BMW F10 M5 Review - Automobile: Probably Best Steering M5 Yet

[Jason]

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BMW F10 M5 Review - Automobile: Probably Best Steering M5 Yet

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Automobile, who brought us their very entertaining 1M coupe review, now comes in with their F10 M5 review.

First thing's first: the M5 uses a hydraulic steering rack. No fancy active steering, and no electric assist. What does that mean? Well, driving down the cobblestone driveway of our Spanish hotel, I let out a big "it's alliiiiiiiiive!" Steering feel, even at 10 mph, is alive and well in the M5... Better yet, the steering is adjustable to three levels of weight: Comfort, which feels like a normal M product, Sport which is slightly heavier than, say, an M3, and is just plain perfect, and Sport Plus, which makes the steering wheel feel like it's attached to a bowl of split pea soup.

The steering is probably the best of any M5 yet (overall, the E60 M5 left us cold, and as much as we loved the E39, that M5's steering used a recirculating ball setup. It was good, but the F10 M5's rack and pinion system is more communicative.)

The suspension, too, is adjustable in three settings. Comfort is stiff but comfortable, Sport is slightly stiffer, and Sport Plus should only be used by trained chiropractors. It's actually not that bad (on the standard nineteen-inch wheels) but it does come across as unnecessarily harsh. Hey, if you like that kind of thing, go for it. I'm fine with Comfort -- it does everything it needs to without beating you up. The third adjustment is throttle response, and there are also three modes. Pick which one you like.

How's it drive? Well it goes like stink, that's for sure. It feels even faster than the factory's quoted 4.4-second 0-to-62-mph time, but that number is clearly very traction-limited. On Southern Spain's slippery roads, the M5 easily roasts its tires in first and second and third and sometimes fourth - and it sure feels like the engine computer doesn't even bother to allow full boost in first gear. It'd be pointless anyway. It's very, very fast.

Thanks to the ingenius exhaust port routing from the regular S63 (for details see) the F10 M5 doesn't sound like a normal, burbly, cross-plane-crankshaft V-8. The exhaust note is similar to that of a flat-plane V-8, or a four-cylinder. That means no lope, but a lot of boom at very low (2000 and fewer) revs, and a staggering bark under load. It sounds incredible, especially at startup or at full throttle. Here's something you'll be shocked to learn: when I unplugged the factory stereo amplifier, the engine's note inside the car changed considerably. It was all but inaudible over two grand, becoming more audible but distant as the revs increased. Somebody call the "Ultimate Driving Machine" police: BMW is actually using the car stereo speakers to pipe in engine music? Hmm.

The biggest disappointment with the M5 is turbo lag. Yeah, yeah, how typical that I'm complaining about a turbocharged M5. Actually, I'm not complaining about the fact that the M5 wears turbos: I'm complaining that the S63TU engine has so much more lag than the non-Valvetronic S63 did. And it seems that M's engineers aren't fully using their arsenal of tools (Valvetronic, Double VANOS, direct injection) to mitigate lag. Case in point, drive at highway speeds, and the transmission is in seventh gear. Floor the throttle and you get a fairly quick downshift into third: revs in the top half of the tach, all is well. The problem is that there's no boost, so you get a clutch engagement, followed by no power for a second, followed by massive thrust. Boost should have been built by the time the downshift was done.

There's a bit of lost isolation in the rear of the M5 compared to the regular 5-series: the subframes are rigidly attached to the body, which means you hear the differential working, and the ride is a bit more gritty. Bad thing? Not to me. This is an M5, if you want super refinement you can buy a 550i. And the whole point of an M5 is skirting along the compromise of packing sports car moves into a luxury sedan body.

And in that sense, this M5 is a far better M5 than the last one (which was always a bit too high-strung and sterile for its own good.) It's got almost all of the refinement of the current 5-series, all of the tech features, gorgeous styling, and elegant interior. And then it's got razor-sharp handling and the best steering we've seen in a 5-series in a long time, if not ever. And then it'll rip that smile off your face with outrageous acceleration. And if you're in Germany, and you buy the driver's pack, you'll be able to test out the raised 190-mph limiter. 190! In a sedan.

Plenty more to read at Automobile's full review.

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[keanu1]

turbo lag!?!? hmmmm!
anyway it seems like another good review for m5!!
i wonder how fast it is, because they all say is very very fast?!?!
Faster than a nissan gt-r?!!?

[bimmerJP]

turbo lag!!?? What the... now thats heart breaking...

[RussRamz]

This is a first generation turbo ///M. It's not going to be perfect. I would wait another another one or two generations before they can get it right. In the mean time, buy up the last of the non-turbo ///M cars. They will be classics...

[James T. Kirk]

Turbo lag? How could the M-Division release this icon of a badge out without first resolving the one thing to which everyone would be hyper-focused?

[宝马.e90]

I thought I read somewhere that there was no turbo lag? Or was that another M model or another BMW. Gotta find the article now.

[Mahzari]

The biggest problem I see with this car is the fake engine noises. This perfectly describes what BMW (and ///M) has been doing lately. Before, they made fun of Mercedes for using the same engine in every car and Lexus for having fake exhaust tips. Now they're making an M5 that has a fake soundtrack from an engine lifted straight from an SUV?

Quoted directly from the article: "I'm complaining that the S63TU engine has so much more lag than the non-Valvetronic S63 did."

[chris719]

I'd wait until the production cars are tested before complaining too much about this "lag". The lag sounds like a software issue to me.

[aus]

Originally Posted by 宝马.e90

I thought I read somewhere that there was no turbo lag? Or was that another M model or another BMW. Gotta find the article now.

That was from BMW, saying how their fancy criss cross headers would eliminate lag...
Bottom line, if there's not exhaust flow, there's no boost. I'm guessing the S63 has larger turbo's than the N63, so they'll take longer to spool up too.

[red-sauerkraut]

I agree w/out question.

Originally Posted by chris719

I'd wait until the production cars are tested before complaining too much about this "lag". The lag sounds like a software issue to me.

[BMW BRAD]

Originally Posted by chris719

I'd wait until the production cars are tested before complaining too much about this "lag". The lag sounds like a software issue to me.

I agree w/out question. (red sauerkraut)

^^^^ Likewise I am sure! ^^^^

[silentassasin]

Not every review is going to claim the M5 is perfect. There may be some kinks to work out. But overall it's still a very bad ass ride

[Gunzaro]

O dear - artificially using the car speakers to produce a V8 sound in-cabin?

I think I will miss that Formula 1 - sounding V10...a lot...

[ron_jeremy]

Exactly!
We want honest reviews, not kiss ass bullshit right.
We wants to know this car pros and cons, surely you can't really know what your personal opinion might be in the end, until you have some miles with it.
But to have an opinion of a car, you need to look at X amounts of reviews, and not only the ones who praises it.
This M5 is not prefect, nothing really is, but it should be a hell of a car, if the M badge is on it, besides the F10 is a great car from the start, no wonder the M version gets good reviews imo.

[Kinder]

I think that every car that downshift from 7th to 3rd on a highway will have some kind of "lag"...

[Jon335iFL]

Ya iam ganna drain my life savingsin this thing

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by ACSE90

...But overall it's still a very bad ass ride

So, you've driven it?

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by keanu1

...Faster than a nissan gt-r?!!?

I don't think so, at least not to 60mph and quite possibly well past that.

[MDyDinanM]

best steering M5 yet?

wasn't there another article that said the F10 M5 steering was lacking, as in it wasn't in touch with the road, except when maneuvering, but felt lazy in a straight line?

I guess it is subjective on the driver and who wrote the article.

and then there's this...

when I unplugged the factory stereo amplifier, the engine's note inside the car changed considerably. It was all but inaudible over two grand, becoming more audible but distant as the revs increased. Somebody call the "Ultimate Driving Machine" police: BMW is actually using the car stereo speakers to pipe in engine music? Hmm.

WTF BMW

reminds me of Homer Simpson doing this:

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by mdyaman

best steering M5 yet?

wasn't there another article that said the F10 M5 steering was lacking, as in it wasn't in touch with the road, except when maneuvering, but felt lazy in a straight line?

Yes, in Autocar UK and that pretty much sums up the feel of my F10 535d's electric steering.

[bobbyd1961]

Originally Posted by keanu1

turbo lag!?!? hmmmm!
anyway it seems like another good review for m5!!
i wonder how fast it is, because they all say is very very fast?!?!
Faster than a nissan gt-r?!!?

wow some turbo lag! my M3 has zero turbo lag and the engine screams. whats the difference?

[BMW BRAD]

Originally Posted by mdyaman

best steering M5 yet?

wasn't there another article that said the F10 M5 steering was lacking, as in it wasn't in touch with the road, except when maneuvering, but felt lazy in a straight line?

I guess it is subjective on the driver and who wrote the article.

and then there's this...



WTF BMW

reminds me of Homer Simpson doing this:

That Chain saw clip was some funny shiet! - If that is true, I am shocked that BMW would stoop to such a low level.........