[MystroX5]

The days of absolute M, AMG, S, etc.. are gone and have been for a few years now. Companies needed to have different levels of high performance as the thresholds and HP have gotten so high for even experienced drivers. Look at how many 911 variations there are and that should speak volumes that not every performance driver wants the hardest and most extreme vehicle.

The good old days of what a M5 was would be tore apart by some of the standards some feel are worthy of what a “M car” should be. It’s nonsense. M was and is nothing more than a abstract performance idea.

There are degrees of “M” by BMW. This was discussed at length last year. Not everyone wants a full out “M” treatment on every car. It’s not the right tool for the job for most people.
I own full M Competition and a 50i M-Sport. I am in no way offended there is a “M-Sport” package or M50 logo on a SUV and touring cars. I didn’t want a full X5M for my luxury/muscle SUV as it’s low hanging radiators, stiff ride, and other high performance options make it a liability as a cross country touring vehicle in mixed weather.

“M” is a performance idea and not a list of mandatory items to qualify for the letter. Only BMW really determines what they feel is worthy of the “M” letter as it’s their standard.

These days the level of performance of the M-Sport is faster than the full “M” cars of the previous generation. When your non full “M” SUV can do sub 4 second 0-60mph, you pretty much don’t need to prove anything to anybody with a letter on the back of your trunk.