E60 BMW M5 vs. W211 E55 AMG vs. Audi RS6

Had a friend bring up this comparison on another site. Wanted to curiously see what y'all think.

Just curious what you guys think: which is the better "involving sedan":
Audi RS6 (no longer produced, but a respectable player with 450 bhp, quattro traction, BUT they have to use turbos rather than thought out engine design, and the thing is really heavy)
Merc E55 AMG (absolutely stonking RWD handler with 500 bhp, BUT nannying ESP and once again the embarassment of forced aspiration, and ONLY and AUTOMATIC)
BMW M5 (hey they invented this genre, is that enough though?, faster 'round a track than an F430, manual transmission or 7sp SMG and 500 bhp, RWD, BUT pretty ugly, stupid idrive, fragile nature)

My choice: the BMW M5. Not the prettiest of the three, but does offer the most cutting edge technology and performs outrageously and offers the most control and involvement with the driver in a sophisticated way, all in a practical useful and everyday driving package. This truly is the "Ultimate Driving Machine." The iDrive may be a PITA for some, but I'm a techy guy and I my dad has had two cars with it and have no problem with it once I program it and figure how to use it...:rolleyes: The interior also isn't the best of what BMW has done, especially with some of the plastics. As for the fragile nature, I don't think it has one.

My opinion about the others: I have always loved the way the W211 E-class looked, I think it's one of the most beautiful cars in the world. But, although it can be a fun car, it is massively powerful, and offers the practicality of an everyday car with amazing performance, it's still an automatic, it's a Mercedes-Benz (and with their trouble lately...uhm yea), and it has forced induction. Not only that, when you try to turn off all the driving aids, they say they're off, but don't really turn off...and the car does unfortunately suffer from a good amount of understeer.

The Audi RS6 I think is old, heavy, and its a suped up Volkswagen. The only advantage it has is all-wheel drive which gives the most grip and handling and is useful in any weather. Again, it's outrageously heavy and has forced induction. I really don't have much of an opinion on this car.

I agree with you whole heartedly and I'll explain why in a second, but first I have some concerns about your (and the other guy's) statistics.

1) The RS6 actually wasn't too heavy in this class, it weighed 4057 lbs, which is only a little more then the 4012lb M5 and less then the 4,087lb E55.

2) The E55 does not have 500hp, but 469. Its advantage lies in its 516lb-ft of torque.

3) As far as I know, the M5 has never beaten an F430 at anything. It could be close in a drag, but around a track, the Ferrari wins. That isn't an attack on the M5, but you arn't just paying for the Ferrari name when you pay $180,000 for an F430.

Now that that is out of the way, here are my choices-
1st: E60 BMW M5- I really do think that this is the best sedan in existance. I really like the high compression/high revving V10 setup with RWD. It isn't all that torquey, but the 7sp SMG transmission allows you to stay where ever you want in the power band. I love how customizable all of the settings are for the suspension and the transmission. It isn't the best looking car, but everything else more then makes up for that. I'll take one in Saphire Black or Interlagos Blue. Probably the best BMW ever made. I have unlimited respect for this car. It is the closest anyone has ever been to making a four door Porsche 911.

2nd: RS6- This car was designed to beat the E39 M5, and unless you were a diehard BMW fan, the RS6 was hard to overlook. I wouldn't buy this car because it doesn't fit my driving personality. I would rather have had the less powerful E39 M5 then the RS6 because I like the throttle response of the NA engine that you don't get with a turbo engine. I also think that RWD is a bit more fun to drive with then AWD. AWD is useless for me in bad weather too because I wouldn't be driving an $80,000 car in it anyways, whether or not it could handle it. I have profound respect for this car, but it doesn't fit my style. There is nothing wrong with turbos or AWD, alot of people prefer it and this car probably has the potential to be faster then any of the others, but I'd still take the M5. I look forward to the next generation RS6.

3rd: E55 AMG- Sorry to say this, but this is the old person's super-sports sedan. It just feels too much like they regular E-Class, just with a bigger engine. With the others, especially the M5, they did alot to make it a completely different car then the regular counterparts they were based on. Sure its faster in a straight line, but other then that it feels alot like a E500. I just don't have alot of respect for AMG when they don't offer anything but automatic transmissions, and all they do is stick these tuned engines into everything Mercedes makes from the C-Class to the S-Class to the M-Class to the G-Class. Cars like the M55 and the S55 are for badge whores that like the little AMG next to their cars designation. BMW's M department only modifies cars that have the potential to live up to their name. Some people race the M3, MZ3, and the M5, but cars like the G55 or M55 are never ever going to see a track. This is why you will never see a BMW M7 or a M-X5. The AMG name is just too diluted. A better car for this comparison might have been the CLS55, but I would have given it the same result.

i'm not entirely sure if it is "fair" to be comparing the now dead RS6 to the just released on the market M5.....
in anycase, i've always been a fan of the RS6 purely because it is a bit of a crazy psycho madman squeezed into car form, more so i thin than the other two examples. Granted that it's probably one of the best examples of fantastic engine in a not so fantastic car but I find it quite amusing that not many people have actually found the supposed 155mph speed limiter. If the up and coming RS4 and the engine line up is anything to go by, the next RS6 is going to be one hell of an animal.

i'm not entirely sure if it is "fair" to be comparing the now dead RS6 to the just released on the market M5.....


If you look at it like that then almost no comparison is fair because different cars come out at different times. People compared the RS6 to the E39 M5 too.

true, but my view in this case is that the cars in question are direct competitors in that sector and as such comparing an effectively previous generation car to a new generation car is slightly skewed.
Of course, in a way, the fact that such a comparison is still made might serve as an indicator of how good good one car is but still it doesn't seem well, fair, especially when we are talking about cars in which lots of development+technology go into it.

for example, i wouldn't really compare a 996 with an E36 but the E46 is perfectly fair game. However the 997 wouldn't be fair on the E46.

bear in mind though that I am talking about comparing how good a car is on its own at a particular time; how good a car is on its own merits. To do this you reference (not always compare) it with cars of similar developmental generations (not neccessarily about when a car is released) and of similar type to get a good idea (which is why the NSX is still relevant as a milestone car today).
Of course it is fair to compare any car to any other car directly for one reason or another
i.e is a 360 useful as shopping car compared to a focus.

I'd pick the M5 as long as it was available with that 6-speed real manual.

I just love high revving engines for some reason. Wonder why...

M5 - the V10 is the ultimate example of modern technology in a street legal sedan. Not only does it have an 8,000 RPM redline, but it powered completly by the air of mother nature, no forced induction here (something BMW has always been good at).

3) As far as I know, the M5 has never beaten an F430 at anything. It could be close in a drag, but around a track, the Ferrari wins. That isn't an attack on the M5, but you arn't just paying for the Ferrari name when you pay $180,000 for an F430.


Regarding that, the M5 was faster round the Top Gear test track than the Ferrari...interesting.

Regarding that, the M5 was faster round the Top Gear test track than the Ferrari...interesting.

Are you sure about that? My source says that the F430 did 1:22.9 and the M5 did 1:26.2. Don't get me wrong, the M5 is no slouch, but the Ferrari is over 800lbs lighter with similar horsepower. Not to mention its aerodynamics and suspension.

oh then i have no clue what he meant then lol

I'd rather have an older M5.

I'd take the M5 then the RS6 and the E55 AMG as the third

I have 2 friends whose fathers own an 03' RS6 and an 05' E55 (respectively). And another friend of mine's father has a friend who just bought an 06' M5. So I cant bias myself towards one because I have a connection to it, because I have a connection to all 3. But despite the M5's outrageous V10, and the E55's all around presence, The RS6 takes the cake for me. I suppose thats because of it's ability to not be a cop magnet. Most people will see an A6 and not care. But those who know what it is, understand and appreciate it's subtleness. But I'd gladly accept any of the 3 if given to me.

From what i've heard and seen, the M5 handles like an SUV, and its quite butt ugly. And i've never liked mercedeses, except for the monstrous SL 65 AMG, and i dont really know much about the E55. Now the RS6's a pure monster, i loved owning the ass off corvettes with it on Gran Turismo. Isn't it more like 467 or 476hp? Anyway isn't there a new one comig out this year or next?

From what i've heard and seen, the M5 handles like an SUV, and its quite butt ugly. And i've never liked mercedeses, except for the monstrous SL 65 AMG, and i dont really know much about the E55. Now the RS6's a pure monster, i loved owning the ass off corvettes with it on Gran Turismo. Isn't it more like 467 or 476hp? Anyway isn't there a new one comig out this year or next?

You are absolutely dead wrong about the M5's handling.

"You just cannot imagine that you are sitting in a four door saloon because it goes and it sounds like a Ferrari 430 and thats about the best car I've ever driven." -Jeremy Clarkson

http://youtube.com/watch?v=F8ZyTC93lGI&search=Top%20Gear%20M5

"the next-cheapest four-seater that provides the M5's dynamic thrills is Ferrari's 612 Scaglietti, and it goes for $260,000" -Tony Quiroga, C&D

The regular RS6 had 450hp, the RS6 Plus (a wagon) had about 25 more. Please don't judge a car by GT3/GT4 because driving in real life is nothing like that.

I love how he did base the performance of the M5 off a videogame where it is still somewhat fictional to a point.

an M5 handling like an SUV?? i'm sure the engineers at BMW would love to hear how all their R&D and more importantly, the $$$ poured into the car resulted in that kind of observation. haha. it's not go-kart like handling but damn certainly far from SUV-like. very far. i suggest you check your sources.

I suggest not using videogames as sources. :grinno: But I think he was referring to thr RS6 owning Corvettes, not the M5.