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Got a call from BMW Dealer to test drive an E60 M5

DivideBYZero

DivideBYZero

Lifer
So I went. It was an '09 Carbon black with every conceivable option including EDC & active seats. Of course it was flappy paddle, you can't get a manual in the UK which is epic irony...

Anyhow, it didn't feel heavy or ungainly as I thought it would, but I did have some reservations:

- the lag when swapping cogs killed me. It was like putting on the brakes between changes. Engaging M mode helped, it was helped even more in M-Dynamic mode, but I didn't have time on the test drive to muck about with the 400 different settings to suit me.

- The power is great, but only really starts to come on strong at about 6k rpm. It's a bit too Jeckle and Hyde.

Other than that it's a neck snapping motherflipper and drives really well. Even with the EDC on the hardest setting it was still surprisingly compliant on shitty tarmac.

Anyway, it's still in the running, but who knows. 😎
 
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Did you make sure to enable the additional 100HP through I-drive?

I think the car runs 400HP on default mode.
 
Personally the E60 has never thrilled me, and I don't relish choosing between a not-stellar SMG and a manual-equipped version (obviously not available in the UK anyway) of a car that was clearly always meant to have an SMG. I must admit I've never driven one, though, and I'm sure it's a thrilling ride.
 
Don Vito Corleone said:
Personally the E60 has never thrilled me, and I don't relish choosing between a not-stellar SMG and a manual-equipped version (obviously not available in the UK anyway) of a car that was clearly always meant to have an SMG. I must admit I've never driven one, though, and I'm sure it's a thrilling ride.
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It was stunning in some ways, very subtle in others. For example you can snap the passengers neck in second, but the last 30% or throttle under power didn't punch as hard as 500hp would make you think, and doddering around in traffic was sorta... clumsy. In auto mode it took about a second to find a lower gear when I needed to pull away one time. It just a factor of getting used to the transmission and of course setting it up to the way I like it, but can I be bothered to do all that when I've been driving manuals for 20 years? Also the paddles move with the wheel, and I kinda feel like they should stay put so you always know where they are.

Anyway, it was fun to rag around in someone elses M5 for 30 minutes.
 
Don Vito Corleone said:
Personally the E60 has never thrilled me, and I don't relish choosing between a not-stellar SMG and a manual-equipped version (obviously not available in the UK anyway) of a car that was clearly always meant to have an SMG. I must admit I've never driven one, though, and I'm sure it's a thrilling ride.
Click to expand...

I've only ridden as a passenger with a professional driver at the Performance Center in South Carolina. While it is not my favorite M car, the driver rang the crap out of the car and I absolutely loved the experience. I have a hard time thinking of buying a M car without a manual.
 
DivideBYZero said:
So I went. It was an '09 Carbon black with every conceivable option including EDC & active seats. Of course it was flappy paddle, you can't get a manual in the UK which is epic irony...

Anyhow, it didn't feel heavy or ungainly as I thought it would, but I did have some reservations:

- the lag when swapping cogs killed me. It was like putting on the brakes between changes. Engaging M mode helped, it was helped even more in M-Dynamic mode, but I didn't have time on the test drive to muck about with the 400 different settings to suit me.

- The power is great, but only really starts to come on strong at about 6k rpm. It's a bit too Jeckle and Hyde.

Other than that it's a neck snapping motherfucker and drives really well. Even with the EDC on the hardest setting it was still surprisingly compliant on shitty tarmac.

Anyway, it's still in the running, but who knows. 😎
Click to expand...

I actually like the bangled ones better than the current gen,
if I ever need a 4 door it's gonna be between the M5 and Maserati QP.
 
I saw a new 5 series yesterday and was thinking to myself that it was actually quite a handsome car. Looked good in black with silver alloys.
 
DivideBYZero said:
It was stunning in some ways, very subtle in others. For example you can snap the passengers neck in second, but the last 30% or throttle under power didn't punch as hard as 500hp would make you think, and doddering around in traffic was sorta... clumsy. In auto mode it took about a second to find a lower gear when I needed to pull away one time. It just a factor of getting used to the transmission and of course setting it up to the way I like it, but can I be bothered to do all that when I've been driving manuals for 20 years? Also the paddles move with the wheel, and I kinda feel like they should stay put so you always know where they are.

Anyway, it was fun to rag around in someone elses M5 for 30 minutes.
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yeah my friend's 335i coupe auto does the same annoying thing. He wants to go NOW and it's like "no hold on a sec. Ok now you can go. Now wait, I gotta shift back down again"
 
JulesMaximus said:
I saw a new 5 series yesterday and was thinking to myself that it was actually quite a handsome car. Looked good in black with silver alloys.
Click to expand...

It looks decent as long as it has wheels that fit it. Otherwise it looks like a whale. I felt the older "bangled" 5 series was a bit cleaner honestly. The M5 of the new model looks good though.
 
Dude, NEVER drive an SMG in auto mode...lol.

I never drive my E46 M3 in auto mode.

Remember SMG is not an auto box. It's a manual with a clutch thats hydraulically controlled by the paddles or the stick by pushing up or down. Take your foot off the throttle when changing gears and back on it after you have changed gears. I have mine in S4 most of the time and it's fast but you get use to it.

It is cool but you definitely get the disconnect that you only get when you have a gear stick. The S2000 gear shifts were SLICK.

It seems like it would be heavy and a bit lardy but I haven't driven one. My mates E39 M5 feels much more lardy then my car though. But I'd imagine the E60 would be much better.

I've heard the manual is a bit pants also as the engine wasn't designed with it in mind.

I wonder how the SMG in the E60 compares to the E46?

Koing
 
PricklyPete said:
It looks decent as long as it has wheels that fit it. Otherwise it looks like a whale. I felt the older "bangled" 5 series was a bit cleaner honestly. The M5 of the new model looks good though.
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I never thought I would find Bangle's designs to be more refreshing and modern...but they are...new BMWs are just...ugly, bland, boring.
 
The SMG is terrible in auto mode, no question about it. Software (ie. ESS) does help the shifting though, definitely improving the shift firmness and speed at lower RPMs and lower throttle position.

SMG III (E60 M5) is not as bad as SMG II (E46 M3).

The vehicle is still a bit of an understeering boat with stock suspension, like all BMWs. Got to really really do the slow in-fast out. The E60 M5 does drive worlds better than the E39 M5 though.
 
GTaudiophile said:
I never thought I would find Bangle's designs to be more refreshing and modern...but they are...new BMWs are just...ugly, bland, boring.
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I wish I could agree . . . but I can't. IMO the F10 is a much nicer-looking car than the E60. I like the first-gen Z4 and the E92 pretty well, but other than that I don't really like any of the Bangle designs (and I am an E90 owner!). The 6-series and first-gen X3 are just indefensibly hideous to my eyes. The F10 is not the most interesting-looking BMW ever made, but then again neither were the evergreen E39 or E46.
 
Don Vito Corleone said:
I wish I could agree . . . but I can't. IMO the F10 is a much nicer-looking car than the E60. I like the first-gen Z4 and the E92 pretty well, but other than that I don't really like any of the Bangle designs (and I am an E90 owner!). The 6-series and first-gen X3 are just indefensibly hideous to my eyes. The F10 is not the most interesting-looking BMW ever made, but then again neither were the evergreen E39 or E46.
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I have to disagree, I see the f10 cars all over and they're boring at best.
 
soccerballtux said:
yeah my friend's 335i coupe auto does the same annoying thing. He wants to go NOW and it's like "no hold on a sec. Ok now you can go. Now wait, I gotta shift back down again"
Click to expand...

One of the big selling points of the new M5 is that there is no lag whatsoever. Which for a BMW, remains to be seen. Kills a lot of the experience.
 
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halik said:
I have to disagree, I see the f10 cars all over and they're boring at best.
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Hey, to each his own - I just find the E60 kind of eyesore-ugly. I've always thought it was a terrible-looking car. The M5 definitely looks better than the standard E60, but it's still covered with nasty-looking details and not a pleasing design to my eyes. I think the F10 is handsome, even if it's admittedly not the most distinctive-looking car.
 
I'm firmly in the "F10 is boring" camp, exhaust note is particularly meh. The E60 is the least offensive of the Bangles and while that's not saying much, it's something.

6 series is still the worst, followed by the 7.
 
ayabe said:
I'm firmly in the "F10 is boring" camp, exhaust note is particularly meh. The E60 is the least offensive of the Bangles and while that's not saying much, it's something.

6 series is still the worst, followed by the 7.
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I expect the exhaust note on the F10 M5 will have a lot of bite. I drove a X6M with essentially the same engine and the exhaust note was fantastic.
 
ayabe said:
I'm firmly in the "F10 is boring" camp, exhaust note is particularly meh. The E60 is the least offensive of the Bangles and while that's not saying much, it's something.

6 series is still the worst, followed by the 7.
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I find it hard to understand how the E60 is less offensive than the E90-93, which are not the most interesting cars but are at least generically handsome. Personally I like the first-gen Z4 quite a bit, and certainly more than the E60, though that's obviously subjective.
 
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