BMW M5 2015 review

The standard Australian M5 is chock-a-block with goodies, including performance brakes and a few extra kW from the volcanically powerful V8 as part of the Competition Pack.

The Nighthawk, as our matte black test car was known, weighed in at an RS6-baiting $235,930 and $5610 more than the standard M5 on which it is based. 

Inside is standard 5-Series but filled with the goodies and ultra-comfortable seats

Standard features include adaptive LED headlights, Bang and Olufsen high-end surround sound system, head-up display, matte paint, Competition Package, BMW's Comfort Access system which means keyless entry and start as well as seat positions matched to the key, DAB+ tuner, four-zone climate control, sunroof, top-of-the-line Merino leather trim, carbon fibre bits and pieces, high performance (steel) brakes, soft-close doors, front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera with surround view, sat-nav and various telematics services.

The headline act here is the 16-speaker B&O, controlled by the full-fat version of BMW's iDrive. The big rotary controller sits on the console and doubles as a scratchpad for writing in addresses on the sat-nav.

The 10-inch screen dominates the top of the dash, the graphics smooth and clear. The stereo is mightily impressive in both power and clarity while the sat-nav is highly-detailed and accurate.

For extra passenger terror, you can switch to the Sports display on the screen to display how much of the power and torque you're sending through the rear tyres.

The M5 is as subtle as ever. The 20-inch alloys are joined by a body kit that could be an M Sport pack from a 520d. The black paint job is smooth and not as fragile as some other matte finishes and made our car blend into the background, sometimes a little more than we'd have liked – it seemed to be a magnet for idiots cutting us off.

Inside is standard 5-Series but filled with the goodies and ultra-comfortable seats. It's more of a 4+1 seater but even when configured this way, it's more than comfortable for decent drives in the middle perch.

Six airbags, ABS, traction and stability programs, blind spot sensor, reversing camera, collision mitigation and warning, brake force distribution, lane departure warning.

The 5 Series scored five ANCAP safety stars.