BMW M5 : ALL THE FIVES

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Now in fourth generation guise, BMW's M5 is back, bigger and brawnier than ever before. Jonathan Crouch reports

The BMW M5 has always been utterly formidable and the current version is no exception. Huge power, torque and grip make for savage performance but it's still an executive car, with all the comfort features and space that entails. The ride may be a touch firm for some and the multitude of electronic systems take some getting used to but overall, it's still one of the fastest ways of getting five people and their luggage from A to B with preferably a stop off at the Nurburgring on the way.

BMW invented the executive super saloon with their M5 and though Audi's RS6 and AMG versions of Mercedes' E-Class have offered stiff competition in recent years, for many, this remains the definitive motorsport-bred business blaster. In many ways, this car is all about fives. The 2005-onwards model year BMW M5 is powered by an engine that features two banks of five cylinders, together developing over 500bhp and more than 500Nm of torque. You want more numbers? It'll accelerate to 60mph in comfortably less than five seconds and tops out at 155mph. Without the rev limiter it would run to 205mph. That's enough fives for now. How are you with eights? Redlined at 8,250rpm, this amazing piece of engineering will punt BMW's super saloon around the Nordschleife circuit at Germany's Nurburgring in eight minutes - a time more usually associated with the cream of high performance supercar coupes. In fact, pick almost any number and the M5 punches it out. A seven-speed gearbox is fitted with eleven different change patterns. The V10 engine generates over 100bhp per litre, 25 per cent more than its predecessor. However you like your jaw-dropping statistics, the M5 delivers them, whether as a saloon or a Touring Estate.

"Brutal pace, huge reserves of grip and assured handling make this a formidable car in anyone's bookâ€¦."

Power is transmitted to the rear wheels of the M5 via a seven-speed sequential gearbox offering no fewer than eleven different change patterns. Six of these allow the driver to alter the speed and response characteristics of the gearchange in manual mode and five others govern the rules of the automatic mode. The sixth pattern in manual is reserved for the Launch Control function, giving the likes of you and I the opportunity to replicate BMW test drivers' 0-60 times, assuming you're not too worried about burning rubber. The most important control on this car though is concealed behind this unassuming little Mdrive button on the steering wheel. Pressing it transports you, quite literally, into a whole new and very powerful world, upping the power on offer from around 400 to over 500bhp. It's also a one-touch function that changes the settings of the car to a predetermined `sporting' setting. Using the iDrive control knob, the owner can select the preferred SMG gearbox setting, electronic damper control and DSC stability control modes and, if specified, can even boost the amount of support from the side bolsters of Active Seat Control. Therefore you can roll up to your favourite corner with the M5 in its most comfortable setting, hit the Mdrive button and the car will transform into something a whole lot more focused. Like all the best ideas, it makes one wonder why nobody had thought of it before. A revised DSC stability control system has also been developed specifically for the M5. This features three settings, the default mode offering the full safety net of electronic features. An M Dynamic mode allows the enthusiast driver to let it hang out a little, the system allowing a little sideslip and opposite lockery. For the genuine hooligan and determined tyre fryer, a third press of the button disables the system completely, although if you're confident enough to fling nearly £70,000 worth of Munich's finest sideways at the scenery on a public road without any kind of safety net, then we take our hat off to you. It's unlikely you'll mistake the M5 for one of its humbler BMW 5 Series stablemates. Modified front and rear aprons and side sills give it a subtly aggressive presence and subtle air ducts puncture the front wings. The big giveaways are the monster 19-inch wheels housed within the subtly flared wheel arches. The four signature tailpipes at the rear also give a distinct clue as to what has just blown you into the weeds. Measuring 4.48m in length, the Touring version features a 535 litre load capacity with the 60/40 split folding rear seats in place and a hefty 1,650 litres with the seats folded down. Customers can also opt for a fully automatic tailgate operation with a press on the key fob opening the hatch and simultaneously retracting the boot load cover. Neat. There's also a lockable floor panel that conceals a 35-litre area for the spare wheel and tyre. One of our favourite things about this car is the Head-up Display that's projected onto the lower section of the windscreen, so that you can keep an eye on speed and major functions without taking your eyes off the road. The default setting shows speed, sat nav instructions, check control information and cruise control data. Press Mdrive and it switches to vehicle speed and a rev counter, the data flashing at the driver when the next gear needs to be selected. It's likely that you'll end up paying just under £70,000 for your M5, depending on the final spec that you choose. That's about the same as the similarly powerful but far less agile Mercedes E63 AMG but a full £10,000 less than Audi's RS6, a car which attempts to justify its price premium with four wheel drive and another 70bhp. There's a choice of either saloon or Touring estate bodystyles, though sadly, no manual gearbox option. Also non-negotiable is BMW's iDrive control system, thankfully simplified these dayswith the addition of eight freely programmable shortcut buttons. I still can't figure out how to change the bass and treble on the stereo though. The M5 Touring can be specified with the BMW Individual High End Audio system that features sixteen speakers which handle the eardrum-perforating 825 watt capacity. As extreme as the BMW M5 may appear, it pays to frame its cost of ownership not in terms of absolutes but in terms of capability. Yes, compared to a BMW 520i Touring, this is an exorbitantly expensive car to run. Everything about it devours cash at a prodigious rate. Tyres, servicing, insurance, fuel - it's all eye-wateringly expensive. Or is it? Judge the M5 on the basis that this is a car that can keep a Lamborghini honest on a good road and yet which will take a family of five on holiday and suddenly it appears less of a financial catastrophe. In fact, there's a case for this car being a very cost-effective way of getting rid of two high-end cars and replacing them with one vehicle that can do the lot. In real terms you'll need to get used to 19mpg fuel economy and emissions of at least 344 grammes per kilometre. Group 20 insurance is a given and the 169 pence per mile running cost reflects the fact that this is a car like few others. There has yet to be an M5 that was anything other than brilliant and this particular version raises the bar higher once more. Audi's RS6 may offer more power and grip but such is the BMW's handling prowess that on a dry road, the Ingolstadt car would struggle to keep up with it and a Mercedes E65 AMG would be advised not to even try. The technology contained within the M5 can be mind-boggling but ultimately, you can also just get in and drive it. Brutal pace, huge reserves of grip and assured handling make this a formidable car in anyone's book.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: BMW M5
PRICES: £65,890-£68,495 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 344-348g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 155mph / 0-60mph 4.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Euro average) 19mpg [est]
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and head airbags / ABS / DSC
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: [4dr] Length/Width/Heightmm 4855/1846/1469mm