M5 places third in Automobile Mag
- Thread starter Abdoman
- Start date
Same here. Not sure what's too complicated, sport mode is a 1 touch option, and idrive is easy to figure out, unless you lack basic eye-hand coordination, in which case PLEASE get off the road.
Obviously they were comparing sports sedans without taking the "sports" part of it into ANY account of the ratings. No way the other 2, especially the merc, are better sports sedans.
Obviously they were comparing sports sedans without taking the "sports" part of it into ANY account of the ratings. No way the other 2, especially the merc, are better sports sedans.
I've been noticing a worrying trend, most of the new era BMWs seem to not be holding their own in mag comparos anymore... I remember when you would always know that the Bimmer would win against the Lexus or Merc and especially an Audi, now I've seen the Bimmers come second and third to Lexus and Merc... and now! NOT THE M5!? But yes, I would definitely take one over those other cars!
Both Merc and BMW are falling behind against Audi. The new S8 is by far the nicest car I have EVER been in and fast????? Are you serious???? 280 kmh in a flash and it does not even feel like you are moving. The driver was holding the wheel at that speed with 2 fingers. The Audi SUV is far nicer than the X5 or any ML I have seen to date. The RS 4 smokes the M3 in Every aspect. It is sad to see this happening, but Volkswagon group has got their shit together.
Automobile Mag has had a gripe with bimmer for years; however that's not to say they're wrong... yet again, that's also not to say they're right either...
The car is far too complicated for its own good. With over 200, TWO HUNDRED different drive mode combinations, what was originally intended as the means to fine tune ones driving preferences to specific need and desire, has simply become an overbearing and complicated mess of modes, buttons, options, and switches. Now, I consider myself to be considerably more technically astute than the general public; however, when I first drove the new 745 with iDrive upon its release I found myself lost in a world bad interfacing and even worse interaction. I have a knack for picking up programs and this left me scratching my head at points. In short, it's waaaay too ****ing complicated.
Now, add that into the mix of what is almost unanimously regarded as being the best super sport sedan ever made, and you have a combination of frustration, anger, and disappointment. When even the people who by all accounts "know what they're doing" have trouble- you've got a problem.
Luckily I did hear that they're planning on releasing a 6spd version of the car at some point, that should alleviate most peoples gripes about the buttons being too confusing.
The car is far too complicated for its own good. With over 200, TWO HUNDRED different drive mode combinations, what was originally intended as the means to fine tune ones driving preferences to specific need and desire, has simply become an overbearing and complicated mess of modes, buttons, options, and switches. Now, I consider myself to be considerably more technically astute than the general public; however, when I first drove the new 745 with iDrive upon its release I found myself lost in a world bad interfacing and even worse interaction. I have a knack for picking up programs and this left me scratching my head at points. In short, it's waaaay too ****ing complicated.
Now, add that into the mix of what is almost unanimously regarded as being the best super sport sedan ever made, and you have a combination of frustration, anger, and disappointment. When even the people who by all accounts "know what they're doing" have trouble- you've got a problem.
Luckily I did hear that they're planning on releasing a 6spd version of the car at some point, that should alleviate most peoples gripes about the buttons being too confusing.
![[hihi]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_hihi.gif "Hi Hi [hihi]"){kind=icon}
But, the point is not whether or not I can read the manual and grasp all of the car's complexities. The point is that one shouldn't have to push an array of buttons and then go into Idrive's menu system to change settings in order to do something like get the car to accelerate its fastest. That's not the point of what a car like this should be. One can get into an RS4 and punch it and it will give you everything it's got. You don't have to navigate a menu system and push the right buttons on the console to "set up" the car so it'll give you everything it's got. I certainly do understand the technology gripes about the M5 and M6.
Plus the down right perfect balance of the 3er's makes it a much better car all around. My M3 is slow, it has winter tires, and worn shocks - but it's so incredibly well balanced that you forget about all of that. The only AWD car I'd buy is a wrx sti. I could have bought a LS1 firebird and put plenty of $$ into mods for the cost of the M3, but I've driven those cars, and though the acceleration rips your face off and handling isn't terrible, it just feels so sloppy doing anything. It's not as much fun!
We shall see, I watched a guy run 10.2-10.6s all day in a 2006 RS4 at the last race wars and the track was a little wet. My buddy with a forged 402 and comp cams in his vette (dyno'ed at 557 hp at the wheels) was only running 11.5's. That Audi is a beast........... BMW definately has its work cut out.
![[nutkick]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_nutkick.gif "Nut Kick [nutkick]"){kind=icon}
