2013 BMW M5 Reviews

The seventh instalment of BMW's M5 is the biggest and most powerful, but not the fastest. With plug-in hybrid power to soothe around town, comfort is likely, but how about performance and driving joy? We head to Bathurst to find out.

BMW's M5 Competition proudly waves the V8 performance sedan flag in the face of ever-tighter environmental restrictions.

The pressure for German super saloon supremacy is on the new M5 big time. Will the M5 vs E 63 debate become the next Coke vs Pepsi, Prince vs Michael Jackson, or Holden vs Ford?

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the BMW M5 Pure with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the 2015 BMW M5 Nighthawk edition with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Peter Barnwell reviews the updated BMW M5 with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its Australian launch.

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the BMW M5, with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Those crazy Germans, they really put together a sledgehammer sedan when they put their mind to it. Think Audi RS6, Benz E63 AMG and BMW M5 - big, brash, bad and ballistic.The new M5 moves away from the previous V10 to a high-tech, "small block" 4.4-litre V8.... with two twin scroll turbochargers pumping at 1.5bar, variable valve timing and lift and direct fuel injection. It also has "eco" stop-start, brake energy regeneration and a number of other fuel and emissions saving systems that bring consumption down to an incredible 9.9-litres/100km in a car with 412kW/680Nm output. There's a seven-speed dual clutch manumatic putting power to the rear wheels via a multi-plate limited slip differential. It helps apportion drive to the wheel with the most traction. It's the most powerful M car ever to go into series production and points the way to the future for all performance BMWs - smaller capacity high-tech engines with more performance but reduced environmental impact.This one puts away a 0-100kmh sprint in a mere 4.3 seconds but more relevant is how it performs on the move and how it handles for such a big, heavy car tipping the scales at 1870kg. Featuring just about everything from the BMW technology arsenal, the new $230,000 M5 has electronic controls to all its dynamic functions, all with multiple modes ranging from normal to comfort, eco, sport through to track.It takes a while to set up the car to your particular calibration and annoyingly, some of them default back to nanny mode when you switch off. But we are told you can program that out of the car - given the know-how, inclination and time.We appreciated the low speed assist that smooths the congestion crawl and the aluminium, leather and suede interior is a place of beauty and style offering up a striking level of comfort with all the fruit. Our test car was in a matte grey that made it look even meaner capped off with a set of forged 20-inch alloys that made children and pets run away and hide.We sampled a few set-ups but essentially went for comfort/eco for general driving and "track" for the favourite sporty drive loop. The difference is chalk and cheese. In the former, it's a big supple luxury limo type of feel while in the latter, it's like a finely honed scalpel albeit, a weighty one.But you have to activate the MDM (M Dynamic Mode) to prevent all that technology from intervening prematurely to cut the action. It can become exceedingly annoying when the car is continuously applying the brakes and vectoring the torque when you are trying to get a roll on through a set of corners. We fixed that.The level of performance from the twin turbo V8 is awe inspiring.At no time is there a point when withering acceleration isn't available. It's point and squirt stuff. And the dynamics and transmission are up for it too. All very good. But when you boil it all down, the M5 is a supremely satisfying drive in terms of performance and handling. It also sounds incredible with a rolling thunder note from the quad exhausts; not a loud blatt as expected.But BMW went all conscientious with its new M5, showing a green tinge in a car that will basically blow just about everything else off the road.

Something is missing from the new M5. All the numbers alongside BMW's newest go-faster hero car add up to something special, from the torque and power figures to a genuine 305km/h top speed.But when you drive the car those numbers don't add up to a special car in the same way as the previous V10-powered M5 rortmobile. This one doesn't tug you on the sleeve and suggest you should head out - right now - for some naughtiness. Instead, what the M5 of 2011 has become is an adult grand tourer with the sort of serious slugging power that keeps it near the top of the heavyweight class of sports sedans.It can be soft and almost gentle for highway cruising, something you could never have said about the previous M5 with its Formula One-inspired engine and an almost M3- style approach to sporty driving. But open the taps in the new twin-turbo V8 at almost any speed and this M5 is capable of pinning you in the seat and opening your eyes. It's a new benchmark for the big daddy in the M-car family and, because it also hangs onto the basics that make the everyday 5 Series the current benchmark in its class, it's a serious contender at every level.The new one came in at $230,000 – well below the outgoing M5’s price of $241,000. However, the new M5 gets substantially more equipment and that means a major value boost that's becoming typical for the brand as BMW fights hard to retain its current owners and win converts in Australia.The car is fully equipped in the way you expect of an M5, from a soft leather interior with sports seats to a full suite of entertainment choices, impressive split-system aircon, a head-up display for the driver - but don't bother with your polarized sunglasses - and M badges and fixtures including the steering wheel and even the driver's footrest.It looks as if BMW plans to undercut its biggest rival, the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG at $240,985, as well as making things much tougher for anything from Audi with an RS badge, and even the Jaguar XFR at $207,905 and upcoming XF-RS.The Efficient Dynamics drive at BMW has even caught up to the M5. It's  designed to go light on fuel, with economy as much as one-third better than the old car, but that's only when you're taking it easy on the GT. If you want to boogie, the technology in the M5 starts with the multi- mode twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8. Cynics will say it's just the same force- fed lump designed for the un-M SUV twins, the X6 and X5 Ms, but it's had a lot more work for M5 work on everything from the cylinder heads and inlet system.So the car makes 412 kiloWatts with 680 Newton-metres, with claimed economy of 9.9 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 232 grams/kilometre. The biggest change from the SUV tuning is an extra 1000 revs at the top end, although that's still more than 1000 short of the old V10... For the record, the new M5 will thump to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds and has a Nurburgring time below eight minutes, undercutting the 8:05 of the old model.The new M5 has the expected multi-mode settings for engine/ transmission, steering and suspension, as well as significantly upgraded brakes - although there is nothing special on the rear, because of the electronic park brake fitted to the ordinary Fives - and ESP settings. The gearbox is now a seven-speed twin-clutch automated manual that removes, M says, any need for a manual while making full-auto life much easier than before.The M5 is not intended to be a 'look-at-me' car and there are plenty of stories from Europe of people buying a car without the badges, and downgrading the alloys, to blend into traffic like a basic 520d.Although the rocket-launcher exhaust pipes give things away these days. The car is relatively subtle despite pump-up work on the guards, those hefty alloys, a more-aggressive nose to keep the V8 happy and primed with air, and the tiny lip spoiler on the bootlid. Inside, the look and feel is more luxury than loonatic, as BMW believes M5 buyers are considerably older and softer than the hard cases who go all the way with an M3 GTS for track time.A five-star ANCAP rating is a gimme for the M5. The basic Five has already cleared the bar and there is nothing to suggest anything different for the M-car, despite the gaping cooling holes in the nose that don't look particularly pedestrian friendly. Its line-up of active safety systems - from the brakes to the electronic stability and steering and brake packages - also means it's much more likely to help you avoid a crash than other Fives, or lesser cars. Not that it's an easy car to tame.The new M5 is a great drive. It makes life easy and enjoyable on boring freeway stretches yet you always know there is a sledgehammer hidden beneath the luxury stuff. When I crack on through the first twisty bits it responds with everything I expect from a new M car. Almost.The performance is epic, particularly through the middle range when the turbos are forcing the pace, when the V8 fires the car from corner to corner. The gearbox is great, too, with almost-seamless changes and the ability to downshift late for tightening curves or unexpected traffic. The turbos also provide some WRX-style exhaust thumps and pops that remind you of the M connection. But…There is a noticeable turbo delay when you first crack the throttle, especially during low-speed overtaking, and the huge torque easily overpowers the giant rear tyres and has the traction control working overtime. On the race track the M5 cranks out its laps and allows some tail sliding silliness.The basic chassis setting gives slight front-end push, as I found on public roads, but the power and weight - more than 1800 kilograms - means its always up for a slide, even with the M. The V8 engine is a thumper. The M5 has abilities beyond most drivers yet I find - despite an annoying pace car - that it's not as sharp as I expect.It's more like a Nissan GT-R, whose computers overrule the driver, than an M3 or even an E63. And that's the bottom line. The new M5 is not intended as a track car, but as a hugely fast GT for adults who like their performance without any rawness or unpleasantries.BMW M has done a top job as always and so the new M5 is a relaxed and relaxing tourer that can easily cover vast distances, and make fewer fuel stops than in the past along the way, but also get up and go, go, go and go. It's a car to cherish and enjoy, and one that's going to make a lot of grown-ups very, very happy.A brilliant new M5, just missing the final edge of greatness.

Pandemonium has been overhauled by precision in BMW's new take of its legendary M5 sedan. The manic boy-racer V10 and extroverted exterior of the E60 model has matured into a more refined but also more powerful twin-turbo V8 machine that is built to impress by doing just about everything better, without being such a show-off.Welcome to the F10 M5. It's not a purist driver's car with scalpel-like steering - that role belongs to the M3 - but it is a butcher's knife shrouded in a silky package, ready to carve up bitumen with the dab of the pedal. And carry five adults while doing it. Every component has been tailored to flatter business types who reckon they can drive a bit. And they will be able to behind the wheel of this machine. BMW's chief driving instructor Geoff Brabham sums it up while effortlessly chauffeuring Carsguide on a high-speed lap of Phillip Island: "It's a very quick and capable grand tourer ... it's not a race car but it will hold its own on the track''. That said, Carsguide still doesn't know how it goes on the road. This introduction was on track only. Stay tuned for our public road test. That will be the definitive test of the Bavarian autobahn blaster.At $230,000 the M5 is around $10,000 cheaper than its rival, Mercedes-Benz's E63 AMG. That's not a lot at this price point. More telling is the fact the new car has $13,000 more standard gear than the previous model.The features run from internet connectivity to a TV tuner, sunroof, 20-inch rims, leather upholstery, heated and cooled fronts seats, a reversing camera and four-zone airconditioning.The V8 uses 9.9L/100km, or 4.5L less than the V10 chewed through over the same distance. There's also another 39kW on tap and the nature of the twin-turbo means the 680Nm is generated much lower in the rev range, making it a more tractable mill than the high-revving 10-cylinder.A seven-speed dual-clutch manual automated transmission and "active'' differential transfer that mumbo to the rear wheels. Think of the diff as an intelligent limited-slip unit - instead of just reacting to changes in wheel speed, the electronics are linked with the stability control sensors and can pre-emptively brake a wheel to improve cornering. Idle stop-start and regenerative brakes help with efficiency, though few will care.Blue brake calipers are the easy way to pick an M5, though avid fans will cite the guard-filling wheels, gills on the front quarter panels and deeper front spoiler. From the rear, four exhaust pipes and a lip spoiler on the boot are a giveaway but that's about it - it's a case of discretion over aggression.Alloy highlights in the dash are exclusive to the M car. And there's a cluster of buttons around the unique transmission shift that show you're in something special, with three-way adjustment for suspension, steering and throttle inputs.Massive 400mm front discs with six-piston calipers and 396mm rear discs with a single-piston caliper - a legacy from the 5 Series donor car because of the electric parking brake - are the first line of defence.They're sitting on the 5 Series chassis, which was already a five-star ANCAP performer and help offset the extra weight - more than 100kg - the F10 M5 has gained.The stability control software has been tweaked to deal with the extra performance and is hard to fault. It is also evidence of just how much grunt this car has - the light flickers at well over 100km/h in fourth gear down the straight at Phillip Island.You know a car is quick when it doesn't feel it. Blasting down the front straight of Phillip Island at better than 200km/h, it is a serene ride. Even hitting the brakes doesn't change that impression as they haul the grand tourer back to speeds that won't launch it out of orbit.There's a sensation of weight but the basic competence of the chassis and suspension indulges it. Roll-on acceleration from 100km/h is tyre-blisteringly quick with a distant roar as the V8 winds up.Engine noise is louder outside the car than in it, but given the Merc E63 is audibly angrier and more aggressive, it's the opposite of the traditional status quo. I'd drive the Merc for a day in a heartbeat, but could probably live longer with the M5.The M5 is large, luxurious and lithe in a way few cars can match. The fact it isn't as raucous as its predecessor is more a reflection of the fact it is pitched to appeal to a broader audience, rather than a general criticism of the prestige sedan.BMW M5Price: $230,000Warranty: 3 years/100,000kmResale: 46 per centService intervals: Driver-dependent, with in-car notificationSafety: Rating 5-star Equipment 6 airbags, ABS, stability control with dynamic and cornering brake controlEngine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, 412kW/680NmTransmission: 7-speed automatic, rear-wheel driveThirst: 9.9L/100km 98 RON, 232g/km CO2Body: 4-door, 5-seat sedanDimensions: 4910mm (L), 1891mm (W), 1456mm (H), 2964mm (WB), tracks front/rear 1627mm/1582mmWeight: 1945kg