mhh

I'm no fan of modern BMW design, but I saw the M5 this week at the Melbourne Motor Show and I liked it more than I expected. Parked next to an M3, it looks much tougher. There was no E55 nearby to compare it, but there was a CLS 500 which I found a little disappointing to look at - way long, but no room in the back seat to justify it.

Please be gentle with me, but my next car will be the M5 - if I can get a sensible delivery date.

Anyway, here's a pic...

DFW01E55

HERESY! Off with his head!

adx

Now now, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If he likes it, he likes it.

AMGfan

2nd pic with the side profile (especially the rear)...IMO ugly. I think the M6 is the least offensive of the current M cars at this point.

vitaman

Agreed, The M6 is tolerable.
But heck, if he can handle looking at the headlights and trunk every day, more power to him. I'm sure the car will drive nicely, and eventually he will master the Idrive.

R. Range

Too much Bangle stick for me.

onesixeight

As much as I love my E55, I'm really diggin' the technology in the new M5. I've grown to live with idrive in my 745Li...Not the world's greatest system, but I must say, I do like the extra menus that allow me to adjust things like Low, Med, or High for the auto climate control, or allow me to adjust amount of heat on parts of the heated seats... But things like nav input and simple things like preseting radio presets need way too many inputs to do while driving.

For me...I'd be looking at the M6 and probably keep my E55 as my daily driver.

Jakpro1

See Benz Corporate...you reading this.....it could go either way. Now if we say....snuggled a litttle twin turbo V12 into the next 55 AND kept the price bout the same....you could solve this little dilema we are in. It's not too late...ditch the friggin N/A and give us the 12 we do deperately desire. .... pretty please.

onesixeight

haha...now we're talkin! And, how about a proper steering rack and suspension & chassis dynamics to match! I know Benz & AMG can do it. The CLK DTM has been touted as one of the best steering racks in the world.

Airmatic & ABC offer great adjustability, but sometimes, I think a lot of times these systems just mask poor suspension tuning. But for the next E AMG...at least give us, ABC.

BoBcanada

m5 is okay exterior wise, But damn i cant stand the new 5 dash interrior.... maybe m5's interior is a bit better with leather dash, but still i wanna see how will it do with time engine and transimison wise... Time will tell... and yeah, i'd get m6 over m5!

mhh

M6 might suit some, but a daily driver to replace my C32 needs to have 4 doors. If the M5 takes forever to arrive (and it might due to huge demand), and I hear of a better, new Benz (V12 in an E would be nice!) in the meantime, I'll be back in the fold.

AMGfan

If you get the M5, get a dark color (black or blue)...at least the trunk lines won't be as noticeable. It will be a great ride.

Gid_E_Up

168,

What did you mean by airmatic and ABC offering great adjustability? The switch on the console?

thanks

Rock

A face not even a mother could love.

W210

I'm more concerned with hiding the headlights, would a dark or light color work better I wonder!

onesixeight

Yes...But I don't quite agree with the dampening of the three different settings as far as the Airmatic DC on our cars. Sport I is not much...increased dampening, SP II feels overly stiff with really soft springs (air ballasts) and comfort which is great for daily driving, but way too much body roll. I really like the semi-active systems such as MB's ABC or BMW Active Roll Control...

To me, the E55's suspension feels somewhat artificial...For example, in comfort mode...some of the road feel is very delayed and doesn't give you a good feel of the road. True...comfort mode is designed to give you minimal road feel...but I've felt a lot of sports sedans that offer both with minimal trade off.

At the end of the day, I still love my car and can't ever get the kid size grin off my face when driving my E55...but like anything, you can work harder to make something better.

MB...get rid of SBC, get some properly matched right-left rotors, and a suspension guy in there. If MB & AMG really worked their **** off to build a proper super-saloon...we could have the M5 by the *****. The power and performance numbers are there...but if we got the chassis dynamics to match...can you imagine and even better beast?

I love MB and the cars they build...I may complain/***** and moan a lot...but I'm only looking for the best interest of MB...

onesixeight

Nothing against a V12 E...i've even considered getting the Brabus V12 E W210...if it weren't for those snobs at the Newport Beach Brabus headquarters...(btw, I visited the German operations, and they are way cool over there)

But can you imagine how quick a E v12 would depreciate? Can you say...faster than a falling meteor? V12 engines have never had good re-sell value...but then again...I never buy a car to resell...But I think MB couldn't handle the rock falling numbers on a factory build E V12.

DFW01E55

I should have had a little smiley at the end.

No doubt it will be a great car and the looks will probably become accepted over time.

Rock

Wouldn't it be easier, to just get a car that you didn't have to worry about hiding its headlights?

DerekFSU

I think the M5 looks hot. I'm on the waitlist for one and should have an August build with a September delivery.

M5KILLR

i always liked the m5 too, just not a stick in a car that big! always had really aggressive wide tires tucked under the fenders nicely. but my god the most utterly horriffic sight imaginable is the m6. beauty is definately in the eye of the beholder cause i wouldnt pi** on that car if it were on fire! :v

W210

Had been a fan of the previous M5, just not this one. I'm on the list but just find it hard to swallow.

adx

What is the actual wait time for the M5? I am seriously looking at the CLS55 but the M5 is not that bad of a looker. I like the M Series handling performance and with the V10 it may make more sense to look at this aside from the CLS55.

DerekFSU

From what I hear is the first of the fall for US deliveries.

ThemisN

IM with bobcanada on this one. Exterior is has become easier to deal with, but the interior as it relates to 1) inferior materials, 2) bad dash design, and 3)idrive turns me off on the car completely.