Looking to swap out my DD and looking for something with space and huge grin factor. Have always liked the Ms and thinking about the E60 2006-2008. Read several reviews that say in auto mode it can be quite jerky and the spouses may not dig it. My wife drives the Honda Pilot mostly but will be using this from time to time.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

Thanks for the feedback-

 

I want this car too lol my problem is finding one that is not a SMG lol

I have driven m3 with a smg and it felt fine but 2 diff cars with huge power differences ..

 

My wife drove mine a few times. She doesn't like the smg and would rather not drive it if she doesn't have to.

 

Well, the SMG's are definitely not your typical automatic gearbox. In my driving experience (e46 m3, e92 m3, e60 m5), I found the gearbox to be somewhat 'aggressive' but not overwhelming in normal settings. This is very subjective to the person driving the car.

 

Thanks guys- this is what I read elsewhere. Maybe I go for the 535 instead then chip it.

 

The SMG is awful. I drove the M6 and M5 and the SMG does not shif smoothly. It is worse when left in automatic, the shifts ate very sluggish. My wife hated the M's, but loves the Porsche.

 

the learning curve to drive a SMG smoothly is actually tougher than a manual.

 

When I first got the car I found low speed shifts in every mode to be sluggish and jerky but now I'm used to it. However this is no autobox, it will never be as smooth as a torque converter. At high rpm say past 5000rpm I find the car shifts very smooth so when you push it you jerkiness is non existent. It's only at low speeds that it gets annoying but the car makes up for it with the pleasure you get when you push these cars to their limits

 

You can make the car shift very smooth once you know how to drive it, but with that said, if your wife doesn't know how to drive a 6 speed and is used to torque converted auto's, she will hate it.

People think you can just press the gas and go like a regular auto, driving like that makes for a miserable driving experience. I pretty much only drive manual cars but needed a work car so my M5 is SMG, I love it because I can have my fun with a smooth ride with customers and then rip on it on the weekends. I drove a few of them in 6 speeds and it felt awkward with having such a large car and 3 pedals.

 

Agreed - when I was shopping for an M5 it took a trip to three different dealers before I found a service manager who owned one. I was very disappointed on test drives and was rethinking my desire to buy one until I met him. He told me it would take about 1500 miles for me to get used to it. Sure enough that's what happened. I loved the car but it still was a little jerky around town with the SMG being much better on the freeway.

The sound of that V-10 and the throttle matching downshifts were great along with the POWER. Turn off the traction control and it would slide all over. After you programed the 'M' it was a beast and I loved the adaptive seats and HUD. What I did not like was the small gas tank and fuel warning light coming on after 180 miles :-O.

 

+ 1 Unlike the E46 M3 I think the E60 M5 should only be in SMG, for some reason a stick doesn't feel right for that engine and car. I was actually surprised to find out they even offered it a while back, it's still rare though.

 

My better half asked what was wrong with the car. Did not care for it at all.

 

the smg acts like its a new driver. first gear is pretty bad. well thats me comparing it with my dct.

 

It's paddle shifting, not rocket science. So many posts on M5Board about how to shift 'more smoothly'. Foot on gas, flick paddle with hand, repeat. I don't understand why people make such a big deal about this.

As for a DD, it is certainly one of the best I've ever had. With the one big exception: fuel consumption. If your commute is any more than 5-10 miles a day, you'll be at the pump once or twice a week, maybe more depending on distance and how aggressively you drive.

 

Test drove an 08 today and can see how the spouse would be off the car. I passed as well. A bit too much for my traffic filled drives, but boy could that beast sing! The dealer had a tricked 06 as his personal car with huge exhaust- wow his car rocked!