[Gus]

http://www.topgear.com/jsp/individualRoadTest.jsp?carType=new&mCode=A4&rCode=E3&mDesc=BMW&rDesc=5 Series&roadTestNumber=28_01.html

 

[Pud]

Thanks for that. I bought the Top Gear magazine that this review is from and have always been wondering when Top Gear the television program is going to feature the M5. Every Sunday, 8pm, I'm waiting for Clarkson to mention the M5, but nothing so far.

 

[bernhtp]

His analysis is really telling. He throws every superlative imaginable at the M5 and then basically says that he does not want to own one because it is almost too perfect, which appears to constitute lacking soul. Thus it would need to have some flaws to provide the charm he requires of a car. It reminds me of the appeal of "distressed furniture" where it is purposely beat with chains after manufacture to provide the dents, abrasions and other blemishes that make it look old and to provide this "charm."

I personally love the level of perfection BNW appears to have achieved here and it leaves me excited instead of cold. To each his own.

Tom

 

[Norts]

I personally love the level of perfection BNW appears to have achieved here and it leaves me excited instead of cold. To each his own.

I too agree - prefection should be strived for and it makes for an appealing manufacturer and team, who aims to do so and is unhappy with compromise.

All hail the M-Division

Nigel

------------------------------

www.mym5fund.co.uk

bit by bit the dream gets closer

------------------------------

 

[M5_2010]

This doesn't sound good to me..... Did BMW loose the soul?

"The M5 is a masterpiece. Of engineering, of integration, of power. But there's still a nagging doubt in my mind that it has sacrificed its soul for such domination. There's no charm, no warming glow. There's no furtive grin when you realise that you have an engine that is slightly too powerful for your chassis, no element of delight when your suspension setup exceeds the output of your engine. The bar has simply been raised for all performance cars. It's a geeky response to criticism, this complete elimination of imperfection. It's the tick-the-box approach to making a car empirically better, rather than making it feel right. And that, ultimately, takes the joy out of what is currently the best performance saloon in the world."

 

[vndkshn]

Well, at least this is the first review that doesn't waste half of the space crying about iDrive... As a result, I found it to be one of the best.

 

[KKelly]

The only thing that matters is how it compares to the competition and it has far more soul than other 4-door supercars. If he drove the M5 back to back with the various Mercedes that have that kind of performance I am sure the M5 would win the soul part of the comparison.

If you can afford an M5, you can also afford an E36 M3 track car with as much soul as you would like.

 

[Flying Arrow]

His analysis is really telling. He throws every superlative imaginable at the M5 and then basically says that he does not want to own one because it is almost too perfect, which appears to constitute lacking soul. Thus it would need to have some flaws to provide the charm he requires of a car. It reminds me of the appeal of "distressed furniture" where it is purposely beat with chains after manufacture to provide the dents, abrasions and other blemishes that make it look old and to provide this "charm."

I personally love the level of perfection BNW appears to have achieved here and it leaves me excited instead of cold. To each his own.

Tom

I love the write up and it sure makes me want one.

As for Tom Ford I sense that what he really dislikes is the stealth factor. Could it be that there's not enough "pomp and circumstance" for this chap? Does he prefer a little more "snob appeal"? I recall the video of the Aston DB9 where he raced the train to Monaco. This guy really likes being noticed in his car.

For many of us M5 addicts, it's just the opposite. We like to stay under cover and every once in a while relegate the "pomp" crowd to road kill.:hihi:

 

[Mardeth]

This doesn't sound good to me..... Did BMW loose the soul?

On another review they something like "The new M5 has so much character that the RS6 and E55 just seem dull in comparison."

 

[AJ]

ah... i could've written something similar prolly...

every car with a soul needs to have a masochistic shortcoming with a perverted flavor- dont know how to explain it differently... the e60 m5 seems to have none. the e39 m5 also had none and this new one will be even worse in that sense. this is precisely why i adore vipers and other assorted "misengineered" auto hardware.

the new m5 promises to be.... not rewarding.. there- i put a finger on it.

alex
few cars

 

[MRichmond]

To those of us looking forward to the M5 serving as a daily driver and as a machine with performance superior to that of virtually everything else on the road, a "masterpiece of engineering, of intergration, of power," one that is "obsessive in its superiority and complete in its authority," possessing "one of the most advanced and intoxicating engines on the planet [and] the best of every available technology," is precisely the type of "soul" we wanted BMW to produce and for which we now are willing to stand in long lines. If someone does not want one because the M5 is not flawed or sufficiently quirky, let's let out a collective cheer for those lines getting marginally shorter.

 

[Jessem]

Everyone has missed the "soul"

The engineers had their way with the new car and supplied engineering/performance "perfection". Bangle provided the soul with the "flaws" of the design.... ouich

 

[Digi]

Re: Everyone has missed the "soul"

The engineers had their way with the new car and supplied engineering/performance "perfection". Bangle provided the soul with the "flaws" of the design.... ouich

hiha Enough cosmetic imperfection to last a lifetime of mechanical perfection!

 

[PhilSeastrand]

So, basically what he is saying is that the car is too good. Hmmm... that makes perfect sense! NOT!!

 

[Guust Flater]

"The M5 has distorted me into being better than I really am. And that's quite a feat."

:M5launch:

Guust

 

[M!]

well, from what i interpret his article, he says the car leaves the driver behind because it is so good.
("There's so much choice that there's no emotional integration with the biggest lump of processor in the car: you. ")

that means you can put a ///Monkey behind the wheel and do LC and get all the numbers, etc etc, but there is no driver emotional integration.

i think AMG did that to their SL65 and CL65.
WHERE is everybody going with this hp ones-up non-sense?

 

[Erik]

.............

You see, hell is really going to have to raise its game to get me to start using it as a metaphor for what happens when you start making full use of the M5. Because I'm here to tell you that this is one of the most devastating cars I've ever driven.



The noise is somewhere between a V12 with no oil in it and a Formula One car's warped, high-pitched mechanical tearing. I try to feel guilty about that sleeping cow that looked like it was having a cud-reflux-induced heart attack as the car took off. Faintly, I can hear it's usually tonk-tonking bell going like a fire alarm as it takes off like a bovine version of Red Rum. Erp.


On every objective scale, the new M5 obliterates. It takes what we previously considered supercars and belittles them, patronises them into insignificance with the kind of confidence born of constant measurement and, possibly, coloured graphs. It is obsessive in its superiority and complete in its authority
...........

Does not sound like a boring car to me...... who cares if he does not want one.

I do. Periode. :hihi:

 

[MEnthusiast]

I think what he is trying to say is the fun factor of driving has somehow been diminished in the E60 M5 for him. Its not really much different how many people thought the same thing when comparing the E34 M5 to the E39 M5. The problem BMW has is people think of their cars a certain way: X=BMW. Well, BMW has gone and altered the X formula. It works for some, and not for others. I didn't read the entire review as I don't have the time right now, but I wonder if ultimately it comes down to having so much technology take over, particularly in shifting. I suspect that these new cars require more than the typical test drive to really get to know. It is a lot of change.

There are many road tests of the E65/6 that say the car is not fun to drive and BMW lost its soul. Yet, I truly enjoy driving the E66. So to each their own. A review like this is useful because there will be others who make the same conclusion. Good to hear both sides.

 

[greggb]

I know this is besides the point but I saw this guy the other day who had all the video clips from Top Gear TV program downloaded on his PC.. (360 CS vs GT3 RS, CL 65, CGT and so on..) and I didnt get a chance to ask him where he got them..

Does anybody know where I can download them?? Heard the first show of the new series had the Enzo.. would like to download it and all rhe others..

 

[Mardeth]

http://www.sleepy-fish.com/other_veh.htm