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| RWD V8, 3748lbs, 330lb-ft@3600rpm, 0-100 in 5.8s; 325 HP |
The 0-100 times are as posted at fastestlaps.com which I think are a fair representation. Manufacturers' times are not accurate, and car magazine times can be exaggerated by rolling starts and or the manufacturer delivering a specially tuned car for the test.
It has been a most excellent car in all respects, however I was thinking that it would be fun to change things up, so when I set out to select a new car it was not necessarily going to be another BMW. In fact, I was going in with a slight bias against it for this reason.
My requirements for a new car were as follows (in no particular order).
- A high-performance car that is also a reasonably comfortable daily driver.
- Seats 4 adults comfortably, 5 in a pinch.
- I did not want to feel cramped at all (I am 6' 1.5").
- Great fit and finish, high quality interior.
- Lots of gadgets - up to date electronics.
- Comfortable passenger side seating for my wife, workable driver side (she is 5' 1").
- No clutch pedal (for the sake of my wife and kids).
- Reliable and great service experience when it does break.
- When I walk up to my car in the parking lot I want to say "ahhhh!"
- No more than low six figures
Based on research, my short list was as follows (a.k.a., "the ususal suspects").
- Audi S6
- BMW M5
- Cadillac CTS-V
- Mercedes E63 AMG
Audi S6
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| AWD turbo V8, 4398lbs, 406ft-lbs@1400rpm, 0-60 in 4.4s, 420 HP |
While not in the same engine league as the others, the all-wheel-drive gives it very quick acceleration, but it does add weight making it the heaviest of the bunch, and shifts the weight to the front, impacting handling.
I unfortunately never got to try it out for myself. I phoned two dealers in my area and neither had an S6 available to test drive (I didn't believe the first one, and had to call a second one to make sure). The first guy wondered why I would want to test drive one? His clients sign up way in advance for these cars and take them as is. The second one tried telling me that I should come by to test drive the A6. I would see how good that car was, and know that the S6 is even better than that.
So that disqualified Audi!
Cadillac CTS-V
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| RWD supercharged V8, 4253lbs, 551ft-lbs@3800rpm, 0-60 in 4.2s, 556 HP |
The Cadillac CTS-V was first up for a test drive. The salesperson was great. However I found the dealership and the service area to be looking fairly run-down. The car was all ready for us when we arrived. It looks mean, which I liked, but turned my wife off. When the sales person started up the car to move it into position for me, I loved the amazing V8 rumbly sound.
I was disappointed by my drive, though. I was really re-thinking the idea of going into a 500+ horsepower car, as I did not notice much difference at all as compared to my 545i until I rev'd it up to a rather uncivilized level. The steering felt fine, and it was a full automatic tranny that felt fine as well, though neither put a smile on my face.
Serious lack of gadgets in the car, and the nav system is quite outdated. And if all that was not bad enough, the centre arch stuck into the passenger seat in a very uncomfortable way that forced my wife to sit sideways to avoid it. None of the reviews covered that off!
All in all, very glum thinking that my 545i was the better car all around and the "get a better car" project was going to be stillborn.
BMW M5
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| RWD turbo V8, 4343lbs, 501ft-lbs@1500, 0-60 in 3.9s, 560 HP |
The BMW M5 came next. While not the strongest engine of the bunch according to the BMW published stats, it does consistently record the fastest track times and quickest acceleration of the group when driven by real people. Independent tests have shown that the horsepower is likely higher than what BMW claims, more likely in the low 600 HP range. BMW has a habit of doing that. The 0-60 time they publish of 4.4s has certainly been trounced by every independent test out there, coming in consistently at more like 3.9s.
The dealership is huge and lovely. The sales person, Jordan, was terrific. He was on time, offered us espresso, no pressure on the sales side at all, up-front with me on everything. They had an M5 in a flat matte black with a champagne interior all of which I loved, but my wife hated. He came along for the ride which was nice as he obviously loved the car and was able to communicate that. I was instructed to keep it under about 4500 RPM as it was still in break-in. I more or less respected that, but did take it up past that once or twice.
Before we even started, he took me through all the gadgets in the car and the new iDrive. Gadget heaven! Loved it. I immediately noticed that the car felt larger than my 545i (and in fact it is, by about an inch of headroom and shoulder room). I liked that. My wife was very comfortable in her seat, as I was in mine. The engine note when he first fired it up (I was still outside the car) was amazing. It got my heart racing.
The drive was incredible. It put a huge smile on my face. The power was immediately apparent in everything I did. It was there and available, though not at all difficult to control. The dual clutch manual automatic transmission was amazing. At the higher sport settings it felt like rifle blasts. The automatic mode was smooth, very unlike the clunky SMG I had tried 8 years earlier when buying my 545i. Steering also put a huge smile on my face. Clearly superior to my 545i. Turn in was amazing. Acceleration around corners was a blast. Car was flat like anything in the curves. I loved everything about this car. Project "upgrade" was a go!
As the test drive was coming to an end there was a truck in my lane, and we were about 250m away from the turn back into the dealership. Jordan said "you can open it up once more if you like". Say no more. A quick push on the accelerator and a lane change and I sailed past that truck as if it was standing still, cut back into my lane in plenty of time to turn back into the dealership. I wasn't sure I had the room to do that. The truck never even needed to brake.
It's funny. You read reviews and you would think these various cars were neck and neck. Something that I guess is hard to quantify or be objective about is which car puts the bigger smile on your face when you drive it. For me, that was hands down the M5.
One thing that was missing from the M5 was the adjustable side bolsters in the seats. My 545i has them, and I was surprised they were missing from the M5, especially since the M5 owner's manual says it should be there. I asked Jordan. Nobody knows what happened to them. They were in the 2012 M5, but have now gone AWOL. I love that feature in my 545i, how the car hugs me as I get into it, and how it releases me as I shut it down. How I can tighten it up just before a spirited country drive, and then relax it back down for the highway. That is a very annoying omission from the M5, and I'm sure they will bring it back right after I have bought mine. It was the one disappointment for me, but the seats still hugged me fine so I could get over it.
Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG PP
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| RWD turbo V8, 3883lbs, 592ft-lbs@1700rpm, 0-60 in 4.2s, 550 HP |
I still had an appointment with the Mercedes-Benz sales person. It would be hard to edge the M5 at this point, but I maintained an open mind. I was still hankering for a change, and was really rooting for the E63 AMG, which looks great on paper: lighter weight, more power, faster 0-60 times. The MB was the most expensive after you add equivalent gadgets and the performance package, but I was considering it if it blew me away.
A word on their packaging. What's with the "Performance Package"? Who buying this car is not interested in performance to begin with? I think it's there to artificially lower their MSRP to make it look competitive with the M5.
Not a good experience to start with. The dealership was cavernous with none of the class of the BMW. We checked in at the reception desk, and they said our guy would be with us soon. He was very late. We made three tours around the place looking at all the cars. The one good thing was that he tossed me the keys and let my wife and I take it out on our own for a full hour. So I was really able to get a good test drive in.
This car was also definitely fun to drive. Easily a car I would love to have. The power felt like it was available whenever I wanted it, and felt on par with the BMW. The handling was crisp, though I felt I had to give the nod to the BMW. The tranny was an automatic, and was nowhere near as good as the BMW's. It did its job just fine, and you didn't really notice it at all. It's just that you noticed the BMW's tranny in a way that put a huge grin on your face. The car's interior felt (and is) smaller than the BMW, which I did not like. Had it handled or accelerated better, then ok, but that's not the case.
The two cars matched up gadget for gadget. No question they are keeping their eyes on one another. The one thing the Merc had over the Bimmer was the side bolster on the seats. In the Merc it is adjustable and even had a mode that hugged you tighter when you went around a curve. I loved it.
On the downside, my wife was not comfortable in either seat. Those adjustable side bolsters hit her at the wrong spot, pushing her shoulders forward. They could not be retracted enough to make it comfortable. In my 545i, the bolsters are lower down, and they leave my wife's shoulders alone.
When I returned, boy did I get the hard sell! The sales person used my name in every sentence to "build rapport" as they taught him in Obnoxious Selling 101. He also kept asking leading questions where the answer is "yes", hoping that my positive frame of mind would compel me, Jedi mind trick fashion, to say "yes" when he went in for the kill. He kept trying to sell me on his inventory, offered 1% financing, and offered to throw in the winters for free, but only if I acted right away! I backed away slowly, checking my wallet was still in my pocket.
The Winner
So, as you can see, the M5 was the clear winner of the drive-off. I got the car's invoice price, factory incentives (none), and markups off the web. I then sent Jordan an email with my offer and told him if he said yes, I would not need to shop it around at all. It was a win-win sort of offer, not the best I could have gotten, but good for everybody. Jordan agreed, and I came in.I put a deposit down and they ordered up the car for me. I went with Monte-Carlo blue, black leather interior, trace aluminium trim, and the "Executive Package" which contains most of the gadgets. I didn't get the night vision with pedestrian detection or the rear seat entertainment. It made it in for January production, and so I am expecting it early February.
The paint colour choice is the most common one, and is the one featured on all the brochures. My existing car is blue, and I wanted a different colour, but I didn't like any of the other standard colours, nor the extra cost ones, and thought the blue was most striking. I am looking forward to the car's arrival, but still have a lot of research to do and blog posts on how it all works!
Great blog!
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