ldangeli

All,

Looking for some input on everyone's feelings on the top 3 Sedans available.

MB E55
Audi RS 6
BMW M5

Have been interested in the top three, and have decided not to go with another coupe (Originally slated to pickup the M3). Would rather go with a sedan, as future family plans weigh heavily.

Feel free to comment good, bad, ugly, and stupid.

revstriker

What about the C55?

I know a lot of people have commented negatively on the M5's look, but I don't think it's that bad. Of course, being a Mercedes man, I like the E55 out of the 3 you listed.

Jon200

We all know what the E55 is capable of

RS6 - hvn't driven one and probably never will. All I know is this RS6 blew us away on the highway when we were sitting in a supra with 320 rwhp.

M5 - Hm, not the best looking car but defo not the worse either. As usual, it should be one hell of an engine from Bimmer. NA V10 is a big marketing thing and I hope the car delivers what Bimmer claimed

ldangeli

RS 6 is awesome, blows the doors of the E55, torque feel, when you have all 4 wheels pulling, man! What a feeling. And with the lack of service I have been getting from my local MB dealer lately, I am leaning more towards an Audi. :-(

Sam 325i

with audi reliability, i dont think buying a supercar such as the RS6 in its first production year would be such a good idea.

the m5 is probably going to be the best drivers car via the 6 spd manual and the fact that the ride quality will probably be sub par

that leaves the benz.
i had a dream i owned an e55 the other day, and it was beautiful.


buy the benz.

ldangeli

This isn't the first year production on the RS 6. It has been in production for a few years now, just not available here in the US. The 4.2 is the strongest engine Audi has ever made, and with the addition of the twin turbos, and its basic 5 valves per cylinder, only supercars such as ferrari follow its design. First year production or not, it looks like nothing else.

Jon200

What about the forthcoming 5L V10 twin turbo engine?

ldangeli

What about it?

Incendiary

Edmunds says RS4 is coming out in summer 2005. That'll be interesting...

What exactly are you looking for in these cars? If it were my decision, I'd probably get the E55. That's a slushie, though. M5 will have SMG only, AFAIK.

ldangeli

RS4 is too small. I am looking for performance, and agility, plus I like the AWD feature. M5, is the new ugly duckling and the E55's computer is too jumpy for my taste. I was very dissapointed in it when driven. It was nice, but it just didn't have that aggressive feel to it. Sure straight line, you're like WOW, but I was that way with the AUDI and the old M5.

Incendiary

I dunno then. If you've test driven all of them, then I guess you'd know. RS6 is pretty hot, and rare. Slushie-only, though. If you're looking for looks, then I'd go with the M5.

ldangeli

I haven't driven the new M5, as it isn't out yet, but my "brother" mike has an 02', and it's a great car to drive. A little vanilla for me though. The new one, to me looks horrendous. The Mb obviously is a classy look, with the wolf in sheeps clothing syndrome, but then again so is the RS 6. They are both very fast. I am not sure what you mean by Slushie?

What I do like about the Audi is that it is truly limited production. Not like the Benz's anymore. They make too many. I am just torn between the two..

Incendiary

Haha, oh yeah, forgot that the M5 isn't out yet...

E55 and RS6 have automatic transmissions (slushie), while M5 has SMG. E55 and M5 are RWD, while RS6 is AWD. M5 and RS6 will be/are much rarer than E55, with RS6 probably being slightly more rare than M5.

All of this adds up to getting the M5, regardless of its looks. :p

So you've test driven both the E55 and RS6?

ldangeli

Actually the RS 6 is the rarest, 786 imported into the US. Slushie? RS 6 is the same as the M5, paddle shifting.

Yes, I have driven both. I am in the North East, and have purchased a few cars from both dealers where I test drove both.

The RS 6 I am pretty sure, is going to be it, AWD and all.

moa4r

also, resale might be lower for the audi, if thats a concern...hth

Incendiary

Sorry, don't follow Audi very closely. Is it DSG? SMG-like? Is it a true clutchless manual? Or is it just like tiptronic but with paddles?

Incendiary

BTW, according to audiusa.com:

450 hp with Tiptronic® five-speed automatic transmission and permanent quattro® all-wheel drive

So it is automatic, not manual. I think the inclusion of fingertip paddles doesn't make it a non-slushie.

Why not wait for the Audi Le Mans?

ldangeli

I am not looking for an F1 Race car. According to you, finger tip paddles are slushie, so then I guess the Ferrari Enzo is slushie as well?

Incendiary

It depends on whether there's a torque converter or not. SMG has a clutch, and DSG has two. Even though they don't have clutch pedals (AFAIK), they are "manuals." The Audi RS6 has no clutch but a torque converter, and thus is a "slushie" (automatic).

ldangeli

I see your point. Like I said, I am not looking for race car, I'll get the porsche for the non_slushie feel. I need a family oriented vehicle, or so the little lady says. So I'll take the fastest production sedan on the market right now. Not a bad trade off.