It’s true, there’s no manual transmission in the 2018 BMW M5. What made the original super-sedan so unique is now gone. And you know what? Good. It’s an uncommon opinion, but I didn’t think the previous generation’s manual transmission did anything to stir the soul or reward drivers who wanted an engaging manual-transmission experience. BMW didn’t attempt to fix the manual, but killed it instead. For 2018, the M5’s 600-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 makes 40 more horsepower than its predecessor and sends power through a conventional eight-speed automatic, not even a fancy dual-clutch transmission like the BMW M3 or previous M5. One more thing: The new M5 is all-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive. What the heck is happening in Bavaria?
Craziness, that’s what, because BMW says the M5 is now capable of zero-to-60 mph in 3.2 seconds, down from 4.1 seconds with the previous generation’s dual-clutch automatic transmission; the old six-speed manual did it in 4.3 seconds. The new automatic transmission, all-wheel drive and launch control make for pin-your-head-to-the-seat starts when the engine spins up and fires off like a shot from a cannon.
Controlled Craziness
The M5’s engine is so smooth and refined that there’s not much excitement from the tailpipes, even with the M Sound Control button that changes the flap-controlled exhaust system’s sound in the most-aggressive Sport Plus drive mode. Most of the auditory experience comes from inside with electronic augmentation that’s less artificial sounding than in the previous M5. If subtlety is your style, that’s cool, but I wanted a bit more bark with the BMW M5’s enormous bite, like the voluminous bellow that comes from a Mercedes-AMG E63. The new M5 has a great tone, but the volume isn’t there in the driver’s seat; apparently, the M5 is just too good of a luxury car to let any exhaust noises inside. If this bothers you as well, the accessory BMW M Performance exhaust for the M5 might be up your alley. The M5 Competition version at an extra cost includes a unique exhaust.
The M5 has an overwhelming number of driving subsystems with adjustable settings — engine, transmission, suspension, steering, stability system, all of which have various intensity settings for casual commuting or corner carving. The M5 and pretty much all competitors can be used as perfectly comfortable daily drivers with broad ranges between Comfort and Sport modes. The Cadillac CTS-V, Audi RS 7 and AMG E63 can rattle your fillings or take grandma to brunch. BMW wins this game because of the M programmable buttons on the steering wheel. They’re not just buttons any longer, but red paddles atop the left- and right-hand spokes that save settings of the driver’s choosing into umbrella modes. The paddles are not any more useful than regular buttons on the wheel that some competitors and the previous-generation M5 have, but they’re different and cool (and red).
I programmed M1 as the Comfort mode but spent most of my time in M2 with Plus Plus Plus settings, where the engine is as responsive as a naturally aspirated V-8 with minimal lag between hitting the pedal and a rush of acceleration. Previously, the supercharged CTS-V was the standout in this class for immediate power delivery, but the M5 — even with its twin turbos — is impressively not at a disadvantage for a turbocharged engine. For a conventional transmission, the eight-speed in the M5 is quick and responsive, and the paddle shifters click off gears like a dual-clutch transmission, though there’s a certain finesse to the way BMW’s dual-clutch shifts in the M4 that’s lacking in the M5’s bang-shift-bang gear changes at wide-open throttle.
Rear- or All-Wheel Drive — You Pick, Carefully
The M5’s all-wheel drive is selectable, but not like an old-style four-wheel-drive truck where you yank a lever to go in and out of rear-wheel drive. Drivers can use the control screen to choose what BMW calls “4WD,” “4WD Sport” (with more rear bias) and “2WD.” It’s called 4WD in the car, but the system itself is named M xDrive all-wheel drive. For marketing purposes, all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive may be interchangeable, but if you ask us, four-wheel drive means a transfer case with a selectable low range.
I digress. Two-wheel drive kills the stability system, so make sure you’re on your toes when barnstorming with only two wheels getting 600 hp. I didn’t notice a huge difference between rear- and all-wheel-drive modes when driving spiritedly. The system is so smart that I feel it was already distributing torque between front and rear wheels to get the car around the corner as proficiently as possible — as if the M5 determined rear-wheel drive was the right way to go anyway.
Choosing two-wheel drive doesn’t magically remove the weight of the all-wheel-drive hardware, so I question the mode’s inclusion. What’s nice is that it can be programmed into the M buttons so, for instance, the left button is 4WD and the right button is 2WD, which saves digging into the menus. The two-wheel mode best used if you’re on a track and can slide around, because the BMW M5’s limits are so high that it takes a lot of work to get that tail to wag. The tires have plenty of grip, and when the adaptive suspension is turned up to max stiffness the M5 is a confident-handling machine.