Top Gears BMW M5 video

PhatBimmer · Jul 27, 2005

Heres the clip for the BMW M5 review clip done by Jeremy Clarkson. The quality has been upped so that you guys can play it at big screen and hopefully see it clearly.

Hope you guys enjoy! [:)]

http://www.flixvault.org

gpoints · Jul 27, 2005

PhatBimmer said:

Yes! I've been looking for this download since last night. [bmwdance]

andreyiv · Jul 27, 2005

PhatBimmer said:

You're kidding me, right? I can see all the pixels on my tiny laptop LCD display.

To get the whole episode in much better quality, go here: http://www.mininova.org/tor/78889

epj3 · Jul 27, 2005

andreyiv said:

WORD!! Good episode too. I love how he hates the car then he's like "i push this button and then......." the rest of the review he's like "holy shit!!"

PhatBimmer · Jul 27, 2005

Heh I meant compared to my older clips [:D]

in any case I'll try to encode them best I just can't find a good means too [:p]

BTW these clips are just to illustrate like the car points instead of having to download the big file [thumb]

Wallie05 · Jul 27, 2005

Wow, awesome review. I think Clarkson hits the nails right on the head: "Amazing isn't it: that this is one of the ugliest and most annoying cars on the road, but at the touch of a button.....it becomes one of the very best."

Personally, I think the M5 ain't that bad looking. But bullshit gimmicks like the turning signal indicator, radio, and nav. lady's voice (and i-drive, duh) is pretty sad, but like Clarkson said, that little button more than makes up for it. Can't wait to see that mother on the roads....

PhatBimmer · Jul 27, 2005

I think he hit the wrong button when he wanted the volume but I'm just guessing. Oh and that navs voice I'm sure was like edited no way she's that bad. I'm sure there is ways to fix all those things if you read the manual and I do.

Glad you liked it

deutsch100 · Jul 27, 2005

Incredible video...Thanks a lot for the post. Normally Clarkson drives me mad, but this time he is bloody funny!!!

I actually like the new 5er, and the M5...but I still like the previous M5 better. With the touch of a button, it might become the best car in the world...but in like 90% of driving, the car will be annoying, and who the hell wants to deal with I-Drive on a daily basis?? This M5 might be faster than the Ferrari 430 and have 2 more doors....but the Ferrari doesn't have all the computer shit to drive one insane on a daily basis. Honestly....how often will any of us get to drive with 507hp on a empty winding road???

So, I am not bashing the performance of the new M5, or being old-fashioned or resistant to change....but do we need a frickin electronic turn stalk that is moody? I have never had a faulty tradt'l. turn stalk in any car I have ever driven, be it German, Japanese, or American. Why re-invent the wheel, and drive us BMW loyalists crazy? There comes a time, when enough is enough. Put the V10 507 hp engine in a 2001 M5....then we have the best car in the world.

Oh yeah....the M5 is too big and bulky to have Interlagos Blue [:D]

Chesty Bonds · Jul 27, 2005

I agree with Adam, I think that we have come to a point in motoring technology where all the uneccessary electronic shit has taken too much away from the driver. I mean come on, a switch that changes the power output from 400 to 507 BHP? That's just naff.

Personally, I thought the E39 M5 blended technology with real driver input well enough and it was at least offered with a trad manual box as standard! My dad's E38 740iL is now 7 years old and that has so much technology that we never, and I mean never, use because half of it is just uneccessary crap. And this is what grates me about the new direction at BMW: they're increasingly moving towards a more trendy outcome, as opposed to satisfying the needs of real driving enthusiasts. Their cars are getting heavy, their brakes aren't up to the job of repeated hard use, they offer us gay transmission options, they think that i-Drive is the answer when it clearly isn't, and their styling is divisive to say the least. Some like the styling, some don't. Not all that long ago, everybody liked BMWs restrained and classical styling. Now they look like bits of distorted plastic.

Oh and Adam, I will disagree with you for once! I saw an E60 545i yesterday and from a distance it looked narrow and high, while up close, the side-profile was distinctively slabby. I really don't like it. The E90, on the other hand, is a better attempt even if it's far from exciting. Hopefully, they'll find their way back to tasteful design among other things.

My rant is over.

deutsch100 · Jul 27, 2005

Chesty Bonds said:

I AGREE with you Pete

The E60 is absolutely dreadful from the side. It is like a lifeless piece of sad, flat steel. The side view of the new 5er is to me without a doubt the worst BMW has ever produced. I used to hate the rear....but I think it is hot now, though the headlights are still too over the top and Japanese cheap car looking, or as Clarkson said "they look like Dame Edna Everages' glasses".

It all comes down to just because you can automate something...You don't ****ing have to do it. Enough now!!!! Let me control my own turn signal stalk, and hit a button on the radio...where it intuitively should be!!!!

MrElussive · Jul 27, 2005

1.) Looks are always subjective, except when Jeremy Clarkson keeps telling you it's ugly.

2.) The navi lady only talks when you have inputted a destination. It's not going to tell you shit when you're normally driving around. Jeremy should have just cancelled the destination, but like a big fat idiot he just leaves it on while trying to explain things to us.

3.) iDrive is easier than he showed...he was taking the long way to do EVERY single thing. Example: When you're chilling in the car, listening to the radio, you have the radio on the iDrive screen. So when you want to adjust the radio station, you just twist the knob clockwise (to go up) or counter-clockwise (to go down).

4.) I would like to see for myself how the new turn signal indicator works, but I do not think BMW should have re-invented the turn signal indicator.

Chesty, the only car I can think of that actually comes with track-worthy brakes is a Porsche. Everything else will just fade. Haven't you seen the Motegi Battle video? Even the Ferrari 360 Spider was experiencing massive brake fade towards the end of the race, and just imagine how much that Brembo brake setup costs a Ferrari customer!!

One thing I hate about the new BMW's is the Sport button. What's up with that? I think I can understand it on the M5, but not on the M3, the Z4, and whatever other new BMW has it. When I drive sporty it is just completely out of the blue, I shouldn't have to push a button to tell the car I am "in the mood." When I am driving my car, it is annoying enough to compensate for when A/C is on or off (which is why it usually stays off), I don't want to worry about the Sport button, too!!

Chesty Bonds · Jul 28, 2005

MrElussive said:

Yeah Elussive I can honestly sympathise with where you're coming from and with normal road cars, for sure, their brakes shouldn't have to put up with repeated hard use. BUT an ///M car is presented to us as the pinnacle of BMWs motorsport virtues rolled into a car. The fact that a supposedly 'hardcore' and 'driver oriented' car such as the M3 CSL has brakes that don't cut the mustard is unforgivable. There are also reports that the brakes on the M6 are the same - they turn to jelly when they're pushed hard.

Now I know that on the Nurburgring BMW have no problems with brake fade (at least they say they don't) but this is probably due to the fact that the brakes have ample time to cool down on the monstrous straight sections. But what percentage of BMW driving enthusiasts with an M3 CSL to use is going to actually get to go to the Nurby? I would suggest not many. So they take them to tracks throughout England, America, Aussie etc which have smaller tracks and less recovery time for brakes. And if you spend all that money only to have a set of inadequate single-piston calipers shit themselves I reckon you'd be looking to get a Porsche - or a Brembo big brake kit.

Now I know the E60 is a big car, and to be fair, the brakes do have to arrest a lot of momentum. But should they be giving up so quickly? I don't think so. Same with the M6. But if you're splashing out the best part of 250K (Aussie dollars) for the pinnacle of BMWs engineering skills I would suggest that you'd expect better. Customers in this price-region probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if they had to pay 10K more to get carbon brakes or an optional multi-piston setup (I know the M5 has twin-piston callipers but come on!). I just DO NOT understand why BMW go to such a huge effort to engineer uneccessary software that is only going to stuff up the driving experience while they 'skimp' on the important (and basic) hardware stuff like brakes.

I think I've explained my beliefs coherently... I do get pretty cut when I write this stuff so you have to bear with me!

Chesty Bonds · Jul 28, 2005

Oh and I do agree that Clarkson is a bloody idiot. I much prefer and rate Tiff's opinion over this buffoon's.

tool fan · Jul 28, 2005

Turn signals on the new 5er have a 3 second warning flash, just to indicate whether you want to change lanes. If you just leave it alone for 3 seconds...it goes out.....BUT.... it will alternate infefinately if you keep going from side to side.....Like idiot boy was doing. I still believe that the M5 is quite possibly the best "sports"car on the road for the money. I have now seen several on the roads here in germany, and they drop my jaw everytime I see one..........as well as the M6.

Big Daddy · Jul 28, 2005

I agree with Mike, the M5 is quite possibly the best "sports"car on the road for the money. When you consider what your getting, in regards to handlig, performance, power, etc. this is an amazing car! I'll take one...

gpoints · Jul 28, 2005

Alright you guys that say it's the best "sports car"...

I can see it already.

When the C6 z06 hits the streets and the m5 is compared to it, you all better not be saying, "well, the m5 is a 4 door sedan, and the z06 is a sports car". [;)]

bmw046series · Jul 28, 2005

Well the M5 is a 4 door saloon, the reason why it has luxury appointments like i-Drive, sat nav, smg speed control etc. is because it is a luxury car hence the name, BMW, it is not a Ferrari or a Lambo it is a BMW, a German luxury sedan--that just so happens to do 204 mph don’t think of it as a sports car because it is not it’s a GERMAN LUXURY SEDAN. That was never the original intent of the old first gen M5.

MrElussive · Jul 28, 2005

Chesty, I have heard that the M3's brakes do suffer from fade, but I've also heard that the M3 Competition Package brakes and M3 CSL brakes are much better. I do not really hold this against the regular M3 because almost any car will experience brake fade after repeatedly hard use....it's just the way brakes operate. I agree that BMW needs to step into present times when it comes to braking, regarding their use of single-piston calipers for most of their vehicles. But as I mentioned before, you can pay $200K USD for a Ferrari 360 Spider and its brakes will also fade (whereas the M3 costs ~$55K USD).

Where have you heard about the M3 CSL, M5, and M6 suffering from brake fade?

Big Daddy · Jul 28, 2005

The very first ever drivers school I attended it was a Ferrari who's brakes faded and he collided with a Porsche in a corner. Ouch, bad incident, but like Emile says any car driven hard enough will experience brake fade, some sooner than others!

And for you Gabe, remember I said, "quite possibly the best "sports"car on the road for the money". Haha, let me know when that Vette comes out and we will see. You drive the Vette and I will drive the M5, do you think the dealers will lets us? Hehe!

///M SPEED · Jul 28, 2005

Keep in mind guys these are production cars and not manufactured racecars. They will have break fade, some more that others, but most all factory production cars do. That is what they have after market products. This helps keep the car pricing down. Do you really expect a car to come out of the factory, taken to a racetrack, and expect its breaks to perform on par with production racecars? I would love that!

With that being said, I do agree they could make the breaks better from the factory. Like stated above, they could just add one or two more pistons on the calipers or plain copy Porsche's break designs.

Top Gears BMW M5 video

2

2

2

Senior Member

2

Member

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Senior Member

2

1000 Post Club

2

Senior Member

2