2018 BMW M5 Test Drive Review – Super Saloon

2018 BMW M5 Test Drive Review

Car Tested: 2018 BMW M5; Road Test No. 1031; Test Location: Mumbai

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 1,70,38,575/-

The BMW M5 is a serious performance sedan with a luxurious interior

Sports cars bring in a lot of performance but compromise on practicality but there is something called the best of both worlds. Enter the BMW M5, a car which is in its sixth generation (based on the seventh generation 5-Series) and has long been known for balancing speed with usability. The last generation M5 seemed to be a step down as the F10M was the victim of downsizing and didn’t feel as exhilarating as the E60 M5 which also happens to be the most successful M5 of all times. Can the F90 bring back the madness of the M5 back?

The BMW M5 has a mean look with the matte paint job

Exteriors – Our test car is a launch edition which is limited to 400 units, it misses out on a sunroof but gets a carbon fibre roof for weight saving and also a more appealing look. Based on the 5-Series, the M5 retains all the elements but the bigger wheels, special paint job, gloss black finish on the alloys, M5 badging on the gloss black grille and boot, revised front and rear bumpers with massive airdams and a diffuser respectively, body kit and quad exhausts to tell you what lies in store once you get behind the wheel. So it does look a lot better than the regular 5-Series, more so, it looks thoroughly sporty.

The BMW M5 gets two customizable driving modes on the steering wheel

Interiors – Step inside and it’s a familiar 5-Series cabin but the M5 has its own touches like the steering for instance, immediately feels special as it has programmable M1 and M2 buttons ahead of the paddles. The dual tone black and beige treatment looks sporty, more so with the beautiful red stitching on the dashboard. The gear lever is different too and feels more sporty to use while the gloss finish on the dashboard and the centre console is well executed too. There is velvet finish on the A-pillars and the roof while the front seats are different, as they are bigger and more supportive and have the M5 badging on the headrest which actually lights up at night.

There are screens behind each headrest allowing you to control various functions of the car

The F90 BMW M5 is loaded with technology and modern safety features

This car gets most of the features from the regular 5-Series (including Gesture Control) with a slick iDrive system having a separate menu for M modes, there is also a very cool heads-up display that has two modes, the sportier one displays a racy tachometer as well. The instrument cluster might be an LCD unit but there is only one display for the tachometer and speedometer, unlike three in the regular 5-Series. It does miss out on some features though, like a 360-degree camera, front camera and the remote parking function inspite of getting the cool BMW display. Space at the rear has reduced a bit due to the bigger front seats but it gets screens behind the headrest.