NEW BMW M5
BMW’S new M5 has gone four-wheel drive – but with the option to switch it to rear-wheel drive. It also has almost 600bhp on tap. The upshot: power oversteer, and lots of it. But is this enough for it to retake its supersaloon crown?
Now featuring four-wheel drive and with the power ramped up to 592bhp, does the new M5 recapture the old M magic?
THE NEW M5 DOES sideways better than any previous generation, which might seem an odd accolade given that the F90 is the first ever all-wheel-drive M5. It wears no badges announcing the move, even though in engineering terms it’s one of the biggest changes in the model’s history, and maybe that’s because at the push of a button (two pushes, actually) it can be rear-drive only. All the better to drift the rear tyres into oblivion…
This feature is a novelty only if you’re unaware of one of the F90’s main rivals, the similarly all-wheel-drive MercedesAMG E63 S, which was first to market with a rear-drive option. This is the car the new M5 stands toe-to-toe with, the BMW’S biturbo V8 having been boosted by 40bhp to 592bhp (600 PS), and its price tag in the UK have risen to a shade under £90k. (The AMG has 603bhp and costs £87,375.)
The styling changes over the previous model are subtle but reap big rewards, the sixth-generation car looking smaller, more rounded, a bit more like a current M3. The rear wheels sit a bit further out in their arches, giving the car a more pumped look, like M5s of old, and one of the reasons is that while the old model relied on standard 5-series steel suspension parts, the new one has bespoke aluminium items, which help wheel control and thus handling precision.
This new M5 may be based on the shell of a regular 5-series, but here the roof is carbonfibre. BMW claims it increases torsional rigidity as well as bringing the more obvious benefit of lowering the car’s centre of gravity. It can even be specified in lacquered bare carbon.
The interior is much revised compared with the old M5’s, with new TFT instruments and a much tidier switch layout on the centre console. But what catches the eye is a new pair of mini paddles, bright red and marked ‘M1’ and ‘M2’. They are the configurable ‘M’ mode switches, and their colour is appropriate given the dramatic shift in handling characteristics you can summon with them. As well as being able to select from the usual steering, suspension, engine and gearshift sportiness settings, along with having DSC on or off, you can now switch to rear drive. So you could go from all-wheel drive with stability control on, to rear drive with stability off, which is why you are prompted to confirm your request with a second push.
Starting off with everything in the mildest settings, and in AWD, the M5 is refined and decently comfortable. At a cruise, and even with the optional M Sport exhaust, the engine is mostly a background murmur, which you can electronically enhance with a press of the exhaust button on the centre console. This introduces more bass tones, which can be a little heavy after a while, though not for rear-seat passengers; the sound is piped in through the speakers mainly for the benefit of the driver. And while we’re considering those in the back, the ride there is rather abrupt at times, even in the most cosseting suspension setting, and road noise is more intrusive. The new M5 is marking itself out as a driver-orientated car.
‘All the power is definitely present and correct, the hit instant and monstrous, the push relentless’
Nothing wrong with that. From the front seat, which is reasonably comfortable and supportive, setting the suspension to Sport ties the body movements down nicely, so that the nose doesn’t lift so strongly when you step on the throttle and unleash all 592bhp. Gunning it away from a rolling start, all the power is definitely present and correct, the hit instant and monstrous, the push relentless, seemingly undimmed by upshifts. The ’box is now an eight-speed Steptronic auto, which is better suited to the xdrive four-wheel-drive system and gives a greater span of gears than the seven-speed DCT of the previous M5, helping the economy numbers, apparently. The shift speeds are not too dissimilar, says BMW.
On smaller roads, even before you’ve pressed any buttons, you’re aware of the mass of the latest M5 and, as a consequence, the size of it, too. In the past I’ve found the choice of steering settings on M-cars ranges from ‘ a bit heavy’ to ‘ waaay too heavy’ to ‘fetch me a crowbar’ but, guiding the M5 along warm, sinuous, Portuguese roads, the Comfort setting feels a bit light. Selecting Sport gets the car in the right frame, and you can never have too much engine response (probably), so that’s wound up to Sport Plus. Instantly the car comes alive, the V8’s note edgier, its delivery snappier.
Encouraged, you press the car into a few corners and the steering is… not quite there. A few more corners and you realise that although the weighting is good and the chassis responsive, the steering lacks a real feeling of connection and the reassurance that brings. It’s not totally numb, but with the pace the M5 is capable of and the prospect of some rear slip to play with, you’d like to feel better connected with the car.
In theory, the weight distribution of the new M5 should be worse, more nose-heavy, than the previous model, given it carries the weight of a front diff and driveshafts. It doesn’t feel like that, probably because the rear suspension control is very good,
‘So where does the sixthgeneration car fit in the pantheon of M5s?’
which helps driver confidence. The overall handling balance is of a high standard, with a real sense of agility when you jink the car through a series of twists. It already feels like most of the drive is going to the rear, and mostly it does, though BMW chassis dynamics engineer Jorg Weidinger says the system can proactively send power to the front, anticipating drive requirements at the exit of a corner.
It’s not long before curiosity gets the better of me. Buttons are pressed and the M5 is soon a rear-driver. And a pretty tidy one, too. DSC is disabled (you have no choice about this in rear-drive mode), and after a couple of runs through an inviting uphill, second-gear corner, ambition sees the rear slip mildly sideways and stay there for a few yards before wheel speed and car speed synchronise again. Next time through with more enthusiasm, the tail stays out longer. Further up the hill, when the car is straight, hard on the power, there’s a bit of squirm as the limited-slip differential actively juggles drive between the rear tyres to find traction.
Later, bagging our opening shot at Estoril circuit, there are glorious powerslides to be had, the V8 providing more than enough torque to kick the tail out on entry, with enough left under your right foot to dictate the line and degree of slip for the whole of third gear, which will take you around the long 180-degree hairpin at the heart of the infield section. Right here, right now, the F90 is a proper M5, no question.
So, back on that road, what happens with traction off but four-wheel drive engaged? The surprise is that the initial kick-out at the rear is as strong, and the slew is maintained as long too, but there’s then a more stable, settled feel to the car further up the incline. It’s as though the AWD system takes a few moments to respond to the slip at the rear before sending drive to the front wheels, which then help pull the car forward and give a satisfying sense of stability. More efficient? For sure. As much fun? No. Cheaper on tyres? A bit.
But the upshot is that, in all-wheel drive, the new M5 is as agile and engagingly reardrive in feel as you could wish. If you still want a safety net, the halfway-house MDM mode provides it, stepping in to ensure things don’t go too far. Unless you want to do burnouts or really test your oversteer skills, you can give two-wheel drive a miss.
So where does the sixth-gen car fit in the pantheon of M5s? The first three are
Above right: individual drive-mode set-ups are now activated via two small, red, additional paddles. Top left: standard wheels are 19in, but most are sure to have these optional 20in rims
five-star cars: the E28, the square-rigged, original supersaloon, powered by the M Power straight-six and irresistible; the E34, still handmade, powered by an even more potent six and with even better handling; and the E39, chunkier but handsome and oh-so driveable with its 400bhp V8. Then things went a bit off: next was the E60 with its snorty V10 and woeful, single-plate paddleshift ’box, followed by the F10, the first turbocharged M5, with a slick DCT but rather soulless biturbo V8 and capable but not always engaging handling.
Which group does the new M5 sit with? It’s certainly a lot of fun, whether in two- or four-wheel drive, and the uprated V8 has gained character as well as horsepower. It works well with the eight-speed Steptronic auto, too, helping it nail the duality trick – suave around town, hoonigan away from it. And yet… the missing pieces are sufficient steering connection and feel and, still, a properly entertaining engine character. It’s a great car but not an instant, top-drawer, iconic M5.