[dave]

I love reading all the comments that are critical of the new E60M5. The mere fact that this is THE E60 M5 board tells me that the critics frequent this site regularly! I didn't like the car at first, and if there were something else out there for me, I would have bought it! Now, with all the BMW announcements, order sheets, and price lists coming out, I'd say that the car is going to be delivered in the DEC/JAN time frame (like the first E39 M5's) and I can't wait!!!!!!!

I bet most of you (including the critics) will all buy the new M5. :7:

 

[Gustav]

Yes I like it alot but I miss manual gearbox :nono:

This is sooo nice lovelove M-exclusive HUD. Anyone know how the HUD looks on an BMW F1?

 

[keithw]

Gustav,

I, like a lot of people who post here think there will be a manual gear box option. For me that is not my big problem. I would opt for SMG in any case, especially after reading the tech write up.

My problem is with the styling of the E60 M5. I may change my mind when I see it in person. I own a 2000 M5 DINAN S2 which performs better than the E60 in HP and TQ till you hit 6000RPM. This car I will never sell.

I am #2 on my dealers list and hope I really like the new M5 but, I'll wait and see, may go with M6 instead.

Keith

 

[BeastPower]

Yes I like it alot but I miss manual gearbox :nono:

This is sooo nice lovelove M-exclusive HUD. Anyone know how the HUD looks on an BMW F1?

HUD is a nice "toy", but may be distracting to the driver. HUD has been available on many cars for over 5 years now. I also cannot understand why there isn't a manual option.

The e60 M5 will be a great car, but as the new 7-series shows, not all great cars are well accepted in the market.

Cheers.

 

[M6 Forever]

Gustav,


I am #2 on my dealers list and hope I really like the new M5 but, I'll wait and see, may go with M6 instead.

Keith

That's what I'm doing; M6. I think the styling of the M6 will be slightly better than the M5, (comparing 645Ci with 5 series) and I don't need a family sedan, which is also another reason. But if I have kids, I'll be on the M5 list no doubt. (BTW, I just read yesterday the very very new Benz CLS 55 AMG. I'm amazed how fast Benz throws out a competition).

 

[bernhtp]

I own a 2000 M5 DINAN S2 which performs better than the E60 in HP and TQ till you hit 6000RPM. This car I will never sell.

You should have upgraded to the 2001+ before upgrading to the S2. I think the differences after 2000 were significant.

The 535D will have far better torque than the S2 through about 4000RPM and the E55 through its entire RPM range, but none of them have the technology and the promised performance of the E60 M5.

I also love the look and am salivating at #1 on my dealer list for it to come. I'm also on the M6 list, but think I will likely pass for the next M3 as there are really too many features about the M6 I dislike.

Tom

 

[rvacha]

I love reading all the comments that are critical of the new E60M5. The mere fact that this is THE E60 M5 board tells me that the critics frequent this site regularly! I didn't like the car at first, and if there were something else out there for me, I would have bought it! Now, with all the BMW announcements, order sheets, and price lists coming out, I'd say that the car is going to be delivered in the DEC/JAN time frame (like the first E39 M5's) and I can't wait!!!!!!!

I bet most of you (including the critics) will all buy the new M5. :7:

I've been critical, and yes, I've frequented this board, but I am NOT chomping at the bit. Rather, I am here hoping that I will somehow get excited enough about the E60 M5 to justify purchasing one. I remember daily there there IS something else out there, and I DID buy it - its called the E39 M5. This car is so awesome, so perfect for me that I knew from the start that the only way I could conceive replacing it was with the E60 M5. I envisioned that the E60 edition would be even more awesome. Unfortunately I am underwhelmed, and it saddens me. This is not to say that the E60 isn't a great car performance-wise - it most certainly is. The E60 improves upon the E39 only at the limits - in the 9/10th - an area I cannot legally go 9/10ths of the time anyway. For me, there are enough negatives that "upgrading" to the E60 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade at all. The option sheets have actually not encouraged me at all. Interior options (i.e sport and luxury) are non-existent, interior and exterior colors are uneventful or soooo yesterday. HUD is cool and I would most certainly order it, but what else is new? I am disappointed that the E60 will show up as an MY05 or MY06 here in the States lacking yesterday's technology - integrated MP3 support. I am truly concerned about the E60's 19' wheels and whether they will actually survive the roads I must drive on. 18" wheels are going to be tight at best; I am not convinced the E60 can be a good 3 1/2 season daily driver.

Maybe I will change my mind someday - a part of me dearly hopes that day is soon

Ray

 

[Ashok Arora]

CHOMP CHOMP :flag: lovelove

 

[cohenfive]

whether i like the car or not an e60 m5 is not in the cards for me--it's just going to be too expensive for me to consider trading up. it will be interesting to see whether the market will sustain the sharply higher price after the froth of 'early adoptors' gets through bidding up the car for a while. i think a lot will depend on how many bmw tries to sell. it does seem like the e55 is holding up at sticker even more than a year after it's launch. my best hope is to find a great used one for a good price in a couple of years--that's IF i like it.

i too question (in theory) how much better the e60 will perform in day to day driving...honestly i'm pretty happy with the way my e39 drives and i would have major internal hurdles (what do you need 500hp for anyway?) to upgrade.

 

[MEnthusiast]

Chomping to agree with Ray

I agree with his thoughts. This is purely subjective, but I just cannot get over the E60 styling, inside or out. I also don't like idrive, and while SMG yields more performance, it's just not as much fun to drive on back roads. I've been told there will be a manual option, I don't doubt the people telling me this, but it just seems BMW is very gung-ho on SMG, and while I like it, I don't love it.

Overall, I am chomping for the V10, but little else. EDC, P400/P500, etc- thats all very nice, but I consider especially the EDC to be gimmicky.

I am waiting on the M6 as I find the E62/3 more appealing inside and out. However, I'm not completely sold and this may be the first time in over a decade BMW loses my business. If I jump ship it will either be to nothing at all or to a DB9. Too bad BMW let real design talent leave.

 

[markf]

i was a strong...'don't like the 5 series therfore the m5 will not be nice'..i changed the deposit to an m6.
Looking at it now,it has grown on me and looks much better with the aggressive styling (mind you that gold one on here would put anyone off).
I have to say the technical spec has me chomping at the bit,the looks I would accept and in the right colour possibly grow to like but what a dissapontment the interior is,it just looks sparse.
However the kids might not fit in the back of the 6 so i might get one after all.Still undecided.

 

[MEnthusiast]

The 6 interior feels about as spacious as the M3- so in general, if the kids are a tight fit in the M3 they will be in the 6.

 

[rsteele]

For me, the E60 interior is uninspiring. I would order it in black so that its ordinary and sometimes harsh features would fade into the shadows. But I have actually warmed to the exterior. I think that in general the E60 series looks much better in motion than it does in the parking lot, and subtle styling differences in the M5 make it look attractive to me even when parked. I'm actually puzzled by the vehemence of some negative reactions to E60 body styling. Look on the road around you. If fact, look in your own garage. If you own an SUV, you already own an uglier car.

Two lingering concerns may cause me to buy elsewhere:

1) Low and mid rpm range performance: My concern is that in the p500 mode I will have a car that is less satisfactory than my E39 M5 as a daily driver, but even more likely than the E39 M5 to promote roadside conversations with the police. I've already had too many of those. I have no doubt that I could enjoy a car like the E55 at lower engine and car speeds. The p400 mode may eliminate this concern. If the 400 hp mode represents an engine remapping for better low and mid range torque and a suppression of the high rpm torque peak (and I'd like to see the p400 torque and hp curves), then the M5 could be a very pleasant everyday car in that mode. I await published test results and more info on the p400 mode.

2) Price: I can justify the price of an E55, just barely. If the M5 is priced above that with the options I would want like leather, the seats of my choice, a good radio, the navigation unit, and HUD, I am likely to experience the cold splash of common sense on my face.

Richard

 

[BeastPower]

You should have upgraded to the 2001+ before upgrading to the S2. I think the differences after 2000 were significant.

Tom

Not significant really, just a few things here and there that can easily be upgraded for a couple of grand.

Cheers.

 

[keithw]

I had a 2003 M5 I recently sold. Only thing I really miss on it is the angel eyes.

Certainly no improvment in performance I could tell.

Keith

 

[MEnthusiast]

Richard,
I think the M5 will be priced either very close to or just below the AMG. Its marketing.

I also don't agree that the appeal of styling is necessarily a relative thing. After all, I don't consider the previous generation BMWs fantastically styled, but they made sense and therefore were well designed. The styling was not fashion for fashion's sake. In the end, its subjective- so I respect your thoughts and you have to respect those who dislike it.

 

[rsteele]

...I also don't agree that the appeal of styling is necessarily a relative thing. After all, I don't consider the previous generation BMWs fantastically styled, but they made sense and therefore were well designed. The styling was not fashion for fashion's sake. In the end, its subjective- so I respect your thoughts and you have to respect those who dislike it.

Jerry,

It is so easy for written words to be misunderstood. I hope that you haven't misunderstand mine.

Everyone is certainly entitled to an aesthetic opinion or to an opinion of what makes functional sense, and here is mine. The vast majority of "functional" vehicles on the American road today (trucks, SUV's, and vans) are aesthetically ugly. There are a mere handful of cars that I call aesthetically beautiful (AM DB9, MB SL, etc), but they are functionally quite limited. That leaves the vast array of coupes and sedans from the PT Cruiser and VW Beetle to the Ford Crown Victoria. There's hardly a car among all of these without a styling element that isn't either generic and unimaginative, unusual, daring, or maybe even a little grotesque. For me, most of these vehicles fall within a standard deviation of each other and provoke little positive or negative aesthetic judgement. And for me, the new BMW line does not uniquely distinguish itself from this herd, favorably or unfavorably. Neither did the E39 series. If the distribution curve is much broader to another observer, I certainly understand that. Clearly for many traditional BMW fans, the Bangle designs lie well away from the center of the bell distribution curve in the wrong direction, but record sales suggest that there may be new fans to replace the drop-outs. It isn't at all a question of respect.

Richard