The E60 BMW M5 Is One of the Best M Cars Ever Built, Despite the Flaws

We still think it was a real sweet-spot - arriving at a time when technology was getting more inexpensive, yet the electronic nannies were pretty non-existent. If you're looking for the M5 that has the highest chance of making you either dead or bankrupt, the E60 is for you.

The reason why it was described as "one of the greatest cars in the world" at the time is a 5-liter V10 engine. It revved hard, screamed like an F1 car and made sideways action more predictable than today's twin-turbo monsters.

How did they make a 4-door saloon that does over 200 mph in the 2000's? Well, it was much lighter than today's models, so its 500 horsepower V10 had less mass to push around.

There's nothing beautiful about the E60. Of course, everybody sees it through rose-tinted glasses, but the headlights, chin spoiler, and quad exhaust tips deserve to be in the scrapyard.

The interior hasn't withstood the test of time too well either, which is a thing many BMWs do. Mat points out how bad the iDrive system look or that the cup holders in the dash don't work. But the biggest flaw of all is the gearbox. You can't have it with a manual, just BMW's jerky robotized auto.

Of course, there are people who say the E34 M5 was actually the best because it was even lighter and had low-end power delivering. We're an equal opportunity website, so the review for that old-timer is also available. See which one pulls your nostalgia strings the best!