2001 BMW M5

And the specs are damned impressive: 394 horsepower at 6,600 rpm and 369 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,800 rpm. Big numbers; yet, the M5 idles serenely and responds to the throttle with decisiveness. There is formidable torque available even from very low rpm, so the BMW M5 is particularly easy to drive quickly on a curvy road. You don't have to worry much about optimum gear selection or engine rpm—anywhere between about 3,000 and the 7,000-rpm redline, the M5 simply hauls.


Slide the crisp 6-speed manual transmission into first (sorry, gridlocked commuters—no automatic transmission is available on the M5), and feed out the clutch. Launch hard, and it takes less than five seconds to hit 60 mph—that's Corvette territory. The quarter-mile is dispatched in about 13 seconds with a terminal speed close to 110 mph, and the M5 keeps right on pulling frantically until it hits its electronic speed limiter at 157 mph. And all the while, the M5 makes a sweetly refined engine note, as if it's barely working.

Possibly the perfect blend of upscale elegance and restrained sporting bravado, the M5 doesn't broadcast its presence like pure sports cars do. The M5's appearance is understated, but its performance most assuredly is not.

That lack of apparent effort is one of the M5's most enjoyable characteristics. Even when you're working the car right up to its limits, it feels composed, almost serene. The steering is the model of directness, and gives you continuous, reassuring feedback. The suspension is a beautiful combination of compliance and control that never lets the car down. Braking feel, power and fade-resistance are spectacular.


Spend a day ripping through mountain roads in the M5, and it makes all-out sports cars seem more than a little silly. Claustrophobic interiors, gun-slit visibility, sharply limited passenger and cargo space, a harsh ride and a rowdy lack of engine refinement are some of the typical sacrifices made on the holy altar of sporting performance. But viewed from the comfort of the BMW M5's driver's seat, all that suffering looks like little more than unnecessary self-flagellation. The M5 is a car with all of the real-world comfort and virtue of a fine five-passenger sedan, and all of the pure performance of a deadly serious sports car. Is it any wonder that everybody who drives one (automotive journalists included) wants desperately to own one?


Alas, with a list price of $69,400, there's little danger of that coming to pass. If you can play in this league, however, the M5 represents an exceptional value. As a luxurious sedan and pure sports car, the BMW M5 is a two-for-one deal sure to appeal to anyone who appreciates fine sedans and fine sports cars.