By Maggie Barry on 2019-01-06 - Experienced car journalist.
BMW M5 Competition
THIS is one for the purists. The BMW M5 Competition is the latest saloon from Munich - a touch more of everything for those who sigh in delight at the power and performance of the common or garden M5.
But let's not be silly. The M5 is hardly an everyday saloon so when you attach the Competition nomenclature to it you can expect something very special indeed.
And indeed it is. Lower than its stablemate, the M5 Competition boasts the same roaring and powerful 4.4-litre V8 petrol turbo engine that provides the wow factor for both of these cars.
In the M5 Competition, however, it has been tuned to deliver 25hp more power - that's 625hp in all -an exhilarating experience on the winding roads of Midlothian.
As the man from BMW said: "This car is crazy fast."
It is a lot stiffer than its stablemate and stronger too, to cope with the demands made on it. This, in turn makes it slightly heavier but the end result when you send it spinning down those country roads is a car that is so well balanced and comfortable in its skin that you never ever feel it will leave the road.
It has a new sports exhaust which gives it a glorious soundtrack and of course the usual BMW driving modes including sport and sport+ and of course you can turn everything off if you want.
There is a marvellous feel of the car through the steering wheel and it is immediately agileand responsive as you put it through its paces daring ever more to ask more of it - and getting the right reply.
For those who like to know these things, the M5 Competition I am driving has an M Carbon engine cover and M Carbon ceramic brakes (£7,495) which mean you stop about as fast as you accelerate from 0-62mph and that's 3.3 seconds.
Externally the Competition looks more muscly and hunkered down because of that lower ride height and of course that also provides a more sporty feel for the driver sliding into the car. Instead of sitting on the car peering out - common in our friends the SUVs - the pilot is in the car and part of it.This is a prime feature of the M5 Competition experience.
There are gloss black badges to tell everyone that this is the Competition, and the car itself sits on special 20in alloys.
Inside there is two-tone Silverstone Full Merino leather on the heated seats, a leather steering wheel and dark chrome and aluminium carbon trim.
This car, of course, comes with all the tech you can expect from BMW - sat nav, online services, real time traffic information, concierge services among others as well as a panoply of safety systems.
BMW M5 Competition
Price: £92,605
Mechanical: 625hp, 4,395cc, 8cyl petrol engine driving four wheels via 8-speed automatic gearbox.
Max Speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 3.3 seconds
Combined MPG: 19.6
Insurance Group: 50
C02 emissions: 246g/km
Bik rating: 37%
Warranty: 3yrs/99,999 miles
A HIGH performance estate model is being added to the BMW M3 line up with...
A CUSTOMER care service that uses artificial intelligence is being introduced...
BMW has a new X1 compact SUV and for the first time it is available with all...
Choose from one or more of the options to find the car for you.
Based on your search find the dealership
nearest to you.