2006 BMW M5 Review - Bavaria's V10 Masterpiece

Over a decade ago BMW replaced their own legendary super saloon, the E39 M5. Packing a 400bhp 5L V8 and classic styling, how could BMW improve upon that?

A 500bhp 5L V10 was a good start, but paired to a seven speed SMG, fifteen years later is this four door masterpiece still brilliant, or just old hat?

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[jackthehat]

Cheers Jay, was good to meet you. Having seen how you treated other people's cars with respect you were on a very short list of people I felt comfortable entrusting my car with.

If anyone is thinking about letting Jay review their car then I can definitely vouch for him. Top bloke.

[cameronjaynemusic]

130k miles on my E60 M5. Has truly been the MOST reliable car I've ever owned. The internet has been misled by a handful of bad eggs. Although mine is a manual, which means I typically shift before 10000 billion rpms. Possibly why mine hasn't blown up.. Who knows.

[themanipulator]

When you said you were doing a series on iconic engines I hoped so badly you would review the e60 m5. What an absolute monster. Nothing like that will ever Be made again. Pure legend

[SlavikM]

I've owned one for 7 years now... I can't sell it. Love it❤️

[sxmori]

I'm only here because I experienced a flyby of one yesterday at a small car park and it scared the absolute shit out of everyone

[brianbrooks]

Thanks Jay for an honest & forthright review. I've owned my 2008 E60 M5 for 7 years & I have to say it's the most enjoyable car I've ever owned & I just love the sound of that V10 - it's addictive. Like everything it has it's flaws but overall I think it is an iconic vehicle & one we will never see the likes of again. I think every motorhead should own an E60 M5 sometime in their life.

[willbishop]

Most V10’s sound amazing. Personal favourite has to be the Lexus LFA followed by the E60 M5

[whaly]

It is BMW’s flawed masterpiece ... every M5 owner knows it will fail. I have an M6 ... I will purchase this because it is amazing (and I have a thing with being turned down by women when I was younger)...she is perfect

[weeevilswine]

I come back to this video at least once a year and it never gets old

[koolkat]

I have a 2008 black on black 6-Speed with only 108, 000 miles on it.. I have replaced the Rod bearings and both throttle actuators. So far its running well, beside having to add a quart of oil every 900 miles or so. It’s one hell of a ride. Great video and keep up the good work.

[ralpharomeo]

Really enjoyed this video. Love when people still show the v10 m5 and m6’s love

[datmi]

LFA and E60 M5, best sounding cars ever manufactured.

[willmaddox]

My favourite car ever, I've lusted for one for since they came out. But the reliability scares me so much it puts me off buying one. I have been lucky to have been out in a 550+bhp modified one (which broke down whilst I was out in it)

[stevehardman]

I must have watched every video on the e60 m5 and nothing has put me of getting one mine has only got 12.500 miles and 2 owner car its taken 3 years to find the right one and its going nowhere anytime soon ...GREAT job Jay keep up with your hard work

[Jakes_Cars]

The E60 M5 is my absolute dream car, I know the gear box is a bit naff, the fuel consumption is probably the worse I've ever seen on any car and they are terribly unreliable..but i simply don't care...ill take this over any supercar. Great video! 👌

[markpavelko]

What a great review! I picked one up in the US in November. You are right, one has to learn to drive this with the SMG. However, I am glad it was a challenge. Now I've begun to shift better and smoother. This car is just raw amazing engineering! So smooth yet so aggressive. Cheers

[LancePhillip]

Not only a great review of this car, but I also enjoyed the scenery- all those glorious walls & buildings

[daviejay]

Bless the guys out there who're rich enough to maintain these aging bmws, and unreasonable enough to keep sinking money into them when theres so many more reliable options out there

I remember an old YouTube video of a guy driving one of these, with a manual transmission, weaving through traffic..thrashing the hell out of it on public roads
The sound was unbelievable

[rroosenFB]

Bought the M6 in 2006, never had any issues. Lots of engine problems come from people who don’t know how to drive these cars. Personally i never go above 3000-3500 rpm for the first 10kms. And yes the rod bearing shells need replacing every 120.000kms but so did the ones in the E46 M3 or the E92 M3...all very high reving engines suffer from this. And Vanos pumps go wrong in all bmw engines. Hell Porsche 991.1 GT3 even had to replace whole engines when they came out... so if you treat this engine with respect and give it the correct service on time there is nothing wrong with them. Thing is many of these cars came in hands of young punks who drove them hard from cold start and didnt service them right.
For the gearbox, ofcourse it’s not as fast as the DCT’s nowadays but back then it was the best single clutch robotic gearbox there was. Only at low speeds its dreadfull but at high speeds or track these gearbox are nice and hefty.

[yankeeyankee]

What I like about this car, among other things, is its ability to look like a family sedan, while BEHAVING like a supercar. To the automotively naive, that car is an ORDINARY, if pricey-looking, sedan. It is discrete. In fact, like the man says, it can keep up with a hot Porsche! Which is amazing! What a great sleeper! If I ever dared own one of these things, I would rarely if ever wring it out. I just like knowing it's there.