M5

Yep. Great colour for a hot rod. 

Mmmmmmm, I wonder where I can get that shade for my renders..........

I had a feeling Java Green was used by other manufacturers, too, and found lots of Audi pics in fhe same colour including this one.

I saw a grey one this morning and noticed the same thing. Unusual - the TtRS and the RS3 have 2 big uns AFAIK

It could just be a ploy to distract attention...

That's very good.  

The 535d was just under £800 and the 750i is £1300, which is £300 more than a current Panamera would have been but over £700 less than a FF Range Rover.   The Boxster was £450 the last time it was renewed and the Golf was £540, same level of cover as mine, but garaged and 15k vs 30k miles pa.

I had an email from my local dealer over the weekend, one of their big deals was a pre reg / zero mile M5 Competition for £76k (bet there's a deal to be done) and a quick check on Autotrader shows that's about right, so they've dropped to more sensible levels quite quickly.  That's 7 series levels of discount and proves that the list price is too high for the market.

I paid a good bit less than that and although I like the Competition alloys, the reviews say that the suspension is definitely firmer which would put me off for a daily driver.

I'm busy for a bit and look what happens! Great car John, it looks lovely. With the non-replacement of my car (which I'd happily continue driving newer models of forever) the M5 is one I keep coming back to as a likely future purchase, hacking across Europe (most recently to run a marathon in Germany) has become a major use for my car and a large 4-door with great ride quality but also amazing performance and engine is a very nice thing to have. I love AMG products for the drama but for me - like you - genuinely good ride quality is an absolute must. The XFR is so comfortable (even on P Zeros, I have never had an issue with them bar the OE ones being rubbish when well worn) that it will take some beating.

I'll be interested to see if you get any hassle compared to the previous one, despite the newer one being bright red and with a much louder exhaust than before, I get almost no reaction at all from road users. I doubt the same would be the case in any "63" badged Merc product....

No -one used to bother with a 4 series coupe although I think the performance surprised many. The M5 is definitely different and every fast Merc and Audi plus many Corsa's and Focii (and an ST Fiesta the other day), try to climb in the boot or risk life and limb just to get past. It really annoyed me at first but I just blank it out now and let them get on with being a prat.

The car is going in on Monday for it's running in service and I can then start to give it a few more revs but it does the big engined car thing very well and even using only 3,000 to 4,000 rpm it increases speed very quickly although from the driver's seat it doesn't feel as fast as the increasing speedo tells you it should. However on the A road overtakes I have undertaken (keeping it below 4,500) it just demolishes anything you want to pass - the speed they go backwards past the passenger window is seriously impressive. Away from roundabouts and lights I have occasionally given it a bit more throttle than it needed and it gives you a real hard kick in the back as it quite literally jumps from standstill to 30mph instantly. There is a hard edge just under a surface of comfort which is what I think differentiates this from the E63 which just has a hard edge all the time.

I have been irritated by the PZeros on some of the totally worn out 30mph roads around Glasgow where the ride can feel a bit course but as speed increases it does something magical and becomes very comfortable and compliant. The M5 I test drove which had the Michelin PS4 tyres didn't give me the course feeling at lower speeds even on similar roads. However as Martin has pointed out, my car has the MDrivers pack which means the speed limiter will be disabled (or increased to 190+) and it might be that the PZeros are designed around a car sitting at 180+ on the autobahn and are therefore a bit less forgiving in their construction.

The car is averaging about 22mpg with quite a lot of slower town driving but it gets close to 30mpg on the motorway. I got 29.2 on a trip to and from Edinburgh yesterday which included a fair bit of the normal M8 70mph to zero and then back to 70mph (why the f*** did that happen) nonsense.

Next week after its oil change I will be able to flex its muscles a bit more and I am looking forward to that.
 

I've just had an insurance shock! I realised (after the posts last week) that I hadn't had my revised insurance certificate through and I hadn't paid the c£200 increase I was expecting. I phoned my broker who said he would get things sorted and I got all the paperwork through last night. The statement says that I owe precisely nothing although they have put my excess up £100 to £600 for accidental damage. I phoned my broker and he confirmed it was correct and that after he had put the change through there was actually a reduction of £14 from my old car instead of the expected increase, provided I take the increase in excess. A no brainer and happy days!

Seen the new 35 Jahre? Rather gaudy interior.

Just a bit!