Just back from my first drive of new M5 at Eastern Creek Raceway, here are my first initial thoughts - SIMPLY AWESOME. BMW Australia & Geoff Brabham's crew put on the morning with 3 x M5's, Sepang Bronze, Black & Interlagos, 2 x 645ci's, 545i sport & new M3 sport.
I drove the 645's first, then the 545i sport, the M3 & finally 2 of the M5s. The 645's were a bit too soft for my taste, I was pleasently surprised with the 545i sport, I loved the M3 sport, I have a E46 M3 SMG as my everday car and loved the M3 sport - nice compromise between CSL and standard M3.
Now to the M5, I loved the seating position & could get it just as I liked, with wheel nice & close and legs relatively stretched out, liked the dash layout and the heads up, SMG paddles a nicer feel to my M3 and the wheel itself felt great in my hands.
SMG set to S5 and we were instructed to leave car at 400hp first, out of the pits, throttle 75% revved out to 4.5k, into second and full throttle, into third full throttle again rapid change to fourth, 400hp surprised me, 507hp was just awesome for a street car with this level of refinement. SMG seems smoother compared to my M3 in S5, not as brutal but still as fast, an earlier comment on board by someone else thought his new M5 did not change as fast as his M3, I think it is as fast, just smoother - Geoff Brabham took us on hot lap and turned off DSC letting S6 take over & then the changes are brutal just like M3 in S6.
First corner after exiting pits at Eastern Creek is 3 gear, turn in was very good, mid corner grip very good, car sat very flat, engine is so strong and just keeps revving, took it out to 8k in 3rd and 4th once I got further round the track and onto the straight - delicious sound inside the car. I found the car understeered on a long radius turn but responded well to a little feathering of the throttle which brought grip back to front wheels, if DSC was off I'm sure oversteer could easily be induced (as Geoff did on hot lap with DSC off).
Did not get the chance to do a full high speed stop, but did experience relatively high speed, I guess I would have been doing ( I was not watching the speedo) 200-230 down the straight (mid-high range revs in 5th), turn 1 is fastest corner on track probably exiting 190+, car sat very flat and stable, excellent grip, then heavy breaking for turn 2 a 2-3rd gear corner in M5, breaks felt very good and absolutely ample considering weight of car.
The V10 is such a beautiful sounding high revving engine, does not wap you in the back like some turbo cars, but it just keeps pulling as it revs, the power surge is continious it just seems to keep on going & going.
The M5 was very obviously quicker than my M3 in a straight line, as we would expect, and suprisingly nimble for a large car - it did not feel heavy, you could place it very easily on the road. It did not feel quite as taut & focused as my M3 or the M3 sport (but they are a few hundred Kgs lighter), and I am nor sure what they had programed into the M button, I think we were driving with the softer setting of DSC, it seemed to be coming on sooner than when Geoff Brabham started the hot laps with DSC on.
I simply loved the car, if there was anything that was slightly disappointing it was that on a track I love a light, small composed and focused car, however what the M5 may lack on a track it makes up for tenfold in refinement and ease of driving at speed, I can not wait for mine to arrive, after all if you want to go tracking all the time you just drive a track specific car.
The drive morning (always too short) has seriously wet my appetite. The M5 will be that perfect every day limousine with attitude and one that I can still put my kids in the back comfortably. I can't wait to be able to experiment with all the settings and get that 'just right' combination programmed in, for when I go for a fast run on my favourite winding back road.
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