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BMW M5: brute force luxury

bmw m5 touring
BMW M5 Touring review: 5.0-litre V10 engine to play with

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31 March 2008

BMW M5

What is it?

A BMW 5-Series with the BMW Motorsport treatment has always been a tempting idea, and the current version is the most extreme of the lot. The BMW M5 has a 5.0-litre, 507bhp V10 engine, a seven-speed sequential-shift transmission and fat, deep-dished wheels which are the only immediate visual clue to the fireworks potential within. Made in both saloon and estate-car guises, the latter surely the ultimate multi-purpose vehicle.

What’s hot?

  • That engine, able to rev to 8250rpm
  • The pace, with 62mph in 4.8 seconds if you use the brutal launch control
  • The grip and handling, making this big car ludicrously agile
  • The fact that a lot of people won’t know the Mr Hyde within
  • Extraordinary combination of brute pace and high-end luxury

What’s not?

 

  • Sequential transmission can be jerky even in slowest of the six gearshift-speed modes
  • ‘Automatic’ mode is even more prone to pauses and surges
  • CO2 emissions of 361g/km could induce eco-guilt

 

Verdict on the BMW M5

The BMW M5 isn’t unique – Audi’s S6 also has a V10 engine – but it is the raciest, hardest-edged big saloon (or estate) you can buy.

BMW M5 road test report

BMW M5 car review

Yet if you drive it gently it will behave like a pussycat, especially if you haven’t pressed the ‘power’ button that raises output from 400 to that mad 507bhp. The M5 is a car which does it all. The question is: do you need all that it does?

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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