Barely three years into the new 5 Series’
product cycle, BMW has already started updating the model bringing it up to
speed with the rest of the range but mostly in the aesthetics department.
However, they kept the best for last, and the face-lifted M5 comes with a lot
more than new headlamps.
Offered now as an optional package is the
M5 Competition, a variant that fortifies the Bimmer’s king of the hill
positioning; right at the top of the high-performance sedan food chain. Unlike
the garden-variety of 5ers that are nearly everywhere on our streets, the
reinvigorated M5 doesn’t just sport new front and rear facades, the difference
is in the details.
You get a new grille that features glossy
twin spokes and a subtle M5 logo, the headlamps of course, have completely gone
LED, tail lamps have been streamlined and are not as busy looking as before.
Little
on the outside separates the latest M5 from its predecessor
The cabin also has been reworked, with a
retro-looking three-spoke steering wheel that’s a lot slimmer than the bloated
hand-piece we were fed in the previous iteration. The M5 also gets a little
more chrome strips here and there, whilst the iDrive knob gets the same
touch-sensitive surface for handwritten inputs just like the face-lifted M6.
BMW also seems concerned that M5 drivers
might get themselves into all manner of hairy situations, so the car is loaded
to the brim with the very latest in Bavarian nanny-ing tech like an upgraded
lane-departure-and collision-mitigation systems, pedestrian recognition and a
new high-beam assist. Now all these are good and proper, but what’s really
going to get the adrenalin pumping is what the Competition package brings under
the bonnet.
Interior
is pretty much the same fanfare, with the three-spoke M steering remaining as a
novelty to the M5
Power is bumped up from 560 to 575 horses,
bringing the century sprint down to just 4.2 seconds, bear in mind these are
actually very conservative numbers, I recorded a zero to hundred timing well
below the 4 second mark with the test unit I was given. Top speed as usual is
an electronically limited 250km/h. Once again the insanely powerful 4.4 V8
turbocharged engine is mated to the extremely competent 7-speed DCT gearbox –
so no changes here.
Besides gaining more ponies, the M5
Competition gets an arsenal of handling improvements like a revised stiffer
suspension with stronger stabilizers – bushings and the M-spec rear
differential have all been re-adjusted for pure driving pleasure.
No
dramatic power increase here - the M5 Competition gets a 15bhp boost to 575
horses
The M5 now sits 0.4-inches lower; its
hydraulic power steering is more direct than the standard version and its M
Dynamic mode is even more aggressively tuned. The test-unit’s carbon ceramic
brakes are optional but are a definite must if you really want that edge in
performance.
Further distinguishing the M5 Competition
from the rest are specially developed 20-inch aluminium M wheels and a black
chromed quad exhaust system that’s a tad bassier and louder than the normal
ones. The changes might be subtle but they were done to fantastic effect and
the new M5 Competition drives even better than before, which truly deserves
praise and the title of the Ultimate Sedan.
