps anyone else in that situation, here are the options I eventually went for and why;

The colour choice!

I actually ordered a white one, and changed it at the last minute to Sakhir Orange! Why? Well I went to BMW to pay the deposit and saw half the cars on the forecourt were white! I thought to myself... I want it suble and classy, but I don’t want to be un-noticed! I bit the bullet and went for SO with Silverstone interior. I am so pleased I did, SO looks AMAZING in the sunlight, almost colour changing. It’s very classy, not too loud or shouty. All I would say if have a look at one in real life if you can - it's probably the most commented about thing on my whole car!

The Silverstone interior goes well with the SO (I wasn't sure if it would). I have had the interior protected as colour from my jeans was starting to rub off on the seats just a couple of weeks in! I think the full leather in Silverstone would have been too much for me. I like the Silverstone and black contrasts, and I didn't want the back of my front seats being leather with young kids going in the back!

The Competition Package

I've modified nearly every car I have bought, and I wanted to (try at least) and leave this one alone so I went for the CP.

I love the fact it's slightly lowered aesthetics wise. That and all the suspension tweaks have given the ride less roll but not be any firmer than the standard model I tested.

The extra power makes no difference and is not even noticeable to me to be honest - it's hard enough to get all the power down at the best of times :P

The wheels were a very tough choice - I was going to upgrade to 20” anyway so that negates some of the cost of the competition pack. After much deliberation I went for the CP wheels as they were newer and I thought it would make the car look newer as the years went on. In the end I am 100% happy I went for them, they look way better in the flesh than any pictures on the net seem to portray. Make sure you have a look at them for real if you are stuck making a decision like I was.

The CP exhaust sounds great! I have always changed exhausts almost straight away on my cars, but to be honest I wouldn’t want it any louder than this one. It’s nice a civilised if you are taking it slow, but put your foot down and there is one hell of a bark! If you rev it up in neutral it pops and burbles as the revs drop too

The LED Adaptive Headlights

I wasn’t sure on these until I saw the BMW demonstration video about how they work on YouTube (here’s a link)

After having them I honestly now would never have a car without them. I do a lot of night driving and they are amazing to watch it dip the headlights with a ‘black dipped box’ around oncoming traffic but leaving the rest on high beam. It’s so fun it’s almost distracting in fact, but thats just the geek in me


The M Multi Function Seats

The test car I drove had these and they were without a doubt the most comforable car seat I have ever sat in, with more adjustment than I have ever thought possible! It was an expensive option at around £2000 and I haven’t tried the standard seats, but I didn’t want to risk not having that level of comfort and control.


The Cameras & Surround View

My advice is get as many cameras as you can! It’s a BIG car, bigger than a lot of parking spaces here in the UK and you will value as much visibility as you can get.


The Harmon-Kardon Sound System

I had to have this option with the CP here in the UK, but it’s well worth it for £500. I am a DJ so know a thing or two about sound, and this sounds fantastic! Much better than the Bose in my last Audi.


The Comfort Access Pack

I really love this - being able to walk up to the car and get in without having to get the key out my pocket is great, as is locking it by pressing your thumb on the top of the door handle. You feel a bit stupid waving your foot around under the rear bumper to operate the tailgate but you really value it when your hands are full!


The Head-Up Display

This was standard on mine in the UK, but I know overseas it’s an option in a lot of places. If you are in any doubt at all...get it! It’s made me a much safer driver not having to take my eyes off the road. I didn’t know that it displays the sat nav, road warnings, speed limits and all sorts of stuff. The most use it has is in telling me what gear I am in when changing gear manually with the paddles.


The Speed Limit Display

I almost didn’t get this after reading some reviews saying it doesn’t work. For me it’s worked flawlessly - it reads the speed limit from the sat nav or the actual road signs via the camera and displays it on the windscreen via HUD or on the dash. Any help in keeping my driving licence in this thing is welcomed!


The Tinted Windows & Climate Comfort Windscreen

Tinted windows look great to me and I got them purely for aesthetics. It doesn’t seem to be a film either (that I can tell) which is great

I’ve not really noticed any difference in the climate comfort windscreen apart from when wearing polarized sunglasses you get a bit of rainbow effect! This is the only option I wouldn't bother with again.


Internet

I got this as it was only £100. I’ve used it once… it’s probably worth it though to add on to the list for resale value


My thoughts on driving/owning my M5

I’ll try and keep this short(ish!) as this is post is getting rather lengthy! I love driving the car so much. It has endless power from any revs, you don’t have to drive it hard to enjoy it.. the torque is simply amazing. I’ve always had pretty quick cars and I’ve always wanted more power from them, but with this I think it has enough - more than you can use in fact.

The handling is fantastic for a car that size, it corners so flat you forget how fast you are going. I look for any excuse to take it out, and even look forward to going shopping with the missus just so I can drive it there

I get so many comments from people saying what a beautiful car it is, be they young and in awe of it or very old and respectful of it. I’ve parked it up once and sat in a nearby restaurant watching countless people stop and stare at it, with several people taking photos of it! It just makes it feel even more special


What I’ve not read on the forums...

In ‘Efficient’ mode for the throttle control the engine note is considerably quieter than when in ‘Sport’ mode, and I’ve not yet worked out if it’s the active sound being dulled down, or a flap in the exhaust closed, or both?


What I don’t like...

There is very little not to like. One of the only main improvements I could see BMW making is weight saving - it hides it very well but it is a heavy car.

It’s hard to get the power down most of the time, but that’s not really a bad thing - just shows how amazing the engine is I suppose! Sure it could benefit from 4WD but it would lose it’s character and the fun in driving a RWD car. I wouldn’t change it.

The only niggly thing I would change is that the wipers don’t wipe quick enough when on auto mode, even on the most sensitive of settings I almost completely lose vision until they come on :P


What I like... sorry love!

Everything else! Driving it, owning it, being in it, the respect you get from both motoring enthusiasts and non-motoring enthusiasts alike, and the way it changes from a civilised car you would drive your mum around in with limousine comfort, to an absolute beast that you can seriously scare yourself with!

It’s the best car I have ever owned, and I can’t see how anything else could please me more… apart from a newer M5 of course


The Photos





















Thank you for taking the time to read all this, and I hope it helps the people who are thinking about buying one

Will B from Cornwall in the UK

[dhirm5]

Nice writeup and gorgeous pix. Congrats and welcome.

[RPiM5]

Nice write up. Congrats dude.

I love how in the UK, you have more options to choose from. You can pick what parts of the Drivers Assistance Package that we get here in America, instead of it all being in one package.

I love the M5 in SO, for some reason I think it looks way better on the M5 than on the M6. Nice choice with the 601M's also.

Drive her hard but well.

[DJ Willby]

Thank you guys

[MichaelJohn]

What a wonderful uplifting post. Thanks for a great write-up. Your joy is contagious - it makes me want to go home from work and drive my car!

[patb23]

Congrats! Nice write up.

[soooma]

Congrats man
Have it without CP
Love it
But can't drive it though broken in because I am sick like a dog with the Flu
Yours will stand our more?

[Palmnuts]

A really nice and genuine write up Will

I've also noticed that about the exhaust sound being louder when the throttle map is in sport / sport-plus on my M6 and amazed it's never commented on. I think it sounds quite ordinary in Comfort mode yet is much better in Sport and abide. I can't remember that happening on my previous non-Competition Pack (although to be fair, I only had that car a few weeks before ordering the CP)...I wonder if it only does this on CP cars? Same thing happens on the missus's M135i too....that sounds really good in the sports modes.

[Darsar123]

Waiting for my march delivery sakhir orange with sakhir orange interior

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by Palmnuts

A really nice and genuine write up Will

I've also noticed that about the exhaust sound being louder when the throttle map is in sport / sport-plus on my M6 and amazed it's never commented on. I think it sounds quite ordinary in Comfort mode yet is much better in Sport and abide. I can't remember that happening on my previous non-Competition Pack (although to be fair, I only had that car a few weeks before ordering the CP)...I wonder if it only does this on CP cars? Same thing happens on the missus's M135i too....that sounds really good in the sports modes.

No, it's a bit louder on both the non-CP and the CP cars when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+. It's because when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+ the wastegates in the turbos are kept open for much longer thereby making the exhaust louder. It's just that with the Comp Pack the baffles in the mufflers are removed so you can hear it more.

Cheerio!

[mcvaughan]

Beautiful! Enjoy!

[matx1982]

Thanks for posting, enjoy the new motor... looks great

Mat

[EdM5]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

No, it's a bit louder on both the non-CP and the CP cars when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+. It's because when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+ the wastegates in the turbos are kept open for much longer thereby making the exhaust louder. It's just that with the Comp Pack the baffles in the mufflers are removed so you can hear it more.

Cheerio!

Thanks for clarifying RPiM5!

OP: fantastic car, great write-up!

[vladberca]

Really nice! Congrats!

[bmellion]

wheel is on the wrong side of the car??

[Palmnuts]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

No, it's a bit louder on both the non-CP and the CP cars when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+. It's because when you put the setting to Sport or Sport+ the wastegates in the turbos are kept open for much longer thereby making the exhaust louder. It's just that with the Comp Pack the baffles in the mufflers are removed so you can hear it more.

Cheerio!

Thanks for clarifying...everyday is a schoolday

Originally Posted by bmellion

wheel is on the wrong side of the car??

You're not thinking straight - us Brits clearly have our steering wheels on the 'right' side. I'm not making it up....it's there for everyone to see

[GOLFFRR]

Love it! congrats

[Greer]

Very well said!

[Stiggly]

As your a DJ is there any reason other than price for not choosing the B&O system.

Great write up...very honest

[bimmer-boy]

Great right up! Short but straight to the point
Congrats on your car

SO i have seen in person and is a really nice colour!

I hope we get more UK write ups in the future of people collecting their m5's

Enjoy

[shahano]

Congrats and welcome to the club... Just a questions. What is the diff between harman kardon and Bang and Oulefson?

[soooma]

No B & O and a DJ!!