I was recently fortunate enough to be offered an entree sampling of the F10 BMW M5. It’s one of BMW’s most iconic models and I was eager to discover if hype and capability lived in harmonious existence.
Once behind the wheel I was immediately comfortable, the seating position is good and while the seats don’t hug you tight like a racing bucket they’re a pleasing compromise between sport and luxury.
I didn’t really get a chance to go through the many and varied iDrive settings, but if you’re a gadget freak I reckon you’d have a lot of fun customising the settings to your satisfaction.
When I began attacking my favoured stretch of black top the first thing I noticed was the M5’s head up display. It’s quite disconcerting at first, prominently in view well above the dash line, but I soon became used to it and with the level of configuration available it’s a very worthwhile feature.
For a heavy car—the M5 weighs 1870kg (unladen)—it turns in quite sharply on a tight mountain pass. You’re always conscious of its bulk, but never to the point of it seriously detracting from one’s driving pleasure.
