Notes

BMW M5 E39 Versus BMW M5 E60
What looks like a four door sedan, but drives just like a sports car? Well... the initial car that comes to mind is the BMW M5. The M5 has always been a favorite of mine because it's a fantastic mixture of luxury and solid performance. This vehicle can transport you and three of one's friends comfortably from point A to point B. However, the wonder of the M5 is you could always choose to throw comfort out the window and present your friends a scare of a lifetime!

In a nutshell, the M5 is probably the most practical cars ever made, if not probably the most. It has four doors, all the creature comforts of a BMW, seating for five, a huge engine and handles like a dream. Inside our video review, we drive two of the more recent generations, the 2003 E39 M5 and the 2010 E60 M5. Both have become fast cars, but the way they carry themselves is very different.

About the M5

The 2003 E39 M5 is the last year BMW built that generation of the M5 and is the better year for that model. Earlier E39 models had problems with the Vanos timing systems (which were expensive to repair), issues with carbon buildup and a couple of other minor things. However, in 2003 all of the wrinkles have been ironed out and the car was near perfection.

The E39 M5 has a 4.9 liter V8 that produces approximately 400 hp at 6,600 rpm and 369 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 rpm and redlines at 7,000 rpm. Despite a curb weight of 4,000 lbs, the E39 M5 can hit 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds in accordance with official performance specs, however, many have claimed they might consistently hit 0-60 mph times of 4.5 seconds. Additionally, the car is very sensible and handles wonderful and provides the driver good feedback. I used to take mine out to the mountains and I had not been afraid to push it on the curvy mountain roads following a group of M3s, which is no easy feat.

The 2010 E60 M5 is also the last year BMW built that generation of the M5 and is likely the best year. Earlier E60 models had issues with the iDrive system and the 7-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) III, but following a series of upgrades, these issues seem to have gone away.

The E60 M5 has a 5.0 liter V10 that produces approximately 500 hp at 7,750 rpm and 383 lb-ft of torque at 6,100 rpm and redlines at 8,250 rpm. Although the E60 M5 also offers a curb weight of approximately 4,000 lbs, the massive power upgrade propels it from 0-60 mph in only 4.8 seconds. What's interesting about the two is that, up until 60 mph, both M5s are nearly neck and neck. However, the E60 M5 starts to pull away quickly after the 60 mph mark, also it keeps going and going. What's more interesting is that the E39 M5 feels faster because the car's peak torque is achieved at a much lower rpm (3,800 rpm versus 6,100 rpm for the E60 M5) and hits the driver instantly, whereas with the E60 the driver must be a little more patient.

Uniqueness of the M5

Both these M5s are very rare, to be specific, only 20,482 E39 M5s were built from 1999-2003 compared to total BMW worldwide production during the same amount of 3,544,234. That means that the M5 represented only ~0.6% of total production during the same time frame. However, despite each of the unnecessary criticism from hardcore enthusiasts, the E60 M5 was the most successful M5 yet with 20,548 units sold from 2006-2010. However, total BMW worldwide production during the same four-year period increased to 5,957,170 lowering M5 production as a share of total production to ~0.3%. So technically, bmw e60 is rarer than the E39.

Interior & Technology

When I look at cars I would like to buy, I put a much greater weight on performance and a very small weight on the interior, but nonetheless an attractive and comfortable interior does matter. Having said that, I like both interiors but my preference would go to the newer E60 styling and technology.

The E39 interior is comfortable enough, but less ergonomic in accordance with the E60 and, as you'll imagine, has much less going on in the technology department. The seats are comfortable but the leather is not as soft as the E60's. However, the entire appearance of the E39 interior is of interest and I personally just like the more sophisticated look of the brushed aluminum trim rather than wood trim. It just enables you to feel younger.

The E60 interior is more ergonomic as everything is positioned to conform easier to your body. For example, the entranceway hand rest includes a downward sloping angle towards leading of the automobile and is more comfortable relative to the flat hand rest in the E39. BMW took this concept and applied it the other interior features making the driving experience all that much better with regards to comfort when compared to the prior generation (E39).

Both cars have navigation, heated seats, dual zone climate control, interior active charcoal air filters, a premium sound system, rain sensors, driver seat/wheel/mirror position memorization and lots of the other standard creature comforts that you normally get in a BMW. However, the E60 has a far more advanced interface which is called the iDrive system. It includes a much better navigation system and multimedia management system which can store mp3s, play CDs and easily play music on a connected music player. I am also a big fan of the Bluetooth connectivity, which didn't come in the E39 model.

Another impressive E60 feature may be the customization ability of the performance settings. For instance, you can program the car's horsepower to increase to 500 hp from the default 400 hp and have the suspension go to the stiffest setting from comfort once you press the "M" button on the steering wheel. The beauty is that you could adjust these settings to fit your driving style. Additionally, I'm a big fan of the heads up display for speed and rpm that pops up once the "M" button is engaged.

Performance

After I had the chance to drive both cars, I noticed that the E39 was more of a "brute force" kind of car whereas the E60 felt similar to a "gentleman's car." The clutch pedal in the E39 was a whole lot tougher to press, the steering felt more "responsive" and the throttle response was instant because the torque hits you a lot quicker as a result of E39's low rpm max torque peak (at 3,800 rpm) compared to the E60 (6,100 rpm). Actually, initially I was actually misled by thinking the E39 was in the same way fast as the E60. However, even though everything (clutch, seats, steering, etc.) in the E60 feels more comfortable, when put head-to-head with the E39, the "gentleman" actually spanks "brute force" after 60 mph and I believe a good driver may also spank the E39 from 0-60 mph.

With regard to top speed, both of the cars have an electric limiter at 155 mph, however when removed the E39 can perform 186 mph while the V10 E60 can hit a max of an impressive 204 mph. I think top speeds are very impressive given that we have been talking about four-door family sedans here, not just a Ferrari. What's also impressive is how fast these cars keep accelerating past 100 mph, it just keeps going and going and going. It makes you want to continue to observe how high it can go.

Conclusion

Initially, I liked the E39 M5 much better than the E60 M5, but after two days of driving, my preference for brute performance was abolished by the more comfortable yet solid performance of the E60 M5. Anyways, enough reading.
Website: https://mlfree.com/en/