Disappointment of the Year Bigger and more
powerful than ever. That's what we have expected. Uglier and more
touchscreen annoyance, that's also not unexpected. Turning into PHEV to
cut emission, that's fine. But when all comes together, it becomes a
nightmare. Because this generation's 5-Series is designed to
accommodate i5, it is inherently large and heavy, yet the cabin is
quite small. Keep using the existing twin-turbo V8 and add electric
motor, a sizable battery and inverter etc., you get a weight jump of
600 kg over its predecessor. This means the new M5 actually has a lower
power-to-weight ratio hence slower acceleration.
Admittedly, the M division did an admirable job to make it feel smaller than it is, thanks to 4-wheel steering and carbon roof etc., but push it to the limit and the car cannot escape from feeling heavy, not to mention the excessive width is always in your mind on narrower roads. |
| Past winners 2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance 2023 Nissan Z 2022 Mercedes EQS 2021 Internal combustion engines to be banned 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 2019 Detroit kills cars 2018 Lexus LS500h 2017 Porsche 718 2016 Volkswagen Dieselgate 2015 Luca di Montezemolo stepped down 2014 Australian motor industry to disappear 2013 Lotus scrapped product plans 2012 Saab bankruptcy 2011 Lexus CT200h 2010 Goodbye Pontiac 2009 Detroit 2008 Lamborghini Reventon 2007 Chrysler 2006 Honda Civic 2005 End of road for Rover and Saab 2004 MG Rover 2003 Cancellation of Jaguar F-Type and X-Type R 2002 BMW design studio 2001 Jurgen Schrempp (Daimler Chrysler) 2000 Mercedes CLR Le Mans challenger 1999 Rolls-Royce / Bentley split |
