It had close ratios in that you could get away with using a higher gear that ideal, but you really wanted to use the correct gear for maximum performance. The M5 had some other sporty features. The M5 also had BMW's tire pressure monitoring system that uses wheel-speed sensors to detect abnormal variations in the tires' rotational speed, indicating a falloff in tire pressure. If there is a discrepancy in diagonally compared wheel speeds, the driver is alerted by a signal on the instrument panel. For entertainment, the M5 had an excellent sound system, although the spoken word came with an annoying digitally produced echo that I found impossible to eliminate.
Many luxury cars have CD players in the dash.
The M5 had a six CD changer in the trunk, but no in-dash player. It did, however, have provision for hands-off telephone use. All in all, this was an extremely comfortable car. I have always liked the 5-Series because of its size. It is probably what most people call a mid-sized car.