RE: BMW M5: Market Watch

[turbobungle]

I love them all, though I've only driven E28 and E39, but it has to be either E28 or E34 for me, though I lean towards the E28, possibly as I am biased.... Here's mine (as Sutts said, any excuse!) which was featured in Evo magazine a few years back and given 5 Stars by Henry Catchpole.















Sorry, got a bit pic happy there!

And here's a video so you can here what a great noise it makes, too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vp1Z9-XEzI

[theboss]

TrickyTrevM5 said:

Happily, I've been lucky enough to try them all.... except the e28...

Final 50 edition of the e34 was the car I wanted when I was younger - Orinoco green please....Nurburgring pack etc...
However, I bought an e39 m5 - loved it. Silverstone blue - unique to the e39 m5 - the color had only been used before on the old batmobile. Really was well made and fast.. needed a lot of work to keep it in fine fettle.

Didn't buy an e60. Bought an e46 m3 (by far the best balanced and pure car I have owned) then an e55k AMG instead. V8 plus torque. Will scratch the e60 itch at some point I'm sure.

I currently own an f10 m5. Not really interested in what Tyre kickers and magazine readers think. For me, it's emense. It's ballistically fast, supremely comfortable, and an absolute hoot to drive. People who haven't driven it will mock it because of what they have read in the press - the noise of the motor, the fact that it has two turbos etc... which of course it does......but I challenge anyone not to enjoy driving the car in 'sport plus' or 'M2 mode' on a challenging bit of road. The people who are very vocal about its flaws go quiet when they press the pedal to the carpet for the first time.

In the end, whatever your flavor, the M5 is the Italian ice cream shop on a hot day. It has something for everyone and brings a smile to everyone's face - whatever your flavor. V10, straight six, v8, turbos etc.... Rightly lauded by those in the know - ever time a new version is released, it is referred to as a benchmark car.

A fabulous thing. It really is.

Nice to read your appraisal of the F10 in the context of the older cars - I haven't been lucky enough to drive its predecessors but having clocked up 50k in the F10 I bought nearly two years ago - I still enjoy it immensely every time I get it in, and struggle to find any flaw. Its simply brilliant as an every day car that does everything extremely well. I certainly haven't found it to be 'unusable' during any season either - its sat on my drive shod with winters, caked in dirt and waiting for a few more 300 mile round trips this week.

Edited by theboss on Monday 30th January 11:37

[aeropilot]

Where it currently sits in the middle of the pack on the cross-over between old-tech and new-tech, the E39 is probably the pick of the bunch at this point in time.

However, the one I'd want without a doubt would be the E28

[JD2329]

I loved both my E39s and would have another good one in a heartbeat. They're complicated machines, but still with enough of the right stuff - manual gearbox, no turbo, lots of torque, great looking inside and out.
Quite fast enough too. Finding one at sensible money is another matter.
Never liked E60s, their styling, interiors or the overblown tech. The F10 is more appealing, but very big, heavy and a bit unnecessary somehow.

[MDMA .]

turbobungle said:

I love them all, though I've only driven E28 and E39, but it has to be either E28 or E34 for me, though I lean towards the E28, possibly as I am biased.... Here's mine (as Sutts said, any excuse!) which was featured in Evo magazine a few years back and given 5 Stars by Henry Catchpole.

looks great.

[swisstoni]

I liked them when they were quite discreet and could pass as ordinary to most of the public. Being based on quite handsome saloons helped too.

[jameswsb]

I think the two stand out models for me are the E34 and E39. I absolutely adore my E39 M5, its a car i go for a drive in often without any purpose. Its almost a cliche but they really are amazing cars. Could have bought and E60 with my budget but the crappy interior ergonomics and SMG killed it stone dead for me along with the bottom end wear issues. Awesome engines though. The F10 just does not grab me, although I havnt driven one but i just cant get over how bloody massive they are!

[Schermerhorn]

For thrills I think the E39 is the best, very playful chassis and a great soundtrack.

The E60 was too clinical but boy could it shift.

The F10 was a mixture of the two but perhaps a little too refined.

The older models are a bit before my time I'm afraid but I'm sure they are a lovely pedal.

[Iamnotkloot]

I think the stats are a little out for the e39; evo tested one in 4.9 to 60.

Otherwise an interesting guide and, though I own an e39, I've always hankered after the e34 - just seems more exotic somehow.

[JohnGoodridge]

MrTouring said:

ortontom said:

E60 some say are you kidding, that engine has very little torque low down barely gets the car off the line, and then that gearbox yuk. I remember owning one for 3 months and my friends all drove it and we all agreed it was not right at all

Sometime if I'm starting on an incline my wife has to get out and push....

Seriously though you should have kept it longer! E60/61 is not a car you can just get in and drive. Took me 6mnths to a year to really learn how to drive it smoothly and properly, something I consider to be part of the charm of owning something special. I don't bother letting people drive it one off as it invariably disappoints them as they can't drive it well.

It's a car that gets under your skin and makes itself irreplaceable.

I had a remapped 535d before and I wouldn't say I miss it or it's huge amount of torque!

Oh, and did I mention the noise........

Interesting. I'm sitting with an e61 535d Touring, which I really like because it's just so competent, but can't yet say I love. The e61 M5 (with a couple of Hayward and Scott backboxes) just looks, and sounds like a car I would never get bored with or lose affection for, as long as I had the appropriate Mondial warranty and/or cash reserves. I even like the idea of the long 'learning' curve, because it's really something to enjoy when you're not extending the chassis and that fabulous S85.

We're just never going to see an engine like that again in anything other than a supercar. Saving pennies as we speak.

[NicoG]

ortontom said:

E60 some say are you kidding, that engine has very little torque low down barely gets the car off the line, and then that gearbox yuk. I remember owning one for 3 months and my friends all drove it and we all agreed it was not right at all.

E 39 m5 top and the f10 follows the others are just not quite powerful enough. IMO.

How many times do you need to get off the line when demolishing a continent...?

It's horses for courses, some characteristics of a car really don't fit well with some owners, whereas for others, they don't even figure as a negative....

[3795mpower]

Two more important useful facts regarding the E34.

1) some of the vehicles like my own were found to be signed by the folks that built them.

2) "The Hoff"* clearly worked on the production line installing the mighty S38

• probably.

[sutts]

Lovely car turbobungle, and I enjoyed your YT video. Presuming you live somewhere near where the recording started, then we live about 15 mins apart. Let me know if you ever want to meet up for a coffee and an E28 M5 convoy drive out?!

[Harry Flashman]

So I want a fast family estate. It will need to be OK with short runs in London without blowing up.

E60 M5 vs C63/E63 AMG.

I just think the BMW would be hard work, unpleasant in a town environment, and more liable to blow up expensively (the Merc has lower stressed engine and gearboxes).

I want the BMW as I think it embodies the final bonkersness of the pre-turbo era (as does the AMG Merc). But I suspect the C63 will be less heartbreak, if less of a future classic.

[MrTouring]

JohnGoodridge said:

MrTouring said:

ortontom said:

E60 some say are you kidding, that engine has very little torque low down barely gets the car off the line, and then that gearbox yuk. I remember owning one for 3 months and my friends all drove it and we all agreed it was not right at all

Sometime if I'm starting on an incline my wife has to get out and push....

Seriously though you should have kept it longer! E60/61 is not a car you can just get in and drive. Took me 6mnths to a year to really learn how to drive it smoothly and properly, something I consider to be part of the charm of owning something special. I don't bother letting people drive it one off as it invariably disappoints them as they can't drive it well.

It's a car that gets under your skin and makes itself irreplaceable.

I had a remapped 535d before and I wouldn't say I miss it or it's huge amount of torque!

Oh, and did I mention the noise........

Interesting. I'm sitting with an e61 535d Touring, which I really like because it's just so competent, but can't yet say I love. The e61 M5 (with a couple of Hayward and Scott backboxes) just looks, and sounds like a car I would never get bored with or lose affection for, as long as I had the appropriate Mondial warranty and/or cash reserves. I even like the idea of the long 'learning' curve, because it's really something to enjoy when you're not extending the chassis and that fabulous S85.

We're just never going to see an engine like that again in anything other than a supercar. Saving pennies as we speak.

You'll be amazed at how much lighter and direct the M feels - the steering was easily the biggest surprise for me. So much more enjoyable to chuck into a corner.

Unless your 35d is fully loaded you'll have a fair few more toys on an e61 M as bmw UK loaded them up pretty much on entry. Only about 4 options left for owners to tick.

Then theirs that noise again........

Be ready for 11mpg around town and 23 max on a long run. Seriously.

[neil-935ql]

turbobungle said:

I love them all, though I've only driven E28 and E39, but it has to be either E28 or E34 for me, though I lean towards the E28, possibly as I am biased.... Here's mine (as Sutts said, any excuse!) which was featured in Evo magazine a few years back and given 5 Stars by Henry Catchpole.















Sorry, got a bit pic happy there!

And here's a video so you can here what a great noise it makes, too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vp1Z9-XEzI

Loving your car looks amazing

[ds666]

I've had an e34 , 3.8l 6 spd , e39 then a flirt with an m3 e46 , then e60 then after a 535d another e60 , then another e39 and currently have an f10 .
My ideal m5 would probably be an e39 with an f10 engine and a manual box .

That said overall I think the e39 is such a star - a 5l that revs to 7200rpm with good low down torque but worth reving out on occasions . But rust ... i can't cope with rust; the thought that the next time I wash a car a rust bubble appears isn't for me . And if your e39 isn't rusting already I fear it will soon .

I'll stick with the f10

[rotta]

that red e28 is beautiful!!

for me though.. has to be the 3.8 E34.. but then i am biased..



















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfo3iIRpzc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NgG-hkp9TM

Pride and Joy it will never leave me!!

Rotta

Edited by rotta on Monday 30th January 21:33

Edited by rotta on Monday 30th January 21:56

[HuggyBearFezzy]

Each generation has done and still does the supercar in a saloon body job superbly. They are fantastic at crossing continents 4/5 up aswell as being the hooligan and sticking that tail out when nobody is looking.

The first BMW I recall seeing was an E34 and the first M5 was the E39...cliché I know but I knew I had to have an E39 M5. The M5 above is mine.

[HuggyBearFezzy]

A few more photographs