New Arrival

[Ascender]

@Jobbo



There's no point doing a "guess the car" thread, we all knew it would happen at some point. But yes, I do still blame Jobbo.

I'd been looking to change the M3 Touring I bought having had it a year for a few reason, but Mrs Mike really didn't like the carbon buckets to the point where it was stopping her driving the car or enjoying any trips. Added to that, the more I've read about the m5, the more interesting it sounded and I do remember my old M5 Touring fondly.

The final thing to tip me over the edge was when I saw some of the discounts BMW dealers were advertising online, without even asking what their best price was. Throw in a service pack, 3 year warranty, hybrid, no carbon buckets...

I did the usual search and once I'd eliminated all black & grey cars, then those with black wheels (why oh why BMW... you struggle to make out any of the details of the alloys regardless of body colour), I was down to a much smaller number of cars. Alas, the matching one to Jobbo's in Daytona was specced with everything and even with discount was more than I was willing to pay, but I found this one at my (new) local dealer.

Colour is Sakhir Orange Ill, it has silver alloys and nearly all the options I was looking for. I got a track-pack PPF fitted before picking it up earlier today.

I dropped my wagon off last week and was given their brand new M4 (LCI model) in the interim and that was interesting in itself. I also had a nice back-to-back experience today, driving down in the M4 and back in the M5 which was interesting in quite a few ways.

But anyway, its time for a quick beer and some food then I'll post some thoughts as its a very different car to what I was expecting based on a lot of the reviews I've read.

[DeskJockey]

That is a stunning colour, although it looks more red than orange to me.

Also proves, as if more evidence was needed, that estates are just cool. Obviously not quite as cool as an MPV, but close.

[mik]

Very nice

[jamcg]

Saw one of these in the green you always see the m3s in. First estate I’d seen, doesn’t look anywhere near as big in the flesh as the photos do, and definitely triggered a good amount of “want that one”. Congrats

[Jobbo]

Congrats - I was wondering when the thread would arrive. I think the colour looks more red in photos than in the flesh (from memory - I’ve not seen Sakhir Orange for a while). Great colour anyway.

My wife found a shop she wants to visit in Fort Augustus so maybe I’ll get to take a photo of our cars together at some point. Looking forward to your thoughts anyway. It’s a car which can feel quite constrained on my local roads so it could be the ideal choice for yours.

Oh, and thanks for damaging my EFCPOTY chances

[mik]

Rule 117b says we all have to get one now.

<shakes piggy bank>

[DeskJockey]

Rule 117b says we all have to get one now.

<shakes piggy bank>

Sh*t. I've just ordered a new aircon compressor for the Zoe, so will be about £manytensofthousands short. I could stick an M5 badge on the Galaxy, would that count?

[duncs500]

Simply lovely.

[jamcg]

Rule 117b says we all have to get one now.

<shakes piggy bank>

anyone want to buy one and swap it for a Puma?

[ZedLeg]

Rule 117b says we all have to get one now.

<shakes piggy bank>

Are we allowed to spend the rrp of the M5 on a 520d instead?

[GG.]

Nice work. M5 buddies.

[Mito Man]

These M5s are like busses.

Just Ian letting the side down now or is three a crowd?

[V8Granite]

I've seen a couple now, are they outselling the saloons ?

Both lovely specs on the forum too.

Dave!

[JonMad]

That looks stunning, congrats. Two M5 Tourings on the forum

[Marv]

Rule 117b says we all have to get one now.

<shakes piggy bank>

The 2026 version of the once ubiquitous Integra Type-R on the forum?

Looks really good Mike! They’re slowly growing on me, much like most modern BMW M cars. The colour is a wonderful contrast to the dull gray skies in your pics!

[Matty]

Nice

POTY will be decided by RichB's colour preference.

[mik]

POTY will be decided by RichB's colour preference.

Neither is actually eligible for the 2026 award, as they were purchased in 2026.

[Simon]

[Explosive Newt]

Excellent work. I think I like the colour more than purple.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the beast.

[Ascender]

I think like a lot of BMW colours, they change a lot in given lighting conditions. Its definitely more of a burnt orange/flame colour in this dull weather.

Initial impressions v my M3 and the LCI M4 I drove...

It looks massive when you wander up to it. There was a saloon in the showroom and it reminded me of how big the old 7 series looked next to their E36s back in the day. On the road, it doesn't seem much wider than the M3. On the A roads up here it feels the same but we'll see how it goes, especially when I get into villages and B roads.

M5 is in normal comfort settings, so no sport/sport plus until after run-in, so I'll just leave in Hybrid mode (range now 2 miles....)

Power delivery is less "frantic" feeling than the M3, but exciting in a very different way. I'm not sure of the in-gear figures, but in hybrid mode, overtaking on an A road yesterday, it feels like a rocket ship. It's kind of surreal and yes, made me laugh and grin like a fool. And this is all at low revs.

Ride quality is pretty much the same as the M3, so that's the first thing I was (pleasantly) surprised at given what I've read. Road noise? About the same. Maybe it's different in the back. But seems to have been a big issue for Joe Achilles for example.

Handling? Cornering at 60-70 it feels absolutely glued to the road and the same as the M3. Cornering on slightly less smooth surfaces... the same. Again, I appreciate that as a 51 year old man, I am no driving god and measuring cars in different ways to professional reviewers, but I do wonder how hard you'd have to be pushing this thing to be noticing stuff like that, or how bad the road surface needs to be. So again, I feel at odds with some reviews.

Fit and finish... Other than the plastic window controls, the interior is very nice and comparable to the M3. Leather feels nice, the comfort seats are very comfy. I've heard its a noticeable step down from the last-gen 5 series though but I'd not been in one of those.

They've moved some more controls to be touch rather than physical controls, but they're all in the same place as before and you get an audible noise when you push them so it's fine. But I can just imagine if you've not driven a car with this setup and suddenly get put into one, you won't have a clue what's going on.

For some reason, the interior lighting and lightbar looks way less 1990s Curry's Hifi than I expected from videos. Pleasant surprise.