Re: Need some opinions on E55 AMG and ///M5 PLEASE (archive)

I had a 2000 E55 for 7 months...Here's why I got rid of it...My car prior to the E55 was a Viper GTS. Simply the fastest car on the road, bar none. Raced TT Porsches and just about everything else out there and was always victorious. Prior to that, NSX, TT Supra, TT RX-7, 3 vettes, etc....all manual tranny.

I prefaced my response with that so you get an idea of my background. The E55 was a great car for the occasional straightline burst of speed. The auto-tranny despite being called adaptive was pathetic. If I floored the gas pedal and the car was at a speed that would cause a downshift to a realtivley high rpm in the lower gear, the card would often hit the rev limiter and then shift to the next gear. Not good! I also found the manual control of the tranny insufficient. Upshifts came very slowly and I had to time the upshift precisely or again hit the rev limiter. It wasn't a quick shift as I would have expected. My other major gripe was with the ESP system. It came on way to soon because the car lacks a sport mode.

So basically, unless you just want to drive it soft and occassionally enjoy the power, you might too find this car more frustrating than fun as I did. The car is definitely put together well and has a great suspension, but it shows it's MB heritage and luxury roots too well. My wife had a 97 528i and it was sportier than the E55. MB builds great luxury cars...where BMW builds great sporty luxury cars. Just my .02 worth....

Hi,

I am currently in the market for a new Sports Sedan. I know the three fastest sedans are the E55 AMG, M5, and the XJR. I have already ruled out the XJR since i used to own a Jaguar and had horrible experiences.

So now its pretty much down to the E55 or M5. Both of these sedans are so similar in performance that it is really hard for me to decide.

I know the M5 has an awesome 6 speed manual but on the other hand, the AMG has an awesome driver adaptive automatic. To tell you the truth, i really have no preference when it comes down to the transmission.

Both cars look amazing plus they are both so exclusive. Also, i have been reading some of the posts on www.bmwm5.com, and it really seems to me that the M5 has quite a bit of problems. Is that normal for BMW's? I have owned neither Merc or a BMW but i have heard only great things of both cars.

I understand this is a BMW forum, but if you could please try to be as unbiased as possible in your responses it would be greatly appreciated.

Once again, i want to thank you guys for providing such a useful and informative board.

Lawrence

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