The E39 M5 vs E46 M3. Sporty vs Practical.

14 Dec 2018

So here we are again. Earlier, I posted my thoughts and feelings on the Audi E-Tron GT. But here I am again, this time, solving the difference between the E46 M3 and the E39 M5. Which is more powerful, more practical, and which would I choose?

Right, to the engines, the power source, the most important part of the car.

The E39 comes with a BMW S62 4.9L V8, pumping out 394bhp, enough ponies to get you there plenty fast enough. The E46 comes with a BMW S54 3.2L I6 (inline-6), pumping out slightly less, at 338bhp. But that doesn’t necessarily put the M3 at a disadvantage, however.

My previous point can be quite nicely backed up by the 0-60 stats for the E46 and the E39.

The E39 did 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds, and the E46 did 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds.
But surely the E39 would be flying off into the distance, I hear you ask…

That is all down to a simple factor. Weight. The E39 is slowed significantly by one of it’s worst points. It weighs in at 1,826kg (or 1.8 tonnes), and the E46 can keep up because it only weighs 1,550kg (1.5 tonnes). Sure, it has less power than the E39 on paper, but it still manages to keep up with it, because the E39 is simply too heavy as stock.

So we have covered power. Now that isn’t always the most important aspect, and may be where the E39 takes the lead again.

Storage space. We all need it. The E46 has a measly 410 litres of storage space, compared to the E39’s 460 litres. It’s not a big difference, but it definitely is more practical, and it could mean the difference between getting that last bag of shopping in the boot (well, at Christmas anyway).

It’s not all about storage space, either. If you want to get 3 others into your car, which car is better? Well definitely the E39 M5. It has 4 doors, instead of 2 doors. If you’re almost 6 feet tall, as I am, clambering into the back of your mate’s lowered E46 could be a problem, and would take you a while.

With the E39, that’s not a problem. All I have to do is open the door, swiftly slide in, and there you go, me and my dignity are all sat in the back, and are both intact, and somehow I don’t think it would be the same case with the E46. So, once again, the E39 wins in this category.

Price. We can’t all afford to fork out thousands on a brand new car, so we choose to buy them nearly new. All of my prices are from AutoTrader (autotrader.co.uk), and on a car with around 40-50k miles.

An E39, with 40k miles, from 1999, will set you back around £18,000. Don’t be disheartened though. The E46 I found (with 40,000 miles), costs £16,000. A £2,000 difference.

Also, the E39 is slightly more expensive to tax and insure, but not by a large margin.

At the end of the day, it’s all down to personal preference and what you want from the car. Practicality but slightly more expensive (but still fun to drive)? The E39.

Less expensive in total, but less practical and only really designed for 2 people? The E46.

Comments

One thing you didn’t look at was reliability, where the E39 wins pretty significantly.

Of course, definitely a major point that I missed out. The E39 is so much more reliable than the E46 👍🏻

No, it does not. They have very similar problems, which can be avoided if the car is being taken care of - preventive maintenance, not putting your foot down until the engine is up to temperature and so on.

I have to split the comment up into three, because I cannot post it other way.

As an owner of both (M5 E39 and M3 E46), I don’t think you covered the topic enough, leaving a lot out and an article that can be misunderstood.

A lot of my colleagues ask me which of the cars is “better” or “more powerful”, expecting easy answers.

But these cannot be given.
See, my experience is that these two vehicles should not be directly compared. If someone was to ask me “which one is more fun to drive”, well, E46 wins by a margin. Main reason is weight, which you referenced to in completely different manner: comparing power-to-weight ratio and 0-60mph numbers is not righteous way to compare them.

Engines: both engines are robust and show little problems when taken care of properly.
Since M3 is much more popular car, you will likely find S54 being more troublesome than the S62. The truth is actually quite unbiased. Both cars have potential problems with similar stuff, prominent being VANOS and connecting rod bearings, among others in the vast space of the Internet.

Weight: it is really important to understand that the M5 can deviate from factory weight numbers for quite a margin, all depending on the extras chosen. Since almost every M5 from factory has a lot of extras, which could be deleted on request, it can weigh substantialy more.

For instance, for my Euro M5 papers show the generic empty vehicle weight of 1795kg, so slightly less than the en.wikipedia says, but in perfect correlation with de.wikipeda. Unfortunately, this does NOT correlate with actual vehicle weight! For instance, I still have to see M5 without electrically controllable steering wheel column, which was offered as a delete option.

Most of the additional options by M5 E39 are (marked with X what my car has):
Detachable Towbar
Integrated Universal Remote Control (Homelink)
Double Glazing of Side Windows X
Green Stripe Windscreen X
Protection Glass
Climate Comfort Windscreen X
Electric Sunroof
Electric Glass Sunroof X
Electric Rear Sunblind X
Sunblind Package X
High-End Rear Center Console
High-End Rear Seat Equipment
Active Seats X
Comfort Seats
Ski Bag X
Through-Load System X
Park Distance Control PDC (only pre-facelift; facelift standard)
Rain Sensor (only pre-facelift; facelift standard)
Professional Navigation System X
Wireless Telephone X
Telephone Preparation X
Bluetooth Telephone Preparation
HiFi Loudspeaker System
HiFi Professional DSP X
Individual High-End Audio System (M-Audio)
Sun Protection Glass X
Wood Trim (Bruyere Club)
Headliner in Alcantara Anthracite X
Trunk Interior in Alcantara Anthracite
Full Leather Heritage Luxury Interior
Extended Leather Heritage Luxury Interior
Full Leather Nappa Point Sport Interior

Only these options bring the car astonishingly close to 2 whole tonnes with a full tank of gas! I am certain there are maybe a dozen of M5 E39 which are actually close to 1800kg. Bought presumably by the individuals which were oriented 100% towards driving the car in a sporty manner.

The Euro E46 on the other hand weighs, as per papers, 1570kg. Since my M3 doesn’t have that much options (no sunroof, no xenon, but still HK sound system, 6CD changer) it weighs most probably a bit more (I did not weigh the M3). This makes for a whooping difference of more than 300kg, and I bet very close to 400kg to M5.

To sum this part up, the difference in dynamic due to weight difference is extremely noticeable.
Don’t get me wrong: the M5 hides its weight really really good and is immense capable on curvy roads, but you have a much smaller margin for errors, since it’s much harder to stop and to waive it through the alpin roads.