FIRST DRIVE BMW M5:THE NEW M5 is back, with less smoke and more fire in its belly. That would be great news if we weren't in an era where a €15,000 supermini starts to look extravagant. At the M5 end of the market, it is all about numbers. There will, perhaps, be very few of the new M5 sold in Ireland in 2012. And that is a shame.
However, for the few brave souls that can afford the six-figure price tag and four-figure motor tax, they will be studying the numbers carefully. The new fifth-generation M5 no longer features a 5.0-litre V10, now replaced by a 4.4-litre V8 engine with twin turbos. It is putting out 560bhp, which is 10 per cent more power than before, and with 680Nm of torque, that is 30 per cent more than before. Yet, fuel economy is 30 per cent better, thanks to Efficient Dynamics technology, which includes an auto start-stop function and Brake Energy Regeneration.
It takes just 4.4 seconds to get to 100km/h and just 13 seconds to get to 200km/h. If you order the optional M Driver’s package it will do 305km/h. The rest of you will have to put up with 250km/h.
The power goes to the rear wheels as normal, but there is an Active M Differential that splits the engine power between the right and left rear wheels for maximum traction.
The latest 5 Series is a more refined and more luxurious car than it has ever been, so many were curious about how this was going to translate into the sledgehammer that has always been the M5. If anything it looks subtler than the previous version. The traditional visual cues of huge alloys, massive air intakes, M “gills” and a pair of twin exhausts mean the car wears the right uniform but it isn’t, perhaps, as obviously ferocious as before.
Purists (sometimes known as motoring bores) will bemoan the loss of the V10, but this V8 still sounds good. Start it up and it sounds more refined than before, while in the cabin there is an astonishing array of buttons relating to the performance potential of the car. There is not one but two M buttons this time and you can set up your car in a myriad of ways ranging from docile to demonic. There is a seven-speed M double-clutch transmission Drivelogic gearbox and this is operated via paddles behind the wheel or with the centre lever.
The last M5 was brutally fast, and from these figures you can see that this one is too. But even with previous experience, it takes a while for you to recalibrate your brain to this car’s power. But don’t be too scared: you can drive this new version more easily and more comfortably at low speeds than the last one.
There is a new “Low Speed Assistance” function, which keeps the car moving at low speeds through stop-start traffic with a light nudge of the accelerator pedal.
But why buy an M5 for its low-speed refinement? Stamp down hard on the throttle and all hell breaks loose. The power is unrelenting. It makes a variety of noises rather than one definitive howl but there is still a delightful crackle from the exhausts. All of the available torque comes in from as low down as 1,500rpm and it is a snap of acceleration that never lets up.
Your perception of speed is entirely warped in the M5. You reach 120km/h, the fastest you can legally drive on a motorway in Ireland, in the blink of an eye, though it seems like you’re only doing half that speed. You feel the power in the pit of your stomach and frighten the life out of yourself when you realise what was only seconds ago a speck on the horizon is now suddenly a car 3ft from your front bumper. It is supercar performance in a business suit. Try putting your kids and golf clubs in the back of a Lamborghini.
You need to accept before you even consider buying an M5 that you will never exploit its potential on a public road without either jail or a pine box coming to meet you soon.
Even on a race circuit you are merely scratching the surface of its potential. It is a big car, perhaps not feeling as agile as a true supercar, but it has been so beautifully set-up that it inspires instant confidence. This is a really easy car to drive hard and it is, perhaps, equally flattering to both the skilled and the ham-fisted.
Rather predictably, the latest BMW M5 is absolutely awesome. While Audi and Mercedes-Benz equivalents feel like overkill, the M5 does epic performance with incredible refinement and class. We truly hope that some brave Irish motorists should buy the M5 next year, no matter how unlikely this turns out to be. Frankly, it’s worth it. The car goes on sale in Ireland on December 3rd and will cost €132,240.
That’s the price of a house in the suburbs these days but how much fun can that give you over the mind-altering adrenalin rush of a M5?
FACTFILE
Engine4,395cc V8 Twin Turbo petrol putting out 560bhp at 6,000-7,000rpm and 680Nm of torque at 1,500-5,750rpm
Maximum speed250km/h or 305km/h with M Driver's package 0-100km/h 4.4 secs
Emissions (tax)232g/km (€2,100)
On saleDecember 3rd
Price€134,240