M FOR MONSTER
Historically a track car, the sixth-generation BMW M5 is more a sporty city drive, writes Pavan Lall
What do you get when you take ase date looking German sedan, fiddle around with its suspension, throwin dynamic driving modes, paint it ina frozen dark red metallic hue and hook it up to at win-turbo, eight-cylinder petrol engine? The answer is: a monster. And that’ s what the BMW M 5 is. Drive the BMW7 series, whichis known for a comfortable and smooth ride, and it becomes evident that cars such as the M 5 are not everyone’ s cup of tea. The M 5 is the bigger of the performance cars from BMW’ s stable that also boasts of automobiles such as the M3, which, bytheway, is much lighter than the 1,950kilogram M 5 and a masterpiece of sports car engineering. Think of the M5 then as a super-sized, beefed-up version of theM3. It’s a heavy, substantial car, butone that doesn' t feel difficult to drive at any given stage, thereby holding true to its DNA of easy handling.
With 600 horses under the hood, the M5 that comes in a four-wheel drive avatar has historically been a track car, which means it' s not going to beat its spirited best on city streets. Butthis version, which is the sixth generation, has bits and bobs that do try to make it more compatible for everyday commuting. Forone, despite the low-slung and rugged suspension, the seat sare comfortable and the spongy leather-wrapped steering wheel is easy to get used to. Second, the large serves as the one-stop window for music, drive modes, all-around cameras as well as for automobile information. It’s also easy tot weak and manage.
The minute you start the MS, you can hear the rum-bling of a supercar's engine throughout the cockpit. Well planted and firm, the ride is sporty all the way, given the 20-inch wheels the car rides on. Pushed far enough, the car can leap forward and zip i nto comers in lanes far ahead, something that you can only dream of doing when driving a regular. Bimmer. I tried that while getting on to the Worli-Bandra Sea Link with a small, blue Honda hatchback that was ambling its way to atoll lane. Calculating the 40-odd metres between it and the pass-through zone, I pushed the MS on the empty outer lane and in a couple seconds was ahead of two very surprised fellow commuters. In the rear-view mirror, I could see both the front-seat passengers look stupefied and open-mouthed, as though unable to comprehend what had just happened. While such manoeuvres aren't recommended, the point is that, forthe MS, agility is par for the course. The car's interiors, with white leather seats emblazoned with "M" near the headrest, light up the 4.4-litre sedan as it rockets raucously from 0 to 100kmph in 3.5 seconds. While this thrusts the M 5 into the super car territory, it is important to remember that in busy Indian met ros zero to 100 km ph is as unimpressive a metric as the 100 km ph to 200kmph or 200 km ph to 250 km ph measure, which is really when the thrill of driving such a vehicle kicks in. The Mumbai-Pune highway or a professional track near Delhi is where you will get the maximum bang for the buck for a rig like the M 5.
The professional Bowers& Wilkins speakers inside also actually light up when the cari son, giving it a futuristic space ship feel. While there is no spare tyre in the booth, the trunk is large enough to accommodate plenty of luggage, and there ar seats are more spacious and comfortable than the vast majority of sports cars that serve claustrophobic, cramped benches in the back.
While the popular saying maybe that Po rs ch es are the sports cars you can drive everyday, the M 5 isn’ t that far behind. Just remember to take it out to open spaces every now and then, since monsters of every kind have one thing in common: they hate being cooped up.