The 2013 BMW M5: What the critics say

How did the 2013 BMW M5 fare with the critics? The price starts at $90,200.

Edmunds.com

“We never thought there’d ever be an M5 we wouldn’t kill to own.” But this latest edition of BMW’s top-end M series sedan is “all Dr. Jekyll and no Mr. Hyde,” and that’s saddening. Equipped with a direct-injected 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8, the M5 still flies. In fact, it remains “one of the world’s fastest and most capable” four-door sedans. But extra weight has robbed the car of its pinpoint handling, and the cabin is “sealed so tight” that the road feels utterly lost. “Where’s the excitement?”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

If you think that choosing the six-speed manual transmission will restore the fun, think again. The stick “just isn’t that good.” At low speeds, you’ll fear that beast of an engine has been paired with an economy car’s shifter, and spinning tires at start-up are guaranteed. The cabin feels luxurious enough, but “there still isn’t a decent cup holder in the entire 5 series.”

The Wall Street Journal

Blame U.S. speed limits if this M5 fails to thrill. BMW has built a car that’s “effectively too amazing for American roads,” a car that’s too “weirdly calm” until you push it to autobahn speeds. But that engine, when given open road, is capable of delivering “an almighty five-alarm fire of torque.” Consider just these few notes from my test drive: “J’aah! Gawwwwddd. Nooo!”