So I've been on a journey the last few days...I went and test drove a V10 E60 M5 with SMG, and coming from a POS 320i with 2TB (Sport Auto Trans) coding, I couldn't have been any more disappointed in the M5. I know, this sounds weird, a V10? Yes. The car I loved since I was 15, I no longer love.
The M5 was like driving an Abrams tank. I could feel everything on the road (in a good way), suspension was superb (nice and stiff), steering was tight, brakes were spot on. Car was absolutely immaculate inside and out with 40K on the odometer. Ultimately, it was heavy with a feel of minimal agility.
However, the car just wouldn't "go", I literally asked the driver, this is fully mashed? He's like ya, fast, right? No. I needed to get behind the wheel. So I did, and it was just mediocre at best, it really was. I don't mean this in any rude, insulting way whatsoever to anyone who owns one, but I was just turned off by it all. The engineer in me loves the concept of the SMG and how it works, why it works etc...but it just seems dead with this other technology amongst us now.
Then, I began researching more about the V10, naturally aspirated vs. turbo vehicles, why power comes in at different times, and it really occurred to me that with a boosted motor, the vehicle behaves differently. Coupled to the correct transmission, makes for a pleasant combined and complementary experience.
I can obviously "rip" through the gears with the ZF and launch control in my POS 320i, the SMG was just constant whiplash back and forth on every gear change, I screwed with all of the DriveLogic settings, adjusted my driving style to nail the shifts, the shifting was insanely slow! Granted, I need to read into your entire post, but from what I can gather, it seems like these old school trans are just dead?
So what's the point of my post, not completely sure, HOWEVER, I ended up picking out a 340i, and I pick that up tomorrow, massively stoked to be stepping up in the rankings, so I guess that is cool.
