2008 BMW M5 Drive Experience

There are a lot of things in this world that use the letter M to mark them as special.

There's MI6 for a start. That's the outfit which James Bond works for.

Some have made mention that with my British accent and love of classy cars, I would be the perfect candidate for them. Hey, maybe I'm in their employ already, and this journalist gig is just a cover. I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, wouldn't I?

Then we have those lovely little M & M candies, one of the greatest food substances known to man, and being a person with a sweet tooth, a personal favorite of mine! (It is a little known fact, that one can survive a nuclear holocaust simply on them and a few cans of A&W root beer!).
Naturally, I should also mention the M16 Rifle, to many camo clad-boys and girls, the ultimate weapon of choice. It's tough, durable in all kinds of operations, and potentially deadly in the right (or wrong) hands.

Which, of course, brings me to the subject of my story...the BMW M5!!!?? This vehicle, in many ways, encompasses aspects from all of the above!
It is the car that, in my mind, my colleague James would actually drive, if only Q would let him! (After all, he always gets the girl, and what's he going to get up to in the back seat of an Aston Martin ?)

It is also, speaking of candy, one of the sweetest vehicles that I have ever had the pleasure of driving. In fact, I am man enough to say that I almost shed a tear when I handed the keys back!

Lastly, as far as the M16 Rifle goes...the M5 from BMW is just slightly slower than the projectile which exits the business end of that machine!!!
There you have it. Honestly, I can sum this vehicle up in one simple sentence...It's a real sweet ride, that's classy enough for the likes of any double O agent, and can make you and four of your friends feel like you've been straddling a nuclear missile!!!

Think that I'm exaggerating here? Well, let's take a closer look at BMW's M5.

The car has the availability of 500 horsepower at any given time.

Of course, that's a totally ridiculous amount of power to have constantly on tap, so BMW lets you reduce that down to a "modest" 400 hp through their I-Drive command system. This allows you to cruise around comfortably. However, should you require a tad more passing power, then all you have to do is simply depress the little "M" button on the steering wheel.

Now I don't know what BMW had in mind when they devised this cunning little button. In fact, I don't even know what the M stands for, but personally, I nicknamed it "the Maniac button". I'm not joking here! One shouldn't even contemplate pressing this button if you've recently undergone some form of heart surgery, or for that matter, if you enjoyed a steaming vindaloo curry at lunchtime!

Why? Because, when those 500 horses come online, and the 6 speed gearbox shovels all that power to the rear wheels, your heart races, your ribcage starts hugging your spine, and the word "speed" takes on a whole new meaning!

Of course, acceleration and speed are not the only things which the M5 excels in. Stunning good looks are part and parcel of the package too.
Now of course, you could save a few bucks by simply purchasing a standard 5-series and adding the M appearance package to it. From the outside, apart from the missing 19 rims, the little rear trunk spoiler, and the front brake cooling dams filled with fog lights, one could hardly tell the difference. However, what are you going to do when someone asks you if it is an actual M5, tell them, "No, to be honest, I couldn't afford the real thing"!!

Speaking of money, naturally, luxury appointments feature quite heavily in the equation also. The entire interior, including the dashboard, is covered in fine quality stitched leather, and the roof liner is in Alcantara.

The seats, which can be programmed to supply active bolstering in the corners, are some of the most comfortable and high-tech, that I have ever encountered. In fact, if I could afford it, I'd be sitting on one in front of my computer screen right now!

The M5 also boasts numerous technical features, including a heads up "M" display, which suitably showcases the rev counter slightly more prominently. It also carries a full GPS navigation system, and the superb interior illumination even includes the top of the gear shifter. A rather nice touch that!

The interior of the M5 is a particularly nice place to reside. However, I personally disliked the brushed aluminum look which replaces the wood trim found in the regular 5-series models. I know that several companies are using this idea nowadays in their sportier models, but I look at it this way... wood looks, and is expensive. The aluminum finish simply isn't, and to be honest, it looks like the inside of a coke can to me! Dark wood or carbon fiber I'd find acceptable, but recycled soda cans...I'm afraid not!

Apart from that minor irritation, the M5 screams class, but as my tester carried a price tag of $121,850, one might say "that it ought to"!

So does the M5 warrant such a hefty sticker price, or did someone get carried away whilst doing the calculations? Well, in my opinion, I think that they got it pretty much right! Any vehicle which can combine luxury with mind-blowing performance as well as the M5 does is worth every penny of that!

Now if I could only sweet-talk Miss Moneypenny into submitting a little extra for my auto expense account!

Fat chance of that, everyone in the company knows that she has the hots for James. That's why he gets all the cool rides!

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