BMW M5 M xDrive – The legacy continues

By Lawrence Minnie 

The M5 legacy has been ongoing for more than 30 years with the first M5 making its debut in 1984. The M5 has always been BMW’s flagship middle child; superb luxury for everyday use with a mean streak a mile wide, making it an exhilarating track toy.

The technology may have improved but the recipe remains the same: take a luxury sedan and add heaps of power and handling, sprinkle with sportiness and you have the M5.

The latest incarnation of the M5 has just landed on our shores and we had the pleasure of driving this new version at the only location that could illustrate its power, handling and speed: a race track. Not just any racetrack though, Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. The long straights and tight corners were the perfect host to show off the new M5’s prowess.

Before we were unleashed on the track we received a small history lesson on what makes an M5 an M5. With a lineup of previous generation M cars to ogle we were able to see how the M5 has morphed and developed into the machine that it is today.

To whet our appetites before taking on the M5, we were given a meaty selection M powered derivatives to sample. M-badged 2 Series and 4 Series, M4CS and a DTM Competition pack were on hand to up our cornering speeds before taking to the track with the M5.

Luxurious power

It’s hard to describe the feeling of driving a large luxury sedan around a race track at full tilt. The M5 is really a full-fledged track monster with gorgeous luxury leather interior; our test cars even had screens for the rear passengers, although there were very few rear passenger volunteers.

The new M5 is powered by a 441kW, 720Nm twin-turbo V8 engine. This makes for eye- wateringly quick acceleration and mind-numbing top speeds down the main straight at Kyalami. It’s how that power is delivered to the wheels and how its transmitted to the tarmac that truly amazes.

The new M xDrive system, which was developed from the current xDrive in many BMWs, is an incredible piece of engineering. It may be rear-biased system that only gets the front wheels involved when things go pear-shaped, but it still lets you drive the car and get every bit of performance out of the chassis and engine.

If I had to try and explain all the electronic wizardry that has been incorporated into the new M5’s driveline, we’d be here until next week and I still wouldn’t be able to get it all across. To put it simply, the M Active differential, xDrive and DSC systems work together to give you a bunch of driving modes that can take you from sedate to hooligan with the press of a button.

Dynamic smoke machine

The M5 has two rather prominent-looking buttons on the steering wheel marked M1 and M2. These buttons are actually quick-change selectors that have saved setups for the car that can be instantaneously accessed when you want to go from Mild Melvin to Mad Max in seconds.

Our test cars were set up to begin our out lap in Efficiency mode, and as soon as we rounded the last corner switched over to M1 for the next lap. This opened the exhaust valves, activated the Dynamic setup and let the horses loose. The M5 rocketed down the straight reaching over 240km/h in a blink before the first corner approached, the large brakes checked the luxury sedan up with ease before turning in and powering through the corner.

I kept expecting the back end to step out with the amount of steering input I was using but it simply stayed put and gobbled up the next corner and the one after that with ease (the safety systems doing their bit to keep things in check, as they would).

Rounding the last corner, the M2 switch was depressed and any notions of sanity disappeared, the red mist descended and I forgot that I was in a luxury sedan. Before I knew it I was back on the main straight back in Efficiency mode doing a cool-down lap. What. Just. Happened?

Although some asked nicely, the instructors were unable to turn off the systems completely which would have allowed for total hooliganism, and in all honesty, I wouldn’t want to drive a car with this much power without some sort of safety net. It is however an option that can be purchased from your local M dealer after you learn how to drive.

Final thoughts

BMW has hit a home run, out the stadium, over the fence, into the parking lot and through someone’s windscreen. It’s an impressive machine with serious track-credentials that can take you to work in the city and the family on holiday, but also allows you to burn rubber if you so choose.

You get 7 Series levels of luxury and convenience with all the fun and driving pleasure that you get from an M3. The technology and engineering alone are worth the price tag and that’s not even putting a price on the huge amounts of fun you can have at the track.

In short, the M5 is what you get once you’ve outgrown your M3 but aren’t ready to retire with a 7.

Pricing

9Includes for CO2 TAX and VAT increase)

BMW M5                          R 1 762 806.00

BMW First Edition           R 2 008 700.00

(only 400 available)