2013 BMW M5 vs. 2013 Porsche Panamera GTS - Motor Trend Comparison Test!

BMW really screwed up the 2013 BMW M5.

These quotes sum up the M5's flaws perfectly:

"The heavy Sport+ mode (don't you love how original the Germans are with their nomenclature?) offers the best steering feel, but everyone agreed it was still too artificial. Which is a crying shame, as for decades the whole reason you went with a BMW was because of the world-class steering."

"Here's what Mike Febbo had to say: "Did BMW have to try to make the steering this numb? They must have hired someone from outside the company to teach them to dumb down a car like this. Normal BMW steering is like running your hands over the ground -- you feel all the buildup in lateral load, you feel the weight jacking in front. None of that is here in the F10 M5." Febbo and I aren't alone in our assessment. From Scott Evans: "Apparently, even the M division can't do much with BMW's new power steering system. It's comparatively numb and oddly weighted, too light in lesser modes and too heavy in hard-core mode."

"Also unsettling is how the two cars go down a given stretch of road. Says Febbo, "Forget everything you know about driving smooth in the M5. Grab the thing and throw it around like you hate it. You need to turn in aggressively, jab the brake pedal, and get into the throttle hard. You can't just flow from corner to corner in switchbacks. You absolutely have to accelerate hard out of turns. You need to use the brakes to settle the front end -- no coasting!"

"What strikes me, looking at the notes, is not how many good things we all had to say about the Panamera GTS (aside from price, almost everything was positive), but how many bad things we had to say about the way the M5 drives. Why is that?"

"As a result, the fifth-generation M5 just isn't the supersedan we all expected it to be. Which brings up another point: I really like the new M5. Granted, it's not a very good M vehicle, but it is an outstanding long-haul luxury yacht. Should you ever be faced with a several-hundred-mile journey, you'd be very pleased to be at the helm of the F10 M5. Just stay off the back roads."

"BMW's M Division was saddled with the unenviable task of teaching a pig ballet. They did good, but for the purposes of this comparison, not good enough."

On a related note, just one click away MT also has a test of the new S8 which will send both of these home in shame.

Even I am surprised by what a disaster the 2013 BMW M5 is.

It has to be extremely disheartening for BMW enthusiasts who pay close to $100K for one of BMW's most expensive models thinking the are getting a great sports-sedan but instead end up with a product that falls far short of their expectations.

What a shame.

Repost? Anyway, $104,295 for the M5 vs $146,250 for the Panamera which gets blown away in every performance category by the M5, while the M5 is more livable in the real world..BMW just created what the customers (not the lounge chair enthusiast) of a 4000lb+ super sedan wanted...and use it for. If you want sports car moves go for the M3 or M6. Fairly straight forward. Plus if you actually want a Panamera that has equal performance you will have to fork out an $80K premium over the M5!!

OR...just go buy an E63 and you get the entire package.

Wow, talk about a BMW fan in denial. Come on, M5twinturbo, you cannot be serious. Rationalizing this universally panned "super sedan" as "created what the customers..wanted" is outright ridiculous.

So where's 001 to come in here and claim that the article is biased and just focused on the negatives of the M5 (like he did with the Edmund's article). Truth hurts. Even extreme bias for a product (or a really good paycheck) shouldn't be able to cover the truth.

001 can't defend the BMW M5 when he sees Edmunds InsideLine, Car and Driver, Motor Trend and NYT all bash the car to bits.

The universal truth is the 2013 M5 is a huge f*ck up from BMW and the most pro-BMW bias in the world can't hide that fact.

Who is DEFENDING it?

I just POSTED our top story article on BMW M's becoming funless.

You are missing the BIG picture.

The market for anyone building these types of cars has dried up because of gas prices/social responsibility and won't be coming back for a long time.

Remember, I can afford to drive ANY car out there but my daily drivers are the 335d M-Sport and the 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

I haven't owned an M5 or E55 since early in 2001.

001

And if I were buying a German sedan with a gas engine it would be an A7 3.0, BMW 535i, Panamera 6, BMW 740li or BMW 640i Gran Coupe.

I LOVE the 6 cyl turbo's better than the 8's.

001

As a very long-time BMW M fan (and driver - I currently have a 2013 M3 Convertible and I owned 3 E46 M3 Convertibles, starting in 2002 and until just a month ago), I couldn't tell you how disappointed I am that the M Brand has diluted itself to the point that repairing itself will probably take at least 5 years and possible a decade or more. I actually used to work in Brand Marketing at GM Headquarters (Corvette/Camaro) and more recently at Toyota HQ so I understand how long it takes to build positive customer perception and how quickly it can be destroyed.

BMW has destroyed brand perception among hard core fans in very quick succession. While many true enthusiasts will argue that cars have become less "raw" and involving over time (ie. previous generations are always better due to continued refinement that equates to less excitement/driver involvement), in my mind it started with the current generation BMW M3, as I am very disappointed by how soft the car is compared to the raw previous generation. For the first time ever I am having to modify my exhaust strictly to create some artificial driver involvement that wasn't baked into the current M3 (it's WAY too quiet). And I have NEVER modified any aspect of any car that I have owned in the past, as I have never found it necessary, just to clarify that I'm not someone who wants a loud car or anything like that. The current M3 was the hint that the M Division was making huge leaps at diluting the M brand. Now we have the M5 and M6, both released in close proximity, that probably couldn't be bigger disappointments for true driving enthusiasts. I'm not saying there aren't legitimate reasons for some of the differences to the previous generation V10 (ie. fuel efficiency) but the difference between driver fun and engagement between the current and previous generations is a gap beyond comprehension.

Now that BMW has released the new M5 and M6, they will be stuck with M cars that enthusiasts, for the most part, don't like for YEARS. This will have 2 very challenging effects for BMW as a whole: It will make die hard M fans very seriously consider defecting to other competitors (ie. Porsche and AMG will be the most likely winners, Audi S/RS is another possibility, etc) and, at the same time, will make die hard M fans consider other brands for their other vehicles (ie. spouse, etc). So this could result in BMW losing not 1 but 2 sales from an M fan. Even worse is the amount of YEARS it will take before they even have a chance to make adjustments so that the M line is more involving.

While I can only hope that the New M3 coming out next year will be the the first model to put the M line back on the right path, I'm betting it will actually be the final nail in the coffin for me and many other enthusiasts. The twin-turbo setup will help with fuel economy but will almost certainly detract from the current naturally aspirated V8 (just like the M5/M6 twin-turbo setup detracts from the previous NA V10).

I have driven the new M5 and it’s amazing. It is brutally fast, and can corner faster than a car that size should. I would love to own one b/c it’s also an incredibly comfortable street car. Funny thing is 99% of the people on here never have or will drive one, but are quick to talk crap on it and bmw M, but having not driven the new cars them self...sad.

Despite my long post above, I have not driven a new M5 - I own a 2013 M3. BUT I have friends (plural) who own the new M5 and, based on their unanimous disappointment with the car, the MANY negative reviews I have read on the enthusiast forums from those who traded up from a previous M5, and finally the almost unanimous negativity in the press reviews, you don't have to have driven one to know that it's disappointing.

While I hate to admit that the M Brand is being completely diluted, it's unfortunately really that simple from an M enthusiast perspective. I have owned M cars for over 10 years in a row and I feel like I am being pushed out of the brand by their engineering and dilution. The only thing I spend more on is my cars, as I love driving, so for an M enthusiast like me it's very, very sad and equally as frustrating...

That's odd b/c a majority of new owners who posts a review of their F10m on bimmerpost which I'm a member of has praised it. The M brand is not diluted. first you say they are diluted b/c they switched from a V10 to a turbo motor, but then claim... "It will make die hard M fans very seriously consider defecting to other competitors (ie. Porsche and AMG will be the most likely winners, Audi S/RS is another possibility, etc)" funny thing is all of the competitors use forced induction also...so why would an M fan defect to those brands b/c M uses turbos. lol.

It's quite simple - an M fan would defect to those brands because they no longer feel the same excitement/involvement when driving M Cars. So someone would consider defecting to an E63 or Panamera GTS because they are more fun to drive and drivers feel more connected to the road with them. Unfortunately BMW hasn't figured out how to make an M car with a turbo that is nearly as fun to drive as its NA predecessors.

Out of curiosity, what car do you currently own and what have you owned for the past decade or so? I'm asking because your responses make me wonder whether you have owned M Cars vs simply test driven a new M5 for a few minutes. I have had 4 M cars over the past decade so I speak from very real experience. I have a very hard time finding M Fans (ie. owners!!) who think that the latest iterations of M cars have gone anything but in the wrong direction in terms of involvement, fun, and feeling connected to the road. The press seems to unanimously agree. So I'm thinking perhaps you don't and haven't owned an M car, otherwise you would be in the vast minority of M Fans (owners) who are happier with the new M Cars vs the old. That's not my subjective opinion - it's clearly the opinion of most of the people on the boards + the press... And I guarantee you this will show up in their M sales over the next 5-10 years.

Trust me - I wish I wasn't saying any of this. But, as you can tell, I'm passionate about my car and about the M Brand and I, as well as many others, are very, very disappointed...

I am telling this since long time ago....AMG is becoming in what M should be. I am a Big MB Fan but the new M5 is The BEST M5 five of all times for me...Still I think is Ugly as hell in front but this is why I put it in front of the E63 or even CLS63: Outstanding Performance...Quiet Interior Yes I like engine noise but only as indicative that the engine is running , So yes I would turn off the artificial enhanced engine noise. Faster than most of the cars of that category (except the BIG S8)...soft closing doors (something that you REALLY APRECIATE if you have kids) Quick and Powerful engine, All gadgets the you may need to have a nice executive sedan...nice profile, beautiful interior and even with ALL that extra weight, still I can kick the but of anyone here with an E63 or any other car in a totally relaxed environment of luxury and comfort. While You Still talking about what disappointed you feel with the new M5, I will be away from you while all of you stay in the dust. Get it over, Engineers at BMW did a great job doing a real luxury car that can perform better than most of the so called Sport Cars...Yes It is the Real dr jekyll and mr hyde. Is not perfect, no one is perfect, but stop talking if you can not show me better numbers than the numbers that the New M5 can do. If you miss the OLD M5 : this is the list of what you need to do to improve the performance: Remove lane keeping assistance, cruise control, electric curtains (side and rear), ask Manual transmission (if you hate the more technological quicker and advanced new transmission), remove the high tech sound system and request one with less speakers, Leave one Electrical seat for the Driver and put a manual adjust for the passenger, Remove any electromechanical gadget for the rear seat , ask an small spare tire, no Head Up Display, no navigation so no central Screen, I bet you can cut the extra weight by 200 or 300 pounds, which will give you even better feel of the car, which is already the best and yes I already test one and I feel it as glove..and all at a bargain price that only AUDI can beat (if they bring the RS6.....For now M5 is the Undisputed King of the hill....thats final...

i really hope they dont mess up the next m3/4

the panamera GTS takes the cake! amazing car. literally does EVERYTHING well. BMW may be winning sales from mercedes/lexus drivers with the latest softer cars, but they are losing their most devoted base of customers.

my latest BMW lease is up in 2013 and i can't see getting another one. it's either porsche or audi for me.