E39 M5 vs E90 M3

Ok so, interested to see what people's opinions are, is there much in it between the two? Anyone out there who has owned or driven the two with a good knowledge of both?

The E39 M5 seems to be very highly regarded, despite never owning or driving one it's definitely a car I'd buy if the right one came up, as it seems to tick a lot of boxes. I think it's really aged well, is considered to be very well made and still looks great today.

The E90 M3 seems to be very highly regarded with the press, mostly for the S65 engine which by all accounts is brilliant, however one thing that comes to light in a lot of the reviews is that it's a rather heavy car, perhaps too heavy to really be considered in the same kind of fun bracket as the E30/E36 and E46 models, it almost feels like it's nearing the sporty touring car market rather than the tail happy nimble M3's of the past.

Which is why I'm comparing the two. The E39 M5 and pretty much every M5 would be considered a sporty cruiser / touring. So if the E90 M3 isn't in the same bracket as the M3's of past, it brings it close to the same bracket as the E39 M5.


According to Wiki - maybe unreliable -

The E39 M5 kerb weight is 1,826KG
The E90 M3 kerb weight is 1,580KG however the convertible is 1,810KG, so pretty much identical to the M5

How does the performance compare?? I understand the M3 will corner better and be faster around a track but in the real World, is there much in it. Traffic light warriors, would you fancy your chances in an E39 M5 against a manual E90 M3, let's not compare DCT models as this is just a giant leap in technology, so manual only for argument purposes.

How do the engines compare, does the S62 V8 in the E39 M5 have ANY advantages over the S65 V8 in the M3, or is it simply better in every way. Is there more torque in the S62?

Just curious.

I'm a huge E39 M5 fan, proper Uber saloon car but give me an E9x M3 over one any day. There just fricking awesome to drive.

E9x has both the V8 grunt and the handling to match where as the E39 is a bit more of an autobahn stormer I.e not a fan of the twisties'

I've driven a few of both & both are great but I have to say that the e9x is just awesome. I handed back the keys of an e92 last night having driven it all weekend & as Conor said, awesome.

The noise, the power & it just feels so right. It probably is a fair enough comparison with the e39 M5 as they are both quite agile but large cars, both have the V8 ~400bhp. I prefer the gearbox in the e92 & the brakes are also much better but a lot of e39s have a BBK fitted at this stage.

Despite the design being nearly 20 years old the e39 is a nice place to be from an interior perspective. A lot of people say that they got it too right. Just look on here at the amount of people looking at an e39 as a viable alternative to more modern machinery. It is definitely bigger on the inside than the e9x which was something I noticed when I jumped in to my e39 straight after getting out of the e92. I'm so use to the e63 space wise I thought that the e92 was a bit cramped. I owned an e30 a long time ago, that would probably feel too small now!

I always thought that the e39 M5 was going to be the last "keeper" ///M car as it looked like everything after it got too complex (v10, SMG, turbos, carbon roof, etc.) or would disintegrate (on purpose due to updated recycling laws). But the e9x has some redeeming factors which might make them a future popular classic.

The e9x M3 are typically double the price of an e39 M5 about now so that is another factor when you're weighing up value for money.

For me it would be e9x all the way.

i personally have never driven the m3 you refer to so cant offer an oponion on that ,

But having owned a E39 M5 i could only sing their praises! ... in fact it took buying a E60 M5 to show to me how good the E39 was....in a lot of conditions the older m5 is every bit as fast as its v10 version... interior is equally as nice a place to be and yes they both heavy but ya get used to it after a while

i always keep an eye on the E39 in case something popped up that took my fancy - id happily have another

I'm just curious as too people's opinions about the both of them, I'm not in the market for either at the time. I've driven an E90 M3 and wasn't blood away, but I reckon if I had one for a weekend that would most likely change.

Have to agree though, I reckon the S65 V8 will be highly regarded in the future as it is now.

You can't beat a high revving V8 and I would imagine it's probably a better engine then the M5 variant

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Originally Posted by Remote

I'm just curious as too people's opinions about the both of them, I'm not in the market for either at the time. I've driven an E90 M3 and wasn't blood away, but I reckon if I had one for a weekend that would most likely change.

Have to agree though, I reckon the S65 V8 will be highly regarded in the future as it is now.

You can't beat a high revving V8 and I would imagine it's probably a better engine then the M5 variant

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to get a proper feel for the e90 you need to bring it for a proper drive, I test drove a couple before I bought mine and wasn't completely blown away until I bought my own one, as your not going to drive the arse out of one on a test drive or someone else's car(well I wouldn't anyways), but when they are properly opened up they are something else

can't really comment on the e39 m5 as only drove one once and I don't think the car was good enough to give a fair reflection on e39's

I haven't driven either but I have such a massive want for an e90 m3 saloon - it just ticks every box there is for a car!

To buy an E39 worth owning you would have to spend the guts of cheap E90 money. The E39 simply isnt worth it and like your E36 you will end up having to throw money at it whereas you can buy a nice E90 with a warranty from a mian dealer and have hassle free motoring and actually enjoy the car rather than fearing for when the next thing might go wrong.

I'm a great fan of the E39. Driven quite a few back when they were reasonably fresh and should have bought one then but chickened out.

My personal opinion is that you will get a better experience from owning the more modern car.

Having driven both cars I would still buy a Z4M! :wink:

But the E90 wins over the E39 in terms of dynamics. Smaller engine builds speed faster. E90 is more nimble.

An E90 saloon with the DCT box I would see as a potential next car for me.