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On a curving, aggressively inclined portion of the famous Pines to Palms Highway just outside Palm Springs, California — the scenic route stretches nearly all the way to the Pacific, in San Juan Capistrano — the BMW M5 positively glows. It reels in each turn like it’s ravenously devouring lunch, and powers up the mountain like a true Pikes Peak hillclimber. Which is to say, it’s more than a little scary. This is BMW’s sixth-generation M5 -—predictably, the fastest and quickest yet, blasting to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds on the way to a cool 189 mph.
The Good: BMW’s holistically designed performance profiles bring a lot of engineering muscle to whatever mode you choose. The default setting is all-wheel-drive mode with stability control engaged. As you work through the different options, the car’s character changes. In fact, I’ve never heard or felt a car change so dramatically in character and performance as the M5 does at the moment you tap the little red “M” button to switch it into Sport Plus mode. I experienced this particular thrill at the Thermal Club racetrack outside of Palm Springs. After a brisk familiarization lap with the default settings engaged, the car felt perfectly fine and at home on the track. But when you enter Sport Plus mode, the exhaust note changes to a higher-pitched and more menacing growl as everything else about the car tightened up.
It was as much a Jekyll/Hyde transition as I’ve ever felt, and the car’s next-lap performance was both astoundingly brisk but also astoundingly precise. In the 2WD mode, with the stability controls dialed down, the car was even further separated from its docile street mannerisms, injecting a fun bit of rear looseness to the car that kept me on your toes while at the same time rewarding me for keeping things under control — though the car’s enhanced suspension and chassis engineering likely contributed at least as much to the equation.
The new engine and the eight-speed Steptronic transmission, of course, help get you there in the first place. The engine’s responsiveness matches the driver’s settings, with new twin-scroll turbochargers with higher boost pressures that allow for improved fuel burn, and thus faster response. The transmission’s shift logic is now better optimized for faster getaways, thanks to a lock-up clutch that engages the moment the car moves, and equally fast gear changes. Also, when in manual-shift mode, the car won’t upshift automatically at the rev-limiter — something that annoys drive enthusiasts who want to retain control of the shift timing even when pushed up to the edge.
Who It’s For: Grown-ups who want to go fast in relative stealth. This M5 is a ticket to instant street-cred no matter who’s beside you at the stoplight. Whether it’s a Lamborghini Huracan or an unrecognizably modded STi, they’ll all nod out of respect to the honorable M badge.
