grover432

After test driving a 2008 535xi and 550iA, my dealer called me last week to tell me they had "my car" on the showroom floor. It is a White on Black (Madeira Wood trim) M5 with a 6 Spd manual, Extended Merino Leather, Executive Pkg, USB, and Heads Up Display. In Canada, our cars get the folding rear seat, cold climate package(heated rear seats) and premium sound as standard.

I have to say the car looks great in White, although I am not a fan of the wood trim. My reservations on the previous cars I drove (535xi and 550) are as follows:

1. The 535xi was a nice all around car, but even with the M Sport package (which is available on the xi in Canada), the car was missing that lowered sports car look. It also had a bit of a harsh ride (run flats??). I also found the steering a bit nervous when "on center".

2. The 550 had the great looks I was looking for (low ride and great looks with the wheels) and drove well, but with some idiosyncrasies. I found the car had "manic" acceleration when starting off from a stop (automatic in sport mode), such that it was difficult to give the car 1/4 throttle off the line and not have it race to the high rev area before shifting gears (the car takes 3 gears crossing an intersection from a stoplight). In the normal mode the throttle map was more relaxed on acceleration, but was lazy in traffic. In addition, I had to concentrate to bring the car to a smooth stop without the brakes "grabbing" as the car rolled to a stop and lurching the occupants forward. The car did seem more planted than the 535xi, however it exhibited a fair bit of roll in the corners, probably because we don't get active roll in Canada without ordering Dynamic Drive - which comes with the dreaded (in my opinon) Actve Steering.

The M5 is probably overkill for my purposes (I don't intend to track the car), but it does have some attractve qualities, such as tunable chassis (ride control), throttle map control, etc. so I've been told I can have a comfortable ride when relaxing and a sporty ride when I want, all the while getting rid of the body roll

My questions are:

1. How does ride quality compare to a 550?
2. With the wider tires, does the car tramline?
3. Are the brakes grabby when slowing to a stop?
4. What is the better choice - manual or SMG. I don't mind shifting and the SMG has gotten a bad rap from amost every review I have read (I'm not trying to start a war here). Is the clutch release smooth on the manual?
5. Has anyone experienced overheating with the 6 Speed? This was a problem reported by Edmunds.com after 12 minutes of hard driving an '08 model.

My next step is to drive the car, but unfortunately we just received 6" of snow where I live, so without snow tires it will be difficult to assess this car as it would drive in the summer. I do plan to wait until the roads are ploughed and they dy off a bt, then I will ask the dealer to take the car out of the showroom for me.

Thank you in advance for your replies and advice,

grover

E-ManM5

I came from a 6-speed M3 to a SMG M5. The SMG rocks in my opinion. I know that the 6-speed M5 is SLOWER than a SMG M5, so that would do it for me. The drive mode is horrible in the M5 with SMG, but S5 and S6 (with DSC off and in p500S) are unbelievable.

My uncle had a 540i and it was hell-a fast for a V8, and this was back in 1995-1996! I have been in a 550i and the ride was smooth and the V8 torquey down low. But nothing compares to the power of the beast. The car doesn't tramline for me (I have 19s) and the breaks are awesome, and a little grabby (they are new). But since I have not driven a 6-speed M5 I can only speculate, and coming from a 6-speed M3 is no comparision. Once you drive a M5 you would not choose the 550i, trust me!

Westcoast M5

I recently got an M5 about 5 weeks ago after driving a 550i M-sport (Canada) for 2 years.

The performance of the M5 is incredible. I love the SMG but am still getting used to it. On a day when I am "in the zone" and shifting it just right - wow - just incredible! The technology with all the adjustabilty is really cool. Also, don't underestimate the satisfaction of just owning the beast. The look of the car, with the big brakes, exhaust, etc just looks out of this world IMO and little details like the coloured stitching on the steering wheel are things that lend it that special something. (That said, I also could never park my 550 without looking back at it 3 times while walking away).

The brakes aren't any more grabby than the 550 but you definately need a light foot on the brake for a smooth stop. It does not have the torque of the 550 off the line but from 30 kph look out! The one plus of the 550 is it is somewhat more "stealthy" - a quieter, smoother ride. The exhaust on the M5 turns heads and with mine being Indianapolis red, you don't travel unnoticed. Whether this is good or bad is entirely a matter of perspective.

The other real factor is coming to terms with 8-9 mpg. For me it's a combination of just not caring and also not having to commute at all, but if you need to cover a lot of miles everyday, be comfortable with filling up a lot.

I would do it (obviously)

doug_999

As pointed out, the 550 is going to have nice torque down low. I love it for my 0-30-0 drive every day. I've test driven a manual M5 and liked it a lot - but it is not created for my drive. If I lived in Calif and/or I had a better drive to work, I'd probably do it in a hearbeat.

Oh but one thing is for sure, I'd get the aluminum trim on the M5 - I love the way that looks and you can't get it on the 5-series here in the States.

Westcoast M5

Agree 100%. If most of your miles are the "bump and grind" of metropolitan rush hour commuter traffic hell, you will enjoy the 550 more on a day in day out basis.

LCMCEP

Your questions are the same ones I had, but let me assure you that even in commuter traffic the M5 is a great car. In reality, how much fun is any car when you're in stop and go. But a couple of times a day I still get to open it up on the highway. Having had a 550 just recently there is no comparison to the M5. The car is so much more agile and actually feels lighter. The steering is much more responsive and of course there is the M button. I was underwhelmed with the 550's low end torque, but then again, I was spoiled by the e39 M5 I had before that. I think the brakes are very smooth and linear in commuter traffic and when you need to stomp on them you will be in awe of their stopping power.

grover432

To be honest, what is attracting me to the M5 is the promised handling as well as the look of the car. I live in a city where traffic isn't a big part of my drive to work, although I don't get a daily drive on a freeway where I get to whip long at high speeds either. I didn't like the 550 as I thought it had too much body roll and handled like the big heavy car it is (no active roll in Canada without Dynamic Drive and Active Steering).

I don't want to sacrifice ride and drive ability (road pulling the front tires around - tramlining) for the sake of raw horsepower, which most people in North America can't hope to take advantage of on a regular basis (I'm not into racing as many here seem to be).

If the consensus is that this car is a great daily drive - a car that behaves like a 550 unless you ask it to behave like a sports/race car, I'll probably buy it. If the consensus is this car has a harsh ride and tramlines, I'll get a daily driver and a 911S for a summer car and call it a day!

doug_999

Actually that was one of the things that surprised me most about the M5 - the steering feels like it has a lot more boost at low speeds. I felt like I was driving a 7-series around the parking lot (stiffens up nicely at speed however). I'd also be curious if your 550 was up to snuff if the torque did not impress - especially as it should have had basically the same torque as your e39 M5????

Westcoast M5

Handling is excellent, no tramlining (I don't have run flats), it goes where you point it with no fuss. Coming from a 550 with active steering the M5 steering felt very light at first, but after a short period you realize how percise the steering is - far better than AS IMO. The whole car definately feels lighter.

Suspension wise, I really liked the non-adjusting M-sport suspension on my 550. It was firm but not harsh and I didn't find excessive body roll. Obviously with the M5 you get the 3 suspension modes. On the sport setting there is virtually no body roll but it is harsh on anything less than an ideal road. Nice thing is it's there when you want it and you can soften it up with the press of a button.

Once you get a good test drive in the car, you will satisfy yourself that it is a very easy car to live with given it's near super-car level of performance. Click it into P400 mode and "comfort" suspension setting and you can cruise around through traffic drinking your coffee. A push of the button and you've got a tire smoking, neck snapping machine that gathers speed so quickly you will be shocked.

grover432

Thanks Westcoast. You've aswered some of my questions. The next step is to wait until the roads are cleared here and dry out a bit, then I'll get the dealer to take it out of the showroom and I'll drive it.

Any decision I make can't be the end of the world - I'll likely lease the car as there will be a new 5 series in 3 years and I sometimes think about rising fuel costs (over 3 years), given that these cars are rated at 13 mpg (CDN gal - City) which I'm assuming you might make - in the summer driving in a civil manner. So its only a 3 year commitment. I considered buying a US car with a few thousand miles (2008) through a broker, but with the extra hoops (read cost) BMW is making importers jump through and the fact that maintenance isn't covered (clutches, adjustments, etc.), as well as a hostile dealer response when the prospect is raised, I'm considering leasing. Buying one in my part of the country means you will drive it into the ground or get much less than the residual estimates at trade/sell time. My last BMW a 1999 540iA was 5 years old when I returned it to the dealer. They sat on it for 13 months and sold it for $8,000 less than they were asking!

Given that your car is a 2006, did you consider importing one from the US?

After 3 years I can reasses. You mentioned 9 mpg, is that computer calculated (US or CDN gal)? What driving style? It might be tough to drive from Calgary to Regina without having to fuel up based on those numbers!

I have to think about color too. There is a white/black/madeira trim available (6 spd) as well as a black sapphire/black/aluminum trim (6 spd) available. I like the white exterior, but the car is pretty showy (showy isn't really my style - but I've owned 4 white BMW's over the years). Anyone have a white or sapphire M5? Pictures?