Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosM4
 
This is coming from an owner of a M6 F06 GC and ex owner of a F10 M5. In my family we had both the E39 and E60. I got to drive the E60 when I was younger. The E60 is the most exciting car in the form of a Sedan. The SMG on DriveLogic 6, TC Off, and that V10 scream up to 8k rpm is something I will always take with me. Every time I see a video of an E60 M5, I remember why I am a petrolhead. The fact is although I think it is wonderful, the car has horrible reliability, and running costs are greater than the GDP of many African nations, that is why I haven't bought one. If one day, an aftermarket solution is done to the issues the car has, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one the following day.
So no, the E39 M5 is not better than the E60. It can be a better allrounder, considering it has more torque lower down, and is definitely more tamed and comfortable, and it has a lovely manual tranny, but it is not a better M5. |
I owned the E60 M5 for 4 years, 3 years out of warranty. You never knew when a $2k to $5k bill was looming. And I went through quite a few of those. Lost count. I was at the gas station so often I had my credit card suspended once for fraud because I put in gas twice in 2 hours.
That being said it remains my favorite car of all time. I had a Dinan exhaust and the sound it made was glorious. I would take 10km detours just to hear the exhaust in a tunnel. I had a neighbor tell me the favorite part of his day was hearing my car go by.
The SMG was awful in stop and go traffic (Which I never experience thankfully) but in everything else it was sublime. The S6 shifts could knock your fillings out.
I look at used E60 M5's weekly and wonder if I should just go back.