Jag XFR Vs M5

Soldato
Joined
28 Sep 2008
Posts
14,222
Location
Britain
Something has been bugging me since watching TG on Sunday.

And, its Clarkson.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy the man, his writing style and his books and general journalistic approach but he is plagued with making mistakes which go down as fact but never get called up.

Case in point. The Jag is "way more comfortable", was one his remarks, and whilst I don't doubt it we have to remeber that the Jags suspension makes 100s of changes a second. In the M5 you have to manually choose the ride mode. Whilst this may be techy, I don't see it being a problem. Put the M5 into comfort mode and its like driving a 530i SE on 15" rims with balloon tyres.

Clarkson seems to miss the obvious sometimes, and I was reminded of this when I remember his first E60 5 series review. He liked it, but got annoyed with it.

He went to change volume on the steering wheel, but pressed the wrong button, instead he pressed the change source button and proceded to tell everyone that it was stupid.

He moaned about the indicators not cancelling and then moaned that when you cancelled them yourself it indicated the other way. Thats because the indicator stalk doesnt actually move, it bounces.

There were a host of other things he didn't like but all of which were down to his inept ability to deal with technology.

No doubt the Jag is a great car, but I can't see it being massively more comfortable than the BMW.

As i'll be looking at either an M5 or XFR when I replace this car, I guess I'll have to wait and see.
 
BMW Fanboy rant over? :p

He makes money by sounding dramatic and making a big deal out of things which don't really exist, 95% of the viewing public won't ever own or get driven in a M5 etc and this is the problem, idiots passing off his views as facts, the people who can actually afford these things won't listen to his review and actually go test the thing.
 
So old people would be better off in the Jaaaaag then?

And it's more likely older people to be driving around in these sorts of vehicles anyway with the odd rich exceptions? ;)
 
There were a host of other things he didn't like but all of which were down to his inept ability to deal with technology.

Yeah but in a lot of ways I agree with what he said in the M5 review, its not flat pack furniture and BMW are the experts. If they can set the old M5 up so unbelievebly well without all this fiddly crap then why cant they do it again 10 years on. I understand technonlogy has advanced massively, but at the same time sitting in BMWs these days seem to just take the mic a bit.

Personally Id snap the Jag up.
 
Put the M5 into comfort mode and its like driving a 530i SE on 15" rims with balloon tyres.

This is simply not true. The M5 in its softest setting is still a hard ride. With it in its most harsh it is only useful for on track. Dont get me wrong it is a fantastic car but some parts of it are showing their age.
 
I think its for that exact reason. The old M5 did what it was designed for really well, but now a days people want choice. If you want to ride in complete comfort, choose the comfort setting, if you want race mode, change the gear box settings, etc.

Naturally though, you can't please everyone all of the time.
 
This is simply not true. The M5 in its softest setting is still a hard ride. With it in its most harsh it is only useful for on track. Dont get me wrong it is a fantastic car but some parts of it are showing their age.

Really, then yours was broke? I put it in comfort mode and it was far smoother over the bumps than my 530d M Sport, which in itself is very comfortable especially on motorway journeys.
 
Also adding all the customisation technology will bump up the price. If they just set it up one way right from the beginning it could have been a bit cheaper and had more sales?
 
I am curious about why they didnt use the same suspension technology as the XFR with its computer controlled damping, or Audi with their oil magnet stuff, or Merc.
 
I don't see why the XFR shouldn't be comparable to the M5. The XF has taken the crown away from the E60 as best exec saloon for the last year or two. The E60 is now a 6-7 yr old design and is replaced in the next year anyway.
 
Because regardless of model age thats BMW's current offering for sale, clearly one is newer but in the market place you have no choice but to make a comparison.
 
I've never taken anything he's ever said seriously.

His primary duty is to put on a show.

yup, same here. he makes controvercial/contentious opinions which seem to be mostly unsubstantiated, but hes funny when he does it so it makes a good show.
 
Not seen the new 5. But just had a look at it looks good from some angles but it also looks as if they are taking the mick out of the chinese with this angle! :eek:

bmw5seriesfront.jpg
 
Maybe the comfort isn't just the suspension, but the seats and the general ergonomicas as well? He didn't way the ride was smoother, he said the car was more comfortable.

I've got comfort seats in my E61 and if BMW think they are the last word in comfort I'd hate to have the standard or sports seats. The suspension was much crashier in my old Volvo than this M Sport making it a bumpier ride on poor roads, but the seats were 10x better, making it more comfortable over long journeys.
 
Last edited:
So the M5 you have to manually adjust the suspension set up, where as in the Jaaaaag it does it auto.

Makes the M5 seem so out of date :P
 
Put the M5 into comfort mode and its like driving a 530i SE on 15" rims with balloon tyres.

no it doesnt.

and mine wasnt broken.

and i dont think i would have done 180+ in it on that setting if it did feel like it was on 15" rims with baloon tyres!
 
Back
Top Bottom