2018 BMW M5: Astonishing at any speed

[MUSIC] Now, when BMW says it builds the ultimate driving machine, I think specifically they're talking about this car. It's the 2018 M5. And not only does it blend race car performance with the body of a full-size sedan, it also has at its disposal the full might of BMW's comfort, safety and luxury technology. Making this the ultimate expression of everything that's great about BMW today. And I've got the keys, so let's hit the road. [MUSIC] Okay, so I don't normally start by talking about price, but this M5 is $102,000 to start. Now if you're cross-shopping it with a. The Mercedes AMG E63, that's a deal. But for the rest of us, that's a lot of money. And this one's even more expensive. With all the options and packages that we've got on this thing, we're looking at $130,000 as tested. Now for that kind of money, this has to be a do everything kind of car. And do everything, the 5 Series does. Now in our standard setting like we are right now, the suspension, the steering are actually really comfortable. The engine is quiet, powerful, but it doesn't make itself really noticed. The shifts from the transmission are very smooth, and we've got all of the technology and amenities That you would get in a fully loaded 5 Series. Things like adaptive cruise control on the highway, or lane keeping steering assist, automatic collision warning with pedestrian detection. Something that actually kinda came in handy a couple of times during this week when people cut me off. You got all of that in what's supposed to be the most hardcore version of the 5 Series. And is a really comfortable daily driver, but you're not here for comfort are you? This is an M5, so I'm guessing you wanna know about some performance. [NOISE] With that in mind I've prepared for you a couple of presets for the drive modes, we access them with theses in performance buttons. Now, in my first preset, I've got everything set to its 40th mode. And that means that the suspension and steering are sharper, the acceleration from the throttle response is a little bit more lively. Even the exhaust sounds nicer. And man, This is a fantastic ride. It just really livens up. Now under the hood we've got a 4.4 liter, twin turbo charged V8 engine making 600 horsepower and 558 pound via torque. That's gonna go through a single option eight speed automatic transmission. Note the torque converter automatic, not a dual clutch like we had last year. [UNKNOWN] BMW says that not only that it shift about [UNKNOWN] but it's also more comfortable in daily driving. Which makes this a little bit easier to live with. Now what's really interesting about this generation of [UNKNOWN] and that is the first to come with BMW's performance all wheel drive system, the x drive system. Now, in standard drive mode it's pretty balance but in the sportier setting that sends more power to To the rear wheels. And that's gonna allow you to kinda scoot the tail end out a little bit instead of understeering like you do in a lot of all-wheel drive systems. I'd say fantastic handling and performing car. It really gets the blood pumping in its sport mode. It's almost too much sports car for these roads that we've got to drive on today. It's a shame we don't have a track because I've got another preset I wanna show you. You know what? I'm gonna show you anyway. [UNKNOWN] now in the second preset, there's this sport plus mode. And that says everything in it's most hard core setting. It also does a really interesting thing with the x drive all wheel drive system. When you set the stability control to off, you get the ability to set x drive to rear wheel drive only And that'll give you a more traditional BMW M5 driving experience for those of you that really want to hang the tail out on the track. So at its most hardcore, the M5 is almost too much car for these roads we have to drive on today. So let's get back into the comfort setting with a press of the same button. And I'll explain how these M Dynamic presets work in a separate video. You can check that out there to see how to set up the M5 the way that you like it. [MUSIC] Just that quickly though, we're back to the same docile five series that we had a couple of minutes ago. And it's amazing how quickly the M5 can go from Jekyll to Hyde to completely bonkers and back. It's one of the most customizable cars that I've driven recently. And it's also one of the most fun. It's a comfortable commuter. It's a blast Twisty bit of road, and if you set it up just right, it's a pretty wild choice for the track. It's three cars in one, which is good, because it costs about as much as five. But if you've got the dough and you want the absolute best that BMW has to offer, 2018 M5 is worth every Every penny. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]