[jphughan]

OP you're right about the wastegate behavior being different in Sport and Sport Plus; that was covered in some interview with someone in M, I believe the lead engine engineer, but I'm not certain (I've read a lot of M5 articles by now so they're blending together, sorry!) I agree it's unfortunate that you have to choose between a linear throttle and minimal turbo lag. I just recently discovered how helpful Normal throttle can be on my M3 while on the track. I still prefer Sport throttle for the street because it makes the car feel faster, more alive, and more "on edge" (even though I know those are illusions), but when precision is the name of the game, linear is the way to go.

As for the driving aids, I agree that they can reinforce bad driving habits, but I for one am glad they're active on cars driven by people who have no interest in learning proper driving technique, considering I have to share the road with them. I also agree that it might be fun to be able to disable ABS in order to practice threshold braking, but in a panic situation on the road most people's reaction is going to be to floor the brake pedal even if they know better, so I don't mind that aid so much. In my driving, on the street I tend to keep them on or at most in MDM because I seldom find myself driving in a way that would trigger their intervention in that environment, especially in MDM -- there just aren't really any roads here where it's very safe to exceed MDM's limits. Also, I'm not a perfect driver, so if the aids help me recover from a mistake without learning the hard way, I appreciate the safeguard -- but I do pay attention to when it intervenes as a signal of possible bad technique on my part. Plus, given the aids' unique ability to brake individual wheels and such, they could theoretically recover from a situation that no human ever could, which could come in handy in unforeseeable circumstances (suddenly driving over oil/black ice, having to swerve very hard to avoid a sudden accident just ahead, etc).

Great review, enjoy your new beast when it's redelivered on your shores!