Hi guys,
I am pretty new here and I am facing a dilemma that keeps me up at night .
I have been searching for the perfect 02-03 E39 M5 for a few months now, until now there is no other car that I know can come close to the perfect balance of the E39 M5, HOWEVER recently sat in my friend's 2003 Audi RS6 and it stirred things up a bit.
I know the board will obviously be a little bit biased, but what do you guys think will be a better all around car?
PS. I have no track experience but with this next purchase I am looking into taking some advance driving courses.
I kind of know what you mean, they are quite nice to sit in. Only problem with Audi's, in my opinion, is that they are bland to drive, live with, and if it makes sense they don;t have a soul. After i drive my M5 i always turn around and look back at it, and always have a great drive in it. I've driven lots of Audi's, and every single time i drive one i get the same opinion and feedback from it. It's a nice, safe, boring drive to be honest. The 4 wheel drive system is heavy and it doesn't handle as well as the e39 in any guise.
But, you are going to get biased opinions on here. Personally, i would hold out for the right M5. It took me two years to find mine, but it really was worth it!
I kind of know what you mean, they are quite nice to sit in. Only problem with Audi's, in my opinion, is that they are bland to drive, live with, and if it makes sense they don;t have a soul. After i drive my M5 i always turn around and look back at it, and always have a great drive in it. I've driven lots of Audi's, and every single time i drive one i get the same opinion and feedback from it. It's a nice, safe, boring drive to be honest. The 4 wheel drive system is heavy and it doesn't handle as well as the e39 in any guise.
But, you are going to get biased opinions on here. Personally, i would hold out for the right M5. It took me two years to find mine, but it really was worth it!
The RS6 is a nice car and is a great car if you drive a lot in snow/bad weather then great BUT the enjoyment wise there is no contest.
The fact that you would like to take some advanced driving courses means that you can gain more experience in a safe environment i.e. one where you are not going to hurt yourself and I know you are definitely going to have more fun in the E39.
I also think that the E39 looks better although like others I may be bias
The E39 has a balance which is fantastic and allows you to enjoy the car's handling.
The issue with the Audi is that there are only two options grip and then understeer, although you can provoke oversteer by yanking the handbrake but there is less finesse to the handling.
The final thing is that the M5 as a range is iconic and was the modern day instigator of the supersaloon - Saloon looks and Super car performance.
BTW auto transmission does not have to be stopper of fun granted it is not as interactive but in some forms (Alpina and a few others ) it offers another enjoyable option complete with engine braking. Still fun on the track.
The RS6 is a nice car and is a great car if you drive a lot in snow/bad weather then great BUT the enjoyment wise there is no contest.
The fact that you would like to take some advanced driving courses means that you can gain more experience in a safe environment i.e. one where you are not going to hurt yourself and I know you are definitely going to have more fun in the E39.
I also think that the E39 looks better although like others I may be bias
The E39 has a balance which is fantastic and allows you to enjoy the car's handling.
The issue with the Audi is that there are only two options grip and then understeer, although you can provoke oversteer by yanking the handbrake but there is less finesse to the handling.
The final thing is that the M5 as a range is iconic and was the modern day instigator of the supersaloon - Saloon looks and Super car performance.
BTW auto transmission does not have to be stopper of fun granted it is not as interactive but in some forms (Alpina and a few others ) it offers another enjoyable option complete with engine braking. Still fun on the track.
What he said
I faced the same dilemma too, but I have always wanted to own an M car, and I have always found BMWs that much better to drive, that said as an everyday car I think the RS6 would have the edge.
Whilst I agree that a manual (keep-fit gears) is the better option for M cars, I can't help feeling that a good auto/DSG/DCT is the way forward. But it depends on drivign style, a manual means you can adopt a more rally/dukes of hazzard style of driving, an auto/DSG/DCT means you adopt a more F1/Indycar style.
Best of all with any M5 - as Si said - it IS the daddy, the definitive, the benchmark and regarded as such the world over.
It is motoring history, and the E39 is the last of the pre-Bangle era.
If I recall the RS6 has a twin turbo V8 making 450 HP. It must weigh over 2 tons with the awd. Temperature makes a big difference in power output with FI cars. Being in NJ you will feel the heat soak this time of year.
Get the M5!!!!!!!
I would be happy to take you for a ride in my M5 making 470HP if you live in northern NJ. That will surely help you finalize your decision about what the E39 M5 is all about brother.
__________________ Mike
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If I recall the RS6 has a twin turbo V8 making 450 HP. It must weigh over 2 tons with the awd. Temperature makes a big difference in power output with FI cars. Being in NJ you will feel the heat soak this time of year.
Get the M5!!!!!!!
I would be happy to take you for a ride in my M5 making 470HP if you live in northern NJ. That will surely help you finalize your decision about what the E39 M5 is all about brother.
Coming from a Twin turbo V6 AWD Japanese car (Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4), I actually prefer to go NA now for the simplicity of the engine bay without those extra pipping.
I DO live in north NJ, I actually live in Parsippany and I would LOVE to ride shotgun in your beast if that's not too much trouble!!
After some thinking and more digging around the net, I found out that almost all E39 M5 owners highly highly praised their ride, I guess that's the magic of the ///M
Only problem with Audi's, in my opinion, is that they are bland to drive, live with, and if it makes sense they don;t have a soul.
I don't agree with this statement at all. If someone thinks that Audi has no soul, they either haven't driven an RS4 (or an R8 for that matter), or are not very open-minded about anything without an M badge. I have said since owning RS4's that I think they are a modern interpretation of the E39 M5. Very mechanical, very engaging to drive, and with better technology. In fact, the only car I probably like more than the M5 is the RS4. But both are phenominal cars. This is a discussion about the RS6 though, not the RS4. I just wanted to go on record when I saw the blanket statement about Audi having no soul.
As far as the RS6 goes, it is a great car. I actually have the opportunity to purchase a 22,000 mile Stage 3 RS6 right now that is pushing around 580 horsepower. It's my friends car and I have played a little with him on the highway just to see. I didn't just loose, I got slaughtered by him. The problem is that while I can pick the car up for a very reasonable price, I will agree with everyone else on the board by saying that it is a pretty boring car other than the power. What a lot of people did forget about the RS6 is that it is also extremely expensive to maintain. It makes our cars look like Honda Civics when comparing maintanence cost. Think of the RS6 as an 850CSI and you'll understand the cost of ownership.
Some things to also consider about the M5 vs RS6 are that the RS6 was a 1 year production car in the US. The M5 was a 3 year, so exclusitivity of the RS6 is much higher. I don't think you're going to run into any problems with seeing M5's all over the place though. They're still somewhat rare.
Either car will make you happy, but in the case of the M5 vs RS6 I truly think the M5 is much more engaging. I also think it is a better looking car (totally subjective). Good luck with your decision.
I have both an M5 and the predessessor to the RS6, a 20020v that now sports about 300 hp and has been tracked dozens of times.
The RS6 has more power, although it pulls a little more weight. 0-60 should be close, with the Audi getting the jump due to AWD, but the M5 catches up at higher speeds(depending on driver, M5 takes more skill).
It is much cheaper to make the Audi go faster. A little more boost goes a long way, and 500 hp is easy and pretty cheap, easily covering the extra weight.
AWD is great in bad weather conditions. That helps on the track, but the extra grip is offset some by the extra weight and the nose heavy condition (close to 60/40). Again, on the track you can rotate the rear under trailing throttle oversteer, but you need to get some speed up, otherwise, the rear grip will cause understeer and nose heavy makes it tougher on brakes and turn in.
Rear seat room is also better, luggage space is better since it is a wagon, and the cabin is on par with the M5, with the gauge set up at least as good as the M5's, although I think the luxury interior on the M5 is one of the nicest ever made by any car company. In caramel, it looks like expensive Italian leather!
Having said all that, the M5 is a much better driver's car. Close to 50/50 weight balance and exceptional driving balance so you can turn the car with the steering wheel and balance with the throttle. The cars drives 400 lbs lighter than it really is. Driving a true manual is a big difference also, and only the M5 has that. If you considering going to the track, then M5 is a hands down winner for fun.
Why not go for a test drive in the Audi, then take a drive in the M5 and make up your own mind! Both great cars, but objectively speaking, the M5 is a far superior driver's car!
Regards,
Jerry
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