Just took E60 for a test drive...

Ocean's M5 · 3rd February 2007, 07:34

I had taken the E39 for a coding of the Nav and there was a Silver one sitting there and after talking with the Sales-Dude, He tells me how dissatisfied purchasers are with this "unit." He says that initially they bumped the price about 15,000 over and now he could get this New one for $3000 less than Msrp! I couldn't beleive it. He says lets take her out...

He didn't have to twist my arm but the New styling has never apealed to me. I could go on about the Styling, number of issues SA's have told me about, the drop in price, not holding their value, i-drive or whtever you call it, the cold and uninviting interior, but you all know what you like or dislike about it.

Anyway, We pull out of the driveway and he guns it and the mufflers sound like an out of tune brass band. I asked about the sound and he says that for a V-10 it doesn't sound like it. So i notice we are still in 400 hp. He presses the button and we are now at 500 hp and you can hear the change in sound a little deeper but not like the E39. We change seats and He does something to the SMG and i feel the shifting much quicker, but there is still pause and my body learches forward between shifts. The SA says that after the car breaks in it will dissappear. I'm not sure how it accomplishes this as I asked and he made up something about gears smooth out...??

It is pretty quick, but not sure if it is much faster than the stock E39??Handling was nice, but you can really feel that your driving on Runflats. I drove fast and slow on turns and straights, and as I pulled into the dealership, I couldn't help but to look for my E39. I felt like I had betrayed her and that I wanted to let her know that It wasn't anything like I had experienced with her...lol

So, after caressing her bumpy bumps on her familiars, we were together again. No other car has made me as happy yet. I'm hoping that the iteration following the next M5 will be the ticket, but regardless, this one will never be sold. I told her that if she ever wanted, I would get her a New engine or Suspension or total Re-Do if she ever needed it...

E39 Rules!!

palantirion · 3rd February 2007, 07:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocean's M5

E39 Rules!!

-That pretty much sums it up for me too...although you might not want to post that on the E60 board.

Michael_s · 3rd February 2007, 13:17

Interesting write up. I understand what you are saying about the SMG. Maybe this car was not 100% right or the SMG needed to be reset or it needed the a software update (I went with the 6 speed). The new M5's dont have run flats so your comment is not accurate (I'm sure the sales guy told you they did since these guys never know about their products). One thing is for sure, my new M5 is much faster than my stock E39....

rodman31 · 3rd February 2007, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael_s

The new M5's dont have run flats so your comment is not accurate (I'm sure the sales guy told you they did since these guys never know about their products). One thing is for sure, my new M5 is much faster than my stock E39....

^ +1

Rodman

REDL1NE M5 · 3rd February 2007, 15:34

Nice writeup Ocean'sM5. I have also tested a e60 SMG and was not impressed, I'd still take a e39 over a e60 any day

wilsodh · 3rd February 2007, 16:08

Nice write up from a passion standpoint. Not to take away from the e60, but imho the e39 is a classic. If you want to keep her up to date, blow some money on a s/c, and you'll have a classic that can outrun most current offerings. That's a sweet place to be, lemme tell you.

Dave

Gustav · 3rd February 2007, 16:25

It can be summarized that the E60 is very different from the E39. E39 have torque all over but the E60 V-10 has to be revved to 8300 to relly let the power out, like a Ferrari or a M car with a 6-cylinder engine. The &0 is more advanced and mroe extreme, and the E39 is the opposite: it is easier to liek the E39 for more people than the more niched M5 E60. The M5 E60 pure sports.

eljockvis · 3rd February 2007, 16:49

theres no way an e39 m5 can take on an e60 in terms of straight line speed,the figures show that ( 275 bhp/ton v 236 bhp/ton ) the numerous drag race videos we have seen show it also.

personaly i prefer the e39 m5 because it is now cheap to buy these days and it has a nice and simple manual gearbox with a wonderfull v8 engine that is also fitted into the classic bmw z8 and Ascari kz1 supercar.

if i were able to spend £60.000 on a car i would keep the e39 m5 and spend my money on a 2003 porsche 996 911 gt3rs/gt2 which is a real sports car and will not depreciate like a bmw m5,i would be kind of gutted if im driving along in my e60 m5 and a 911 gt3 rs/gt2 comes along side me,i would be thinking dam !,i could have had one of those!.

mottati · 3rd February 2007, 17:50

i've driven the e60 in both smg and 6 speed variants. First off, like others said, it does not have runflats. To me it feels larger than the e39, but i would venture to say it 'inspires more confidence' in the corners than a stock e39. Part of that, imho, is the newness. fwiw, lately, i've been thinking that my car is just starting to feel 'old', and that maybe due to the past drives in new e60s. Tighter body structure etc. Track use takes it toll, and lateley, it feels like after every track weekend, the car just feels a little looser than before. (i think that's one of the reasons i've not been on the track much lately).

As for performance, the e60, in p500 mode, is a damn fast car. You can't just put around town on part throttle and say 'eh, no faster than my e39' because in the low rev 'street mode' it doesnt have the torque we're used to. Take it on your favorite freeway onramp, put your foot down and revel in 8000 rpm my e39 brothers. You will be converted, feel, sound etc, the car is awesome. Now, compared to my heavily modded (and i should say paid for!) e39, i can't justify 85-90k for a new car, with a little more performance, especially as i've had the itch for something older to tinker with, but if i was in the market, i'd be picking one up. (i should say i will, eventually, just not yet.)

dave_gt · 3rd February 2007, 18:44

As others have said, the V-10 needs revs to get the best out of it but then it really, really flies. This video was posted on the E 60 forum. There is a very good shot of the speedo (M6) going from 40mph upwards (peak speed is 196mph). http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...09152845&hl=en

From a healthy E39 M5 owners point of view at first from 40-70 the M6 seems a little bit quicker, but not that much. Then it goes nuts and accelerates like someone lit an afterburner. With plenty of revs and speeds of 60+ the new M5/M6 is a lot faster than a stock E39 in a straight line. The power delivery of the engine is just very different and both the V-8 and the V-10 have their merits. I've never driven a new M5/M6 but I expect that while the low-mid range thump of the E39 might be missing, the upper end of the rev band should be intoxicating and more exciting than the not exactly wimpish last 2000rpm of the E39.