After three and a half years of ownership and > 40,000 miles driven across almost all of Europe, last Friday we finally said goodbye to YK03 DPV. It was an extremely tough decision, mostly because there’s few cars that can touch the E39 M5 for what it is. Practical, refined and yet still capable of thoroughly upsetting 911 owners, it took some beating. And then there was the sound of that V8…
Nostalgia aside, there were a number of big-ticket items on the horizon that would have wanted doing should I have decided to keep the car, and so instead it made more sense to look at something newer. I did briefly debate a Cayman S and even perhaps an Elise, but after looking around eventually decided on an E46 M3 (ideally a CS) instead. Largely because I know the marque, but the Cayman doesn’t really do it for me and the Elise is just a tad too extreme. A Megane R26 was also briefly considered but come on, that would have been pretty depressing coming from the M5.
So here it is - the new motor. I’d been passively searching around for a little while but then stumbled across this E46 M3 CS at a main dealer down in Carlisle, thoroughly do-able from Edinburgh. A trip down there to discuss trading my M5 in as a part-exchange resulted in an excellent deal, mainly due to some serious bartering (thanks to Rox!). And holy shit, what a car it is. The M5 was comprehensively rapid, but its weight meant that the momentum generated was a bit much through the twisties to say the least. And then there were the woefully inadequate brakes, typical for M-cars, and which completely wilted on the way down the Stelvio Pass.
The drive back from the dealership put to rest any reservations I had - the M3 CS is an utterly magnificent car to drive. We headed back along the A702 in the sunshine and the difference on these types of roads between the two cars is like night and day. The M3 feels like a surgically sharp precision instrument compared to the M5’s blunt sledgehammer approach. While I miss the sound of the V8, the straight six’s cacophonic howl above 4k RPM is enough to prick the hairs on anyone’s neck.
Enough of my self-affirmation though at spunking a load of money. Here’s a few pics of the M5 to celebrate!
