STUD or DUD: Does The All-new BMW M5's Exhaust Sound AWESOME or AWFUL?

The last-gen BMW M5 was loved and hated. It was loved because it featured a super powerful motor and brought back the company's classic styling. It was hated because it was considered a bit too soft and the exhaust seemed a bit muffled by the turbocharged eight-cylinder engine.

Now we have the all-new BMW M5.

Not much has changed in the engine department. Sure, it's making more power and all that but it still is a forced induction V8. What I have noticed, however, is that BMW has improved its exhaust notes over the years.

That said, I haven't had a really good listen to the all-new M5 until now. In the clip below, we get to hear the latest M car under wide open throttle.

So, does it pass your test? Does the all-new M5 sound like a STUD or DUD?

Watch as we take the M5 through the serpentine roads on the outskirts of Lisbon, rev in a tunnel, bullet down a highway, snake through the twisty mountainous hills, and overtake a speedy cyclist. The M5 exhaust sounds proper, louder, more aggressive than before, and a more complete and cohesive symphony with deeper tones and frightening backfire crackles – rather similar notes to the E 63 AMG.

BMW M5

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 12/15/2017 9:42:03 PM

+1 Boost

Just a thought. Porsche uses an NA engine in the GT3 and GT3RS for the link to motorsports and the pureness of the brand experience. Surely BMW could do the same for the M cars?

templar19d - 12/15/2017 10:32:34 PM

+1 Boost

Sadly BMW is done with high rev N/A motors. I had an E92 M3 and its was "alive". Rip roaring fun and still building power over 8K...

PCHtoLaguna - 12/16/2017 3:15:30 AM

+2 Boost

The e92 sure did sound great at the top end. But does your story start before or after the school bus full of kids beat you off the line?

cidflekken - 12/15/2017 11:21:50 PM

+1 Boost

Not sure how I feel about the sound of this motor/exhaust. I kind of lean towards the E63S which is a bit more guttural.

Agent00R - 12/16/2017 8:06:48 AM

0 Boost

I like them both but if it's one versus the other, the E63 wins though it sounds a bit...American.

cidflekken - 12/16/2017 5:08:56 PM

+2 Boost

00R you are right. The E63S does sound very much like an American muscle car. But, to be honest, when I had my S5 with the 4.2L V-8, it did, too, and I loved (and miss) the sound. Then again, when I was a teenager, my family had a bunch of V-8 muscle cars in the family.

Rianf1 - 12/16/2017 7:28:05 AM

+1 Boost

@PCHtolaguna lol i see what you did there. The E60 M5 was the same power band. You would have to rev it to the moon to pull on a camry. This is a major reason why i chose a W204 C63 over an E92 M3.

As for the new M5, this does sound miles and miles better than an F10 M5 however the E63 not only sounds better but looks better as well.

Agent00R - 12/16/2017 8:07:16 AM

-1 Boost

Indeed, sir.

templar19d - 12/16/2017 1:52:15 PM

+2 Boost

Quite true, The V8 M3 was my first V8 motor. I expected massive torque and low end power. I left the dealer(I never drove one before) and punched it. I was like WTF is this.... ;) A few weeks later after learning to drive it was pure elation every time. It's successor, a V10 Manual R8 is the same way. I had an M4 briefly, just wasn't the same. The irony is if BMW hadn't introduced me to high rev motors I never would have developed a taste for them. Bravo to Ford with the coyote V8.

mre30 - 12/16/2017 10:55:13 AM

0 Boost

Most of these highly tuned BMW engines are very fragile.

I work near the "BMW-Manhattan" building on W57th and West End Ave in NYC and if I had a dollar for every time I looked out my window and saw a 2 yr old Alpina or an M3/M5/M6 trundling into the service bay spewing white smoke out the exhaust pipe, I could buy an i8.

Seriously these BMW's really drink oil like it was gas and eventually seem to have cooling systems issues (while still relatively new). BMW's warranty expense cost on a per-vehicle basis may approach Tesla's.

Adding oil every 1,000 miles for a modern car is just ridiculous - though I hear BMW NYC puts it in for free if you pull into the service dept here.

I stick with an AMG Mercedes any day.

mre30 - 12/16/2017 10:55:57 AM

0 Boost