One of the key things we dislike about the auto business here at AutoSpies are the folks who review them. Not only are a good chunk "in the bag," a lot of them also don't own a vehicle. Even better, they have never owned a luxury vehicle.
Having some skin in the game changes one's perspective, significantly.
So when we see a forum user who HAS owned two generations of BMW M5 — an E60 and an F10 — AND has reviewed both, it's clearly a MUCH more informed perspective than someone trying to stay in the press trip circle.
While I have only selected the WORST things about the E60 and the BEST things about the F10, the owner gives the BEST and WORST for both vehicles.
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Worst things about the E60 M5:
1. S85 V10 engine! (reliability!!!)
2. Reliability of everything else on the car! (It once cost me $1,000 to replace the side view mirror because the motor on it broke! Overall I spent over $40,000 in maintenance and repairs on my old E60, including a brand new engine, and 4 clutches!)
3. Fuel consumption (I once got 6mpg on my E60!)
4. SMG Transmission (reliability!!!)
5. Oil consumption of the S85 V10 (The 10W-60 is expensive, plus it is only really available either at the dealership or online.)
6. Difficulty in getting more horsepower with mods (Unless you get a supercharger your going to spend well over $10 grand in bolt-ons just to make an extra 100hp.)
Best things about the F10 M5:
1. The S63tu V8 engine!!! (Until recently I was almost about to trade my F10 M5 back in for another E60 M5, because to me the most important thing I love about driving a fast BMW is the exhaust note. The stock exhaust sounds good and I put an RPi GT exhaust with no resonators on as soon as I got the car back from Euro Delivery. But, it still did not make me fall in love with the S63tu powerplant, the exhaust note was way too quiet for me. Both of those exhausts did not make me feel like I was driving a race car, like the feeling I always had with the E60 M5. That is until I recently got the NEW RPi GTM exhaust, that includes a FULL 100% muffler delete and is now straight piped from the downpipes to the exhaust tips! The F10 M5 has now transformed from a subtle gentlemens race car, to a full blown ROARING MONSTER!!! The cracks from the exhaust are like EXTREMELY LOUD thunderclaps or bullwhip cracks! It's INSANE! The ROAR OF THE F10 V8 IS ON PAR WITH THE E60 V10 SCREAM!!!! And I haven't even de-catted the downpipes yet!)
2. The Torque!!! (It's a sheer wall, like getting slammed by a tidal wave)
3. The horsepower! (The S63tu is WAY underrated!)
4. Engine Response! (What the hell is this turbo lag all of you non-F10 M5 owners keep talking about?! In Sport+ mode there is NO freaking lag! EVER! What do we have to do to beat this in your non-F10 M5 owners heads?!)
5. Handling! (The chassis and suspension are LIGHT YEARS ahead of the E60 M5. The F10 M5 can turn on a dime despite it's weight, the E60 can't!)
6. Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires! (AMAZING TIRES!!! They contribute largely to the success of the handling of the such a heavy car. Also the tread life is AMAZING!! I've got almost 8,000 miles on the PSS's already and they are not even half-way worn down yet, and I drove with these same tires on the Nurburgring and do mountain drives almost every other weekend! The tires will probably last another 8 to 10 thousand miles!)
7. Bang & Olufsen Sound System (Hands down one of the best sound systems in a car I have heard in my life. It makes the driving experience that much more special when you are jamming to your favorite tunes!)
8. The technology! (The heads up display is AWESOME! And the new iDrive is SO slick and fast. The Navigatoin system has some very useful awesome features, like real time traffic updates, and I've never had problems with false navigation.)
9. The range! (I'm easily getting over 400 miles on a full tank. I once saw 465 miles on the range computer!)
10. Tunability of the engine (With charcoal filter removal, exhaust, downpipes and tune, one could theoretically easily make over 700hp to the crank).
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