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"When you get right down to it, the M5 isn&amp;#039;t what it used to be, and that&amp;#039;s immediately clear when you open the trunk. You&amp;#039;ll need spelunking gear to explore its depths. The new M5 is longer, wider and heavier, but amazingly, it performs better too. That performance is achieved with uncharacteristic isolation. The world is tuned out from the inside of the new M5, to the point that even engine noise must be enhanced with the audio system. It all makes for an uncomfortable silence.        2013 BMW M5    After the initial hot laps in the M5, we were unimpressed. It feels ponderous in tight corners and the chassis only provides a modicum of communication, but surprise, the very first lap time in the M5 demolished the CTS-V&amp;#039;s. Feeling fast is truly not the same as being fast. The best example of exactly how isolated the driver is from the road are the brakes. Massive calipers clamp on floating rotors when decelerating from 110 mph down the back straight, the ABS is fully invoked and there is nothing felt. No pulsations in the brake pedal, no yaw resistance in the superbly thick steering wheel, and only a hint at the tires&amp;#039; grip limit coming through the seat of the pants. To drive the M5 fast requires trust in the electronics and being sensitive to the gentlest of feedback in the steering wheel and chassis. Where the CTS-V does little to hide its performance-car roots, the M5 buries them under a mound of opulent isolation. We didn&amp;#039;t know it was possible to do that!        2013 BMW M5    Outside of the track, the M5 was heavenly. Its 560-bhp twin-turbo V-8 packs a walloping 500 lb.-ft. of torque that starts at an amazingly low 1500 rpm. It dices traffic better than a Ginsu at work on a boiled carrot. The numbers don&amp;#039;t show it, but the CTS-V simply can&amp;#039;t compete with that broad torque curve.        2013 BMW M5    As has become the M way, there are myriad adjustments to change the dampers, the steering effort and throttle response, so why not one to turn up the engine noise inside the car? In contrast, the CTS-V is simplicity itself with its 2-mode Magnetic Ride Control suspension and 3-mode stability system. Thankfully, in the BMW you can call up all your preset preferences on two steering-wheel-mounted M buttons. I naturally set one for full race, with the stability disabled, and everything set to max performance, including the head-up display that showed a full-color set of shift lights\u2014a beautiful thing, if not as Knight Rider-themed as the trick light tracers on the CTS-V&amp;#039;s analog tachometer.        2013 BMW M5    We&amp;#039;re ignoring the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission in our analysis. It&amp;#039;s a no-cost option and only makes the M5 better. As much as we like manual transmissions, it&amp;#039;s hard to argue with the MDCT and its blistering acceleration numbers. We can only theorize how much quicker it would make the M5 on the track, maybe a half-second or more. But for the purist, the 6-speed is the thing of dreams. These traditional gearboxes work equally well in both cars, yet like most things in the M5, it feels a little softer than you might want for an M model.        2013 BMW M5    And that pretty much sums up the M5: It&amp;#039;s been refined. And for that we&amp;#039;re thankful for the CTS-V and its uncouth raucousness. However, if luxury sport sedan means quiet, comfortable and fast, then the M5 is an absolute must. The M5 has begun a new era of performance that refuses to sacrifice comfort. Long live the king. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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