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9 out of 9 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Arguably the best sports sedan in the world, bar none!"
Pros: The 500 hp V-10 engine, the SMG transmission, the handling, the fit and finish, and the technology
Cons: Very few: The gas milage (12 city and 18 highway), the gas guzzler tax ($3700), and the price $82,500 - $101,200 depending on options
Summary: I purchased my 2006 BMW M5 in late January and I'm completely impressed with this car - bumper to bumper. I can say that the bar by which I judge cars has now been forever raised!!
SMG - It's not an automatic. It's a manual. I went into it with this mindset. I enjoy a manual shift car most of the time. The only downside is that you sometimes get worn out with the clutch. SMG is a manual transmission without the clutch. With that perspective - ITS WONDERFUL. I wouldn't have this car any other way. Admittedly, it takes some getting used to. To me, SMG is a full-on wonderful SUCCESS.
I-Drive ? Good grief, I fail to see what all the whining in the press is about! Most of the stuff you just set it once and forget it. If you are going to drop this kind of cash for a car, I would suspect you are at least some sort of enthusiast. So go enjoy about 30 minutes to an hour bonding with your car in the garage, learn it and go on. I can see why the reviewers bad mouth it because they don?t have the time with the car. But as an owner, having spent the time to step through each of the menus, it?s a piece of cake. Without it, you?d have a zillion buttons and it would look like the cockpit of a 747 instead of a nicely appointed road car. I could do without the ?Accept? screen, but otherwise, I like it just fine.
Bluetooth ? No problems. Works great. I can drive right through all the spots that I used to drop calls and the signal stays strong. Couldn?t be better.
EDC ? How do these Germans pull this off? Even on the softest setting, this car handles the corners without hardly any body roll and at the same time delivering a very very nice ride! Put it on sport mode and it handles like its on rails. This car really is two cars in one.
Interior ? WOW! This interior just has an attitude! You get in and you just know you are in something special. The seats are AWESOME, everything is right in easy reach and well laid out. I was comfortable with all the controls within just a few hundred miles ? like second nature.
Wheels ? Rarely do I think the factory gets the wheels right and have changed them on most all the cars I?ve owned. But these? They just look RIGHT.
Fuel Consumption ? Like they say, ?If you want to play, you gotta pay!? Range is an issue though, but not that big of a deal.
Exhaust ? Sounds like an F1 race car!
Stereo ? I have never purchased a car yet that the stock stereo satisfied me. Ever. It?s not up to par of a professionally done after-market system, but it?s close enough for me that for the money.
Launch Control - The perfect 'drive by wire' way to flawlessly go from a stand still to 150 miles per hour (205 mph if you dis-engage the limiter). This car is scary fast!
Engine ? What a work of engineering this thing is! It just pulls and pulls. Hats off to BMW here! The whole drivetrain just works marvelously together.
Two cars in one - What is the MOST impressive thing about this car is that it really is two cars in one. Everything that you believe about compromise in a car is shattered. It really is a 4-door luxury car AND an incredible world class sports supercar which makes it an engineering masterpiece. A Clark Kent / Superman kind of thing!
- 1 reply to this review
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...that Automobile Magazine placed the 2007 M5 third out of a field of three (the others: the upcoming Audi S6 and Daimler E63 AMG. They actually used the world 'crude' in describing the M5(!).
[a href="http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0607_2007_supersedans/index.html"]2007 Supersedans[/a]
I've now test-driven the M5 and because of that sweet killer of an engine I found that I truly prefer this version over any of the other 5-series cars regardless of price/value, though I would've liked a true manual tranny over the gawky SMG box.
As for iDrive, I've tried it many times in many flavors, and though I admit I don't have any extended time with any versions of the system (greater than over a weekend plus a day or so), I've gotten used to it enough to still say it's a poorly designed interface. I've now spent a couple of aggregate hours driving the new S-Class, and find Daimler's revamped COMAND system infinitely superior to iDrive.
Even Audi's MMI in the A8 (I haven't driven an A6 in some time) is noticeably easier to understand and navigate through, especially for any newbie on their first test drive. As for the press not liking it...a number of these magazines have had 5 and 7-series BMWs for extended long-term testing, so I don't believe you can easily dismiss any of the negative views they may have formed so easily.
Personally, I'd rather not have any of these gee-whiz controller systems in any car. But I know they're inevitable given the hi-tech marketing that all of the manufacturers are doing, yet if it has to be done I firmly believe BMW still needs to go a long way in refining their interface design.
