Test Drove M5 Today!!!
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: San Francisco Bay area
My Ride: '05 545i, silver gray, black leather with anthracite maple wood, sport package, premium sound, navigation, cold weather package, electric rear sunshade, folding rear seat, satellite radio prep, PIAA 4150K fogs, red rear reflectors, hardwired Valentine One
My dealer got their M5 demo (that's right--an M5 demo! 
) and I took it for a nice, long test drive today. What a fantastic car! Naturally I didn't push it to the limit since it's in the break in period, but even so it was abundantly clear that this was one awesome car.
The exhaust note is very subdued when idling, and howls under acceleration. Great handling, terrific acceleration--it's very easy to go too fast in that car! It had the ventilated seats, and the rear side bolsters are nice and pronounced (and the active feature is great), but the bolsters in the seat bottom weren't as deeply cut as the sport seats in my 545i, for example, or the M multifunction sport seats in the brochure. They were very comfortable, but I prefer the non-ventilated sport seats since I like more deeply cut bolsters.
I spent a good amount of time seeing how SMG was, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Much, much, much better than the SMG I've driven in an M3 or 545i. Totally different. My fears of it being jerky are allayed. Driving in S5 and slightly lifting with each gear change, it was every bit as smooth as a traditional manual trans, and I didn't find the gear changes to be too slow, as some have commented. Certainly not instantaneous, but very much on par with a conventional manual. I even tried shifting without feathering the throttle and while not as smooth as when feathering, I really didn't find it objectionable--actually felt pretty sporty. In the interest of thoroughness, I even parallel parked twice--once while on an incline--and it was very smooth. I drove in stop and go traffic with no issues, and even drove in D5 for 5 minutes just to see what it was like, and with some judicious throttle feathering it was more than acceptable in shifting smoothness. Not an auto trans, but very acceptable. When in S mode I primarily paddle shifted, but also drove a few minutes shifting with the lever, which seems like it will be good for those times when we long time stick drivers go through withdrawals
. The drive lasted about an hour and I must say that after trying all the ways that I was concerned SMG wouldn't be comfortable, I give SMGIII 2 thumbs up. 
The full leather interior, will all the exposed stitching, really makes it feel like a different car inside than my 545i, and the steering wheel is nice and beefy. When I got into my car to drive home, it felt like it was missing a few cylinders--I guess that would be 2...and 175 or so HP ! I've never felt my car lacked power, but for the first half of the drive home, it just didn't seem as peppy as it usually does--of course, not a fair comparison!
For those in the bay area, the dealer is East Bay BMW in Pleasanton, and they sell at MSRP. Ask for Helen Akkawi (888-216-9269) and tell her Russ referred you. Needless to say, I have no interest other than to refer fellow enthusiasts.
) and I took it for a nice, long test drive today. What a fantastic car! Naturally I didn't push it to the limit since it's in the break in period, but even so it was abundantly clear that this was one awesome car.The exhaust note is very subdued when idling, and howls under acceleration. Great handling, terrific acceleration--it's very easy to go too fast in that car! It had the ventilated seats, and the rear side bolsters are nice and pronounced (and the active feature is great), but the bolsters in the seat bottom weren't as deeply cut as the sport seats in my 545i, for example, or the M multifunction sport seats in the brochure. They were very comfortable, but I prefer the non-ventilated sport seats since I like more deeply cut bolsters.
I spent a good amount of time seeing how SMG was, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Much, much, much better than the SMG I've driven in an M3 or 545i. Totally different. My fears of it being jerky are allayed. Driving in S5 and slightly lifting with each gear change, it was every bit as smooth as a traditional manual trans, and I didn't find the gear changes to be too slow, as some have commented. Certainly not instantaneous, but very much on par with a conventional manual. I even tried shifting without feathering the throttle and while not as smooth as when feathering, I really didn't find it objectionable--actually felt pretty sporty. In the interest of thoroughness, I even parallel parked twice--once while on an incline--and it was very smooth. I drove in stop and go traffic with no issues, and even drove in D5 for 5 minutes just to see what it was like, and with some judicious throttle feathering it was more than acceptable in shifting smoothness. Not an auto trans, but very acceptable. When in S mode I primarily paddle shifted, but also drove a few minutes shifting with the lever, which seems like it will be good for those times when we long time stick drivers go through withdrawals
. The drive lasted about an hour and I must say that after trying all the ways that I was concerned SMG wouldn't be comfortable, I give SMGIII 2 thumbs up. The full leather interior, will all the exposed stitching, really makes it feel like a different car inside than my 545i, and the steering wheel is nice and beefy. When I got into my car to drive home, it felt like it was missing a few cylinders--I guess that would be 2...and 175 or so HP
! I've never felt my car lacked power, but for the first half of the drive home, it just didn't seem as peppy as it usually does--of course, not a fair comparison!For those in the bay area, the dealer is East Bay BMW in Pleasanton, and they sell at MSRP. Ask for Helen Akkawi (888-216-9269) and tell her Russ referred you. Needless to say, I have no interest other than to refer fellow enthusiasts.
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From: Singapore
My Ride: 530iA Silver Grey , black interior. Premium Package, Navigation System, Head-up Display, Radio Satellite, Adaptive Xenon Headlights. AC Schnitzer Front Lip, H&R springs, Rear red reflector, All season Floor mat,
WoW 
I'm going down to East Bay first thing tomorrow!! Thanks stream..
I'm going down to East Bay first thing tomorrow!! Thanks stream..
Thread Starter
Banned
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,882
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco Bay area
My Ride: '05 545i, silver gray, black leather with anthracite maple wood, sport package, premium sound, navigation, cold weather package, electric rear sunshade, folding rear seat, satellite radio prep, PIAA 4150K fogs, red rear reflectors, hardwired Valentine One
Originally Posted by krispykreme' post='193278' date='Nov 3 2005, 09:38 PM
I am going to play the devil here.
YOU SHOULD STOP ASKING OTHER MEMBER TO CALL THE DEALER. YOU SHOULD BUY ONE YOURSELF.
LIKE YOU SAID, THIS IS AN AWESOME CAR. SO TO BE MORE CONVINCING YOU NEED TO BUY ONE!!!!!!!!
YOU SHOULD STOP ASKING OTHER MEMBER TO CALL THE DEALER. YOU SHOULD BUY ONE YOURSELF.
LIKE YOU SAID, THIS IS AN AWESOME CAR. SO TO BE MORE CONVINCING YOU NEED TO BUY ONE!!!!!!!!
Not sure what your problem is. My post was intended to provide what I thought was valuable content to this forum. I am not asking other members to call the dealer. If other members feel I am asking them to call the dealer, then I will apologize and delete this post.
Unlike you, I don't feel the need to stroke my ego by broadcasting every purchase decision I consider, much less claim to be buying 2 M5s (1 for road, and 1 to track!), as you did on mbworld.org.
Please don't pollute this forum with the BS you pulled over on mbworld.org (here's a small sample of how you wasted bandwidth there
):http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70878
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71152
Your reputation even preceded you on m5board.com:
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42078
My mother taught us that if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say anything. Think about that before posting.
Members
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 143
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Not sure what your problem is. My post was intended to provide what I thought was valuable content to this forum. I am not asking other members to call the dealer. If other members feel I am asking them to call the dealer, then I will apologize and delete this post.
Unlike you, I don't feel the need to stroke my ego by broadcasting every purchase decision I consider, much less claim to be buying 2 M5s (1 for road, and 1 to track!), as you did on mbworld.org.
Please don't pollute this forum with the BS you pulled over on mbworld.org (here's a small sample of how you wasted bandwidth there
):http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70878
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71152
Your reputation even preceded you on m5board.com:
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42078
My mother taught us that if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say anything. Think about that before posting.
[/quote]
dude, i meant as a joke. I am simply trying to entice you to get an M5. Gee.
You are taking this all wrong. All i am saying that instead of asking people call the dealer, you should go ahead and buy one since M5 is that good of a car. Nothing else. You simply twisted my comment to you.
As far as Steve999 goes. He is the one that turned out to be a liar and cheated people off mbworld.
The fact of matter is I did have intention of getting 2 M5. Still have one more spot coming up in 2007 for a manual.
I don't like being called a liar especially from punk like steve(or in this case stephen in mbworld.org). Last time i check he ended up being booted out of mbworld.org not me.
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Joined: Sep 2005
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From: friscoo,CA -----> jakarta,indonesia
My Ride: '04 BMW E60 530 black/black
'05 Porsche Cayene S Black/gold
05' BMW M5
05' Bentley CGT
Not sure what your problem is. My post was intended to provide what I thought was valuable content to this forum. I am not asking other members to call the dealer. If other members feel I am asking them to call the dealer, then I will apologize and delete this post.
Unlike you, I don't feel the need to stroke my ego by broadcasting every purchase decision I consider, much less claim to be buying 2 M5s (1 for road, and 1 to track!), as you did on mbworld.org.
Please don't pollute this forum with the BS you pulled over on mbworld.org (here's a small sample of how you wasted bandwidth there
):http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70878
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71152
Your reputation even preceded you on m5board.com:
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42078
My mother taught us that if you don't have anything nice to say...don't say anything. Think about that before posting.
[/quote]
Thats an entertaining post!or novel!
Thread Starter
Banned
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,882
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco Bay area
My Ride: '05 545i, silver gray, black leather with anthracite maple wood, sport package, premium sound, navigation, cold weather package, electric rear sunshade, folding rear seat, satellite radio prep, PIAA 4150K fogs, red rear reflectors, hardwired Valentine One
Originally Posted by pipper' post='193557' date='Nov 4 2005, 12:27 PM
wow, im surprised a dealer actually let someone testdrive the m5. cool beans.