Sheer Accelerating Pleasure. All-new BMW M5 First Impression Ride!

May 18, 2018 benautobahn Off BMW,

We were at the BMW X Tour held in Toronto, Canada a few days ago, where where we had a chance to get a ride in the new M5 in addition to driving the new X3 M40i and experiencing other BMW xDrive models. Two cars were made available – one in the new Marina Bay Blue and one in a stunning Donington Grey Metallic.

Visually in the metal, the new M5 does look a bit overdone in my opinion compared to the previous M5 – though the same can be said with the G30 generation of 5 series. The F10’s lines were cleaner and more timeless, especially in LCI (facelift) form. The old one did pull off the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” better.

Getting into the new M5, you definitely feel that they have improved the interior by a good leap or two, compared to the F10. While the interior design has not changed much, it does feel less bulky visually inside and visibility all round is fantastic with significantly better quality that befits the price tag. However it is not an M5 unless it handles itself like a super sedan – and boy does the new M5 fulfil this with flying colours.

As we started out our taxi ride with a launch, one of the biggest surprises was the lack of wheel spin – attributed to the M5’s new all-wheel-drive system. The new xDrive system honestly defies physics, not only does it allow the car to pull away cleanly every single time (something the F10 M5, outgoing M6 and even the current M3 and M4 struggle to do), even through the curves, the amount of grip this new M5 has is outstanding.

One of the biggest concerns was the new M5’s all-wheel drive system will stop you from pulling nice drifts like the old one on a track. Rest assured, even in 4WD Sport mode, the M5 will still be ever so cheeky and slip the tail out if you give it a bit of the beans in mid corner. One of the biggest advantages of the new xDrive system on the M5 is how predictable and reassuring this car is, regardless if you are a professional driver or just starting out in your first M5.

We already knew BMW was onto something special with the new generation 5 series from driving the standard models, and this is definitely amplified in the new M5. As the drive experience was held on closed public roads, we did not have the luxury of perfectly paved roads no thanks to the bad winters in Toronto. However, the M5’s suspension takes it all in its stride even better than the last generation, and never felt crashy in Sport mode, despite the rather large bumps we had in some curves.

The M5s we had were equipped with the standard steel brakes and despite the amount of hard pulls and hard braking being done through the sessions held throughout the day, it seemed to still stop very confidently. Sound wise, the new M5 fixes the previous generation’s somewhat synthetic note inside, and even on the outside as well. It is nowhere as notable as the E60 M5’s V10 or the E90 M3’s V8, but it is definitely much better than the V8 turbo used in the previous one.

Price wise, this M5 comes close to the Porsche Panamera 4S, but with so much more power and a ton of standard features. Paired with the BMW 5 year warranty and maintenance package, the biggest decision would be – Donington Grey Metallic or Singapore Grey Metallic?