First Impressions On My New M5
01-02-2006, 11:54 AM
#11
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My Ride: 2014 X5 xDrive 5.0 M Package Carbon Black Metallic/2008 M Roadster Imola Red
Originally Posted by sixsticks' post='217414' date='Dec 30 2005, 07:09 PM
The car is Silverstone Metallic/silverstone interior with brushed aluminum trim, head-up display, & Sirius satellite radio. The car has approx. a little over 300 miles on the odometer. Here are my impressions:
The car is beautiful! Looks better in the flesh than in pictures.
I love the Silverstone--have seen one.
Feels rock solid, no squeeks or unusual sounds when driving even on rough roads.
Engine a bit noisy when starting on a cold morning but gets better as it warms up.
Everything seems to work from voice command to the bluetooth feature.
Great
Power from the P400 seem very adequate, that is until I discovered P500.
In 300 miles of driving(non aggressive) I averaged 13.8 MPG according to the car's trip computer.
Handling? Its a BMW, no need to say more.
Very good gas milage. I'll bet it changes considerably once your car is broken in.
SMG's Auto mode isn't that bad. Definitely not as smooth as regular auto transmission but I can live with it & it gives you another option other the manual paddles.
I glad that the SMG is tolearable.
The manual mode is definitely smoother than the auto but you need to focus more in the beginning until it becomes second nature to you.
Can I have your car? I shift my 545i manually all the time. So, I'm ready to go.
Power? I can't wait for the car to be broken in cause there is a nasty beast under the hood waiting to be unleashed.
Be very aware of your surrounding when driving cause I noticed a few cars jockeying for position to get a closer look at the car.
Be ready to be tempted by "wannabes", they have something to prove, the M5 doesn't have to prove anything.
It'll have to prove it to my old Z06.
Overall, a very nice package. Excellent blend of performance and understated luxury.
It is a wonderful combo.
Will try to post some pics once I learn to do it on this site. Oh, as a footnote, I'm one of those who tried to make a big deal about the watered down LC but I don't really miss it. The car has more than enough power plus as I have said before I don't have to prove anything with this car. Just my honest opinion.
Thanks again to those who responded to my post regarding "watered down LC".
You are welcome. I am glad you love your car--that it worked out well for you.
The car is beautiful! Looks better in the flesh than in pictures.
I love the Silverstone--have seen one.
Feels rock solid, no squeeks or unusual sounds when driving even on rough roads.
Engine a bit noisy when starting on a cold morning but gets better as it warms up.
Everything seems to work from voice command to the bluetooth feature.
Great
Power from the P400 seem very adequate, that is until I discovered P500.
In 300 miles of driving(non aggressive) I averaged 13.8 MPG according to the car's trip computer.
Handling? Its a BMW, no need to say more.
Very good gas milage. I'll bet it changes considerably once your car is broken in.
SMG's Auto mode isn't that bad. Definitely not as smooth as regular auto transmission but I can live with it & it gives you another option other the manual paddles.
I glad that the SMG is tolearable.
The manual mode is definitely smoother than the auto but you need to focus more in the beginning until it becomes second nature to you.
Can I have your car?
I shift my 545i manually all the time. So, I'm ready to go. Power? I can't wait for the car to be broken in cause there is a nasty beast under the hood waiting to be unleashed.
Be very aware of your surrounding when driving cause I noticed a few cars jockeying for position to get a closer look at the car.
Be ready to be tempted by "wannabes", they have something to prove, the M5 doesn't have to prove anything.
It'll have to prove it to my old Z06.
Overall, a very nice package. Excellent blend of performance and understated luxury.
It is a wonderful combo.
Will try to post some pics once I learn to do it on this site. Oh, as a footnote, I'm one of those who tried to make a big deal about the watered down LC but I don't really miss it. The car has more than enough power plus as I have said before I don't have to prove anything with this car. Just my honest opinion.
Thanks again to those who responded to my post regarding "watered down LC".
You are welcome. I am glad you love your car--that it worked out well for you.
01-02-2006, 01:48 PM
#12
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My Ride: Undecided 2006 530 or 550, undecided on tranmission either.
2002 Porsche 911 Coupe
2002 325i Premium, Xenon
Originally Posted by pbsaj' post='218310' date='Jan 2 2006, 01:31 PM
sixsticks-
I've had my M5 since December 26th, and agree with your comments-
As to the SMG auto mode, and your comment "another option other the manual paddles" - I'm sure you know you can shift the SMG with the console gearshift and not just with the paddles? Also you can adjust the quickness of the gear changes with the button just below the shift lever. Change it from the standard 3 to 5 and it shifts very smoothly and quickly.
I've had my M5 since December 26th, and agree with your comments-
As to the SMG auto mode, and your comment "another option other the manual paddles" - I'm sure you know you can shift the SMG with the console gearshift and not just with the paddles? Also you can adjust the quickness of the gear changes with the button just below the shift lever. Change it from the standard 3 to 5 and it shifts very smoothly and quickly.
01-03-2006, 10:31 AM
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My Ride: COMING!! 2006 M5 - December build - January delivery.
2004 530i - Silver Gray Metallic; Black Leather; Premium Pkg; Premium Sound Pkg; Cold Weather Pkg; Steptronic; Comfort Seats; Glass Moonroof; Rear Side Airbags; Adaptive Bi-xenon; Euro Rear Reflectors - Delivered 12/3/03
2003 M3 - Carbon Black Metallic; Black Leather; Premium Pkg; Park Distance Control; Xenon; Hardon-Kardon; Alum Int. Trim; SMG - Delivered 2/17/03
sixsticks-
Here's some excellent shifting advice from a great M5 article from Forbes:
[size=2]"This transmission seems at first like a much harsher way to experience 500 hp than, say, the automatic transmission of a Bentley. My co-driver and I spent hours thinking that the manual shifts, or the automatic shifts in automatic mode, were pretty rough, with a significant lag time between upshifts--a lag which caused the car and us to dive forward between shifts. However, the downshifts were fine, accompanied by the M5's satisfying blips to the throttle to keep revs high and shifts smooth (a technique called "heel-and-toe downshifting" when activated manually).
At lunch, we reported our experience with the transmission to a BMW P.R. guy, who gave us a great tip: Instead of keeping throttle pressure constant while accelerating, we were to lift the gas pedal up just a hair before upshifting.
"Don't even lift your shoe," he told us. "Lift your foot within your shoe."
Sort of a reverse heel-and-toe procedure (we came to call it "unblipping" the throttle), this technique turned a bumpy ride into one of the most satisfying, smooth, powerful drives we had ever seen (lifting your foot dials back the torque a bit, overwhelming the machinery less, and sends the car's weight to the front, adding traction). The shifts suddenly came quickly, and not so deliberately, and we were off to the races, so to speak."
Here's the full article - http://biz.yahoo.com/special/luxuryh..._article2.html
Here's some excellent shifting advice from a great M5 article from Forbes:
[size=2]"This transmission seems at first like a much harsher way to experience 500 hp than, say, the automatic transmission of a Bentley. My co-driver and I spent hours thinking that the manual shifts, or the automatic shifts in automatic mode, were pretty rough, with a significant lag time between upshifts--a lag which caused the car and us to dive forward between shifts. However, the downshifts were fine, accompanied by the M5's satisfying blips to the throttle to keep revs high and shifts smooth (a technique called "heel-and-toe downshifting" when activated manually).
At lunch, we reported our experience with the transmission to a BMW P.R. guy, who gave us a great tip: Instead of keeping throttle pressure constant while accelerating, we were to lift the gas pedal up just a hair before upshifting.
"Don't even lift your shoe," he told us. "Lift your foot within your shoe."
Sort of a reverse heel-and-toe procedure (we came to call it "unblipping" the throttle), this technique turned a bumpy ride into one of the most satisfying, smooth, powerful drives we had ever seen (lifting your foot dials back the torque a bit, overwhelming the machinery less, and sends the car's weight to the front, adding traction). The shifts suddenly came quickly, and not so deliberately, and we were off to the races, so to speak."
Here's the full article - http://biz.yahoo.com/special/luxuryh..._article2.html
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