Long term update: BMW M5 Comp Pack

BMW's M5 is a supersaloon totally at home on the open road or over mountain twisties. The city? Er, not so much. Picture: Timothy Bernard

BMW's M5 is a supersaloon totally at home on the open road or over mountain twisties. The city? Er, not so much. Picture: Timothy Bernard

Published Oct 30, 2015

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LONG TERM UPDATE:

BMW M5 Competition Pack

Johannesburg - As far as super saloons go, BMW’s M5 Competition Pack is right up there at the top end of the food chain.

It’ll pounce from 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds as our V-Box has confirmed at altitude, its turbos boosting like tropical cyclones while the seven-speed dual-clutcher bangs through its ratios so smoothly and quickly that virtually no momentum is lost along the way.

But, when a car is tuned to the point where it’s happier with a flattened gas pedal, it can often be somewhat unhappy with anything less. And this is true of the M5, as we’ve discovered after subjecting it to our city commutes over the past few months.

The M5 really hates inching its way along in stop-go traffic, and it’s eager to inform its driver of the fact with every minute input to the foot feed. Initial throttle prods are actually almost ignored, which in turn results in a natural reaction to push a little harder; but this only awakens those two turbos in a way that sees the big saloon lurch forward like a pit bull snapping at something just further than a chain’s length away.

The idle-stop system aggravates this situation as it’s slow on the uptake; combine that with a hill holder that doesn’t always have your back and you’re looking at some rather clumsy pull-aways at times. Needless to say we’ve all formed the habit of turning the idle-stop off at the start of every journey.

LITTLE OLD LADIES NEEDN’T APPLY

With 423kW and 680Nm on tap, this is a big, brutal beast in every sense of the word and expecting it to feel at home on metropolitan streets is perhaps a bit like trying to keep a lion in your small suburban backyard and thinking it’ll behave like a docile canine. There’s a ‘purist’ part of us that really respects it for that, but there is potentially a hole in that argument given that so many other hot-shot performers are perfectly happy taking a relaxed stroll in the concrete jungle.

In fact, we’d have little hesitation in putting a little old lady into the latest Audi RS6, or even a Porsche 911 Turbo for that matter, to do the Woolies marmalade run, with the tamest settings dialled in, of course.

Yet despite its relative sophistication and rather decent ride quality, the M5 is a rebel in the modern performance-car era, one that refuses to disguise its hardcore soul. That said, one eventually gets used to its nuances, while developing the necessary finesse to urge it along in the city streets that it seems to dislike so much. Still, this M5 clearly longs for the open road. And so do we, come to think of it. - Star Motoring

Follow Jason Woosey on Twitter: @JasonWoosey

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FACTS

BMW M5 Competion Package

Engine: 4.4-litre, biturbo V8 petrol

Gearbox: Seven-speed M dual-clutch

Power: 423kW @ 6000-7000rpm

Torque: 680Nm @ 1500-5750rpm

0-100km/h (Tested, Gauteng): 4.3 seconds

Top speed (claimed): 250km/h

Consumption (claimed): 9.9 litres per 100km

Price (as tested): R1 590 791

Maintenance Plan: Five-year/100 000km

ALTERNATIVES

Audi RS7 Sportback (421kW/700Nm) - R1 596 000

Jaguar XFR-S (405kW/680Nm) - R1 444 690

Mercedes E 63 AMG S (430kW/800Nm) - R1 644 591

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