E90 M3 or E60 M5

[JRBM5]

Am planning to upgrade from my E46 M3 to either an E90 M3 or an E60 M5 as i would like something i little more modern with 4 doors.

Question is, which would you go for? I have £25k - £30k to spend.

My head is telling me M3 but i can't get this annoying voice out of my head that keeps mentioning 507bhp!!

[TheForceV4]

If your username is anything to go by, I think the decision has already been made

[JRBM5]

Good spot...although that is linked to the E34 I also owned for the last 8 years (aka the Garage Queen). The new car would be a daily driver.

[BlackPorker]

JRBM5 said:

Good spot...although that is linked to the E34 I also owned for the last 8 years (aka the Garage Queen). The new car would be a daily driver.

If you had an E60 M5 as a daily driver you'd be paying a visit to the petrol station a lot.

[JRBM5]

Fuel consumption is more or less irrelevant although a poor range would annoy me over time. I am more interested in how different the 2 cars are to drive and whether there are issues to look out for.

The question of age does come into the equation as i doubt i will find either vehicle with a manufacturers warranty and want to avoid open wallet surgery!!

[ady702]

Afew M5s for sale still with warranties. I would go M5 V10 since it is the last V10 engine and the sound is makes wins everytime for over the V8 M3. Also less around too, but M3 is easier to live with day to day, fuel wise too.

[ArmaghMan]

ArmaghMan said:

Like the OP I will be taking a punt at one or other in the not too distant future to replace the E39 (my second one). Would be fascinated to hear from anyone who has run both.

[RossP]

I had the same dilemma recently. In fact I was all set on getting an M5 (as was the missus!), then I went a bought an E92 M3 as it looked nicer...

I am sure whichever you go for will be great!

[zip929]

RossP said:

I had the same dilemma recently. In fact I was all set on getting an M5 (as was the missus!), then I went a bought an E92 M3 as it looked nicer...

I am sure whichever you go for will be great!

Agreed. They are both fantastic cars, and one should feel privileged being able to drive one.

[gaz1234]

if its straight line speed the m5. anything else the m3

[Chris honeywell]

I have a E60 M5 (i px a E46 m3)
Seriously considered the E92 but went for the M5 in the end for the extra power
Also i preferred the M5 shape, but you can't really make a wrong choice both great cars
As for fuel consumption the m5 does 12 mph around town and on a good motorway run i can just about get 26 mpg

[Boogsie]

I own an E60 M5 and I'm driving an M3 convertible (E93?) for the week.

The sound with the roof down is amazing.
But in all other points the M5 is a better car. Could be the convertible option is skewing it, but the corners don't feel anything like in the M5. Also feels a lot slower in the straight line. Could also be the convertible weight...

The M3 has M-DCT, and I'm not convinced. There's still the occasional blip on a downshift, but there is pretty much no drama between gears. The shifts are instantaneous when the box is expecting your next input, and the auto is much better, but I think I still prefer the SMG. Actually feeling the gear change is not somehthing that I thought I'd miss, but I do.

[pjv997]

ady702 said:

. I would go M5 V10 since it is the last V10 engine and the sound is makes wins everytime for over the V8 M3. Also less around too, but M3 is easier to live with day to day, fuel wise too.

Definitely less E90 M3's than E60 M5's. M3 sounds pretty good and is not blighted by such poor range as the M5.

I ran the M3 for three years and sold about 6 months ago - absolutely brilliant car and only changed because I needed something bigger. Considered an E60 M5 when I bought the M3 but just couldn't get on with the gearbox - my M3 was a manual. But you will also get diehard fans of the M5 who will swear it is the best car you can buy.

If you are not bothered about gearbox and don't need the extra space offered by the M5, then it is going to be more about which car feels better to you - don't think you'll go far wrong with either.

[JRBM5]

As i thought, i am going to have to drive both cars back to back to make up my mind. Oh dear thats going to be a tough day!!!

Once the E46 is sold i will start going about lining up a dealership that has both.