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BMW M5 Touring: Test Drive
Date: 11 July 2007 | Author: Tristan Young
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Is £67,000 too much for a company car? That all depends on the car.
In this case it's the BMW M5 Touring, the range-topping 5-series wagon and the first estate version of the superb, ultra-quick M5 to be produced in right-hand drive.
The car has the same interior space as any other 5-series Touring, which means four adults, a toddler in a child seat plus a boot full of luggage or dogs will fit in reasonable comfort, but it differs from all other 5-series in the engine bay - up front is a 5.0-litre V10 that, with the correct buttons pressed by the driver, produces 500PS.
I'll explain. All M5s allow the driver to alter five settings: gearchange (full auto or manual paddle), gearchange speed (or smoothness when in auto), suspension, traction control and - best of all - power (400 or 500PS).
There is, too, an 'M' button, which you can pre-programme with your favourite sports settings and which, when activated on a nice stretch of open road, enables you enjoy the M5 as a true sports car. For the record we found the best M-button settings were manual gearchange set to a speed of five out of six, the stiffest suspension, M-dynamic traction control and 500PS.
