I suggest you ask this question on the M3 board (archive)

I usually hang out on the E46 M3 board and I'm here visiting. I have been a passenger in an ///M5 and I own two ///M3's, an E36 and an E46. In my experience, the E46 ///M3 and the E39 ///M5 are equally strong in terms of overall acceleration, they just deliver the acceleration differently. The ///M5 has a lot of low end torque and it's "shove in the back" is significantly greater at low rpm's than the ///M3.

However, there is no accelerating sensation like an engine at 8,000 rpm. My ///M3 is absolutely breathtaking when driven in it's upper rpm band. There are not many spots where you can take full advantage of a car that puts out it's peak performance from 5,000 to 8,000 rpm's. But if you find a couple of those spots, you'll be hooked. The additional advantage of the +/-500 lb.s weight reduction makes the ///M3 handle better as well. (Don't get me wrong, the ///M5 handles great. But starting and stopping an additional 12.5% in every corner increases the load on the suspension and brakes and reduces the overall handling capabilities somewhat).

The ///M5 is the ultimate luxo/cruiser and the ///M3 is a combination luxury daily driver and sometimes track car. It's not the ultimate sports/track vehicle that the Z06 Corvette is, but it's somewhere in between the two.

If your ultimate concern is that the ///M3 won't "feel' as fast as your ///M5, I would say that it will feel just as fast, but in a different, and possibly somewhat less usable way. It really depends on the kind of driver you are.

I think the decision of SMG II is much more significant than the difference in acceleration and torque curves.

Craig
'97 ///M3 TV/Mulb.
'01 ///M3 IR/Bl.

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