Inside the Newish BMW M5: A Surprisingly Impressive Super Saloon

Hello and welcome to our video, where we're inside the newish BMW M5, a 5 Series with the tweaked top M division suspension, chassis, body, steering, handling, etc. We've spent quite a long time in this car, and I must say, it's been a lot of fun. However, I do have some doubts about its size. It's nearly 2 tons and nearly 2 meters wide, which makes it a bit of an unusual super saloon. In my opinion, the sport saloon comes into its own when it's a certain size, but BMW is asking this car to do so much more than that.

The M division system in this car is incredibly impressive, with carbon-fiber roof, multi-adjustable settings for engine response, transmission response, suspension stiffness, and steering setup. It's baffling how many functions are available on the steering wheel alone, including a rear-wheel drive mode which can be quite good fun in certain circumstances. The big headline statistic on the engine is that it produces around 600 horsepower and over 500 foot-pounds of torque. This makes it an incredibly powerful car, especially when compared to its rivals.

One of the most interesting things about this Alpena version is that it uses a bespoke turbocharger instead of the M5's standard unit. This results in a slight increase in power output, with a total of 600 horsepower and 589 foot-pounds of torque. The ride quality of this car is also noteworthy, as it uses an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox with some modifications made by Alpena to improve its performance.

Despite the similarities between the M5 and the Alpena, there are some notable differences. For one, the Alpena feels slightly heavier than the M5, which can make it feel less agile and less nimble in certain situations. However, this is not a major issue, as both cars are incredibly capable and entertaining to drive. The Alpena also has a slight advantage over the M5 when it comes to long-distance motorway driving, where its comfortable ride quality and powerful engine make it an ideal choice.

In terms of pricing, the Alpena starts at around 90 grand, which is similar to the M5's starting price. However, our test car was optioned up to around 102 grand, which is not dissimilar from the M5's top-end price. Ultimately, if you're looking for a sporty saloon with exceptional performance and handling, I would recommend the M5 over the Alpena.

That being said, there are certainly some merits to the Alpena that make it an excellent choice for long-distance motorway driving. It understands better than BMW what a large fast saloon should be, and its powerful engine and comfortable ride quality make it an ideal choice for those who prioritize these qualities. If you're looking for a luxury saloon with exceptional performance and handling, but also prioritize comfort and practicality, then the Alpena is definitely worth considering.

Overall, our time inside the newish BMW M5 has been incredibly enjoyable, and I'm impressed by its performance, handling, and features. While it may not be as agile or dynamic as the standard M5, it's still an incredibly capable and entertaining car that's perfect for long-distance motorway driving. If you're looking for a sporty saloon with exceptional performance and comfort, then I would highly recommend giving this car a try.

We also have to mention that Alpena used to use bespoke tires they wouldn't use run flats and just despite those big Alpena rims the ride was usually more compliant than an Empire I think it is on a motorway today but on a back road I think the Alpena runs no better than the BMW but it is still it is still a comfortable car so like the m5 it uses a 4.4 liter v8 with two turbochargers Alpena develops and fits its own turbocharger so they're different to the m5 and the resultant output is 600 round old-fashioned horsepower but it's the torque that's the big difference the BMW official m5 makes 553 pounds for the Alpena version makes a whopping 589 that's 800 Newton meters of torque from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm so it is a very torquey engine.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello you join me inside the new ish BMW m5 I say newish we featured it on video before you may remember it from such videos as BMW m5 drag racing against exit XP if you subscribed you would never miss an m5 video again and there may be more but anyway what is it it is a 5 Series with the tweaked top M division suspension chassis body steering handling etc etc etc I spent quite a long time in it I liked it a lot but it is quite a wide car is it the ideal size for a super saloon I'm not sure it's nearly 2 tons it's nearly 2 meters wide it's I think the sport saloon comes into its own and sort of alfred julia sized but BMW is asking this car to do a lot and it is succeeding in doing a lot it is as easy to drive as a BMW 520 d so it's basically a luxury come and yet it is also a sport saloon so there are things that the system in that such as a carbon-fiber roof to lower the center of gravity it has multi adjustable things i can change on here so the engine response the transmission response the suspension stiffness the steering setup it's baffling it is four-wheel drive as a rule but there are functions on the steering wheel that I can preset to various other configurations of all of these settings including a rear wheel drive mode which in the right circumstances is quite good fun so the big headline statistic on the engine is that it is making around about 600 horsepower and over 500 foot-pounds of torque so it is an easy car to waft along and very rapid pace it it's a good motorway car it's an easy Cruiser there's a loads of overtaking urge and if you get it on the right Road a big open sweeping road it's also enjoyable to drive briskly for its size and for its weight it is an agile car it's not a darling the grand scheme of things but given what it is being asked to do it is seriously seriously impressive this one has got optional carbon ceramic brakes which stand up to trackies brilliantly if they do cost seven grand but if you don't use them hard a lot they take on a terrible terrible squeak as that pads get glazed it's a weird thing that happens to carpet ceramic discs so if you have carbon ceramics you have the perfect excuse that you must stand on them from a high speed regularly Ollie control is really tight the ride quality takes a bit of a hit that that's inevitable it's still pretty tightly controlled it's actually really seriously seriously good fun to drive like this so BMW does this car very well if you are asking a big car to do two things and it is asking a big car to be an executive car one minute and a sports saloon the next there are not many cars on the planet that do it better but BMW is not the only manufacturer which tries to make a 5 Series do the sports saloon and thing because there is Alpina another German based manufacturer it's completely independent of BMW but it is long had a relationship with BMW because pmw makes a bit of money out of our Peters existence too and I think just because somehow the two families that own the two respective companies get along there is no shared ownership but BMW makes a bit of money out of supplying our Peter with cars and it gives them early access to engineering vehicles and the right drawings and so on and so forth so that when a BMW end car arrives there tends to be an Alpina variant of it - they tend to do different things our penis are a little bit more laid-back a little bit more chilled as befits a company that deals in a lot of fine wines whereas the M division car is a little bit more focused in a little bit more hard work over the years quite often we preferred the Alpena to the BMW variant but of course our fingers are so rare that you would never see one by coincidence or I hang on a minute welcome to the inside then of the surprise Alpena b5 how did this get here who knows anyway the first thing you might notice is that I've got a different gear leaver that's because this is based on a 5 Series rather than an m5 the next thing is the luxuriousness of the leather because our Pina when it comes to Reed trimming interiors will do anything pretty much that you want but I have a really nice range of stitched interiors that even stretches to the steering wheel so I get green stitching here there's no cross stitching because the original out cleaner owner didn't like the fact that cross stitching really hurt your thumbs and then blew it top and round where your thumbs sit so it doesn't discolor it is black clever right anyway that's the short of it let's see what it is like once you fire it up and so we're underway now because we are in a car based on the regular 5 Series rather than the m5 as well as every different gear leader I've got different options down here so I've got the usual BMW buttons that put you in sport comfort Eco Pro or adaptive there's a lot of settings Santa Clause or individual that knocks the dampers back in the in the setup but it's got at the moment knocks the dampers back it keeps the steering weight light I'm not convinced the ride and the Alpena is any better than the m5 on a back road Alpena used to use bespoke tires they wouldn't use run flats and just despite those big Alpena rims the ride was usually more compliant than an empire I think it is on a motorway today but on a back road I think the Alpena runs no better than the BMW but it is still it is still a comfortable car so like the m5 it uses a 4.4 liter v8 with two turbochargers Alpena develops and fits its own turbocharger so they're different to the m5 and the resultant output is 600 round old-fashioned horsepower but it's the torque that's the big difference the BMW official m5 makes 553 pounds for the Alpena version makes a whopping 589 that's 800 Newton meters of torque from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm so it is a very torquey engine Alpena says it could if it really wanted to still stick that through the rear wheels only but it has decided that most customers given this talk out but will want four-wheel drive but again it is 2d itself so it puts more power to the rear more often it has an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox but Alpena does some work on that too so how does it drive well feels like there's a little bit more heft to most things than in the m5 it certainly as quick no doubt about that these are both sort of three and a half second to 62 mile an hour cars they both have autonomy that would have run up nearly 200 if you let it promote performance perspective they are both mighty mighty pieces of kit this our peanut comes in at two thousand and fifteen kilos now I know that 85 kilograms more doesn't sound like a lot when it's only the same differences having a large passenger in it but it does make a difference to the way these cars feel the alpena just feels that a little bit less agile and a little bit less nimble i mean neither of them is a Caterham 7 frankly but the m has a greater willingness to change direction but this is good this is entertaining it hangs on gamely and although there are mid-quarter bumps and things it doesn't get unsettled it's a very capable very amusing very relaxing car it's about on the money as well standard is about 90 grand this one is optioned up to around about 102 which is not dissimilar to that m5 they're both expensive these days if you're after they better sport saloon then I think the M car is the choice it is more nimble it is more dynamic it is more agile if you want be better fast luxury saloon though the Alpena is far from without its merits and I think it is the better car for long distance motorway work there is a pretty strong argument in pur Alpena understands perhaps better than BMW what a large fast saloon it should be and long may that continue if you like this kinda nonsense don't forget to subscribe we're here on video very often and we're at Auto kart code at UK all the time\n"