We’re nothing if not thorough at crankandpiston, and as the final stretch of mountain road is relatively short, we decide to do several runs. I don’t mind admitting that on my first run, I’m quite nervous. Now in Sport+, traction control is off and the setup is in its most ferocious setting. Suddenly the safe return of nearly $120,000 relies on my reaction speeds.
Though hesitant on the throttle for the first few corners, the enigmatic rumble from the exhausts and the blurry landscape whistling past soon awakens the inner eight-year-old. Paddle shifts are quick and lag-free, and the throttle kicks me in the back just enough to demonstrate the power at work.
The rears are more playful now but a 180 spin at 120 is unlikely, since the Beemer’s top-notch balance – even through a quick succession of left-right-lefts – obliterates body roll. Saying that, for such a sprightly piece of kit, it’s hard to ignore the M5’s size. Top speed may hit supercar territory, but saloon car weight is all too obvious when rounding some of the sharper turns.
Forty minutes of exuberant testing later though, and the car has barely broken sweat. And rather bizarrely, nor have we. With head-scratching fully underway, we knock the M5 back into Comfort mode and head back down the mountain.
We pull over at a local gas station just shy of the highway to top ourselves up for the journey home. As well as weighing up the pros and cons of buying a scythe alongside our twix bars, I think about the drive we’ve just undertaken.
Certainly the M5 has the power, performance and sporting edge we’ve come to expect from the M division. What surprises me is the dignified manner in which these have been dealt. At no point has this new model felt ‘monstrous’, ‘animalistic’ or akin to ‘a beast’. But then cocooned within its 5-series refinery, it was never going to be.
At the beginning, we had worried that this new model’s subtlety would be its Achilles heel. Perhaps now it is better to consider the new M5 from another angle: an executive saloon, refined and genteel from 9-5, and a powerhouse performer when the working day is done. How you choose to see it is down to you.
| F10 BMW M5 | |
|---|---|
| Engine: | V8 / 4398cc / twin turbo |
| Power: | 552bhp @ 6000rpm |
| Torque: | 501lb ft @ 1500rpm |
| Transmission: | Seven-speed M double-clutch transmission with Drivelogic |
| Front suspension: | Double track control arm with M-specific elastokinematics / small negative steering roll radius / anti-dive |
| Rear suspension: | Integral-V multi-arm axle with M-specific elastokinematics / spatial suspension with anti-squat and anti-dive |
| Brakes: | Six-piston fixed-calliper compound disc brakes 400mm x 36mm (front) /single-piston fixed-calliper compound disc brakes 396mm x 24mm (rear) |
| Wheels: | 19-inch |
| Tyres: | 265/40 R19 (front) / 295/35 R19 (rear) |
| Weight (kerb) | 1870kg |
| 0-100kph: | 4.4sec |
| Top speed: | 250kph |
