m5 e34 vs m3 e30 which one to buy?

[tim]

Hello to everyone

I'm in the market to for a new toy sort of speak and I've always. The M5 is going for about the same price as a m3. I was wondering which one you would buy not counting looks, just base on performance. I've been searching all over the place for some sort of comparsion which I haven't been able to find. It be great if you can provide some details to your rationale for your choice

thank you

Tim

[JonWoods]

They are completely different cars.

The M5 is a beast. Raw, almost violent power. But it's a heavy car. Still nimble but not my first choice of car for track days.

The M3 is more of a go-cart on steriods. Possibly the best pure drivers car BMW has ever built.

The two cars share a very similar engines - the S14 in the M3 being the 4 cyl version of the 6-cyl s38 in the M5. They are both lumpy, high-strung units that behave best at or around the redline.

I personally went for the m5. Part of this decision was looks (not a fan of the e30 M3 - love the e30 in general though). The added size improves the practicality somewhat as well. My main motivation was mostly because the s38 engine in the m5 is a work of pure mechanical poetry...

[staffan tidswell]

i would opt for the m5 as it has plenty of power to begin with combined with superb road holding and any engine tht will produce over 1000 bhp reliably with modifications gets my vote

[Ken]

[rsunter]

I had the same hard choice several years ago. The first one to come up was an '88 M3 that needed a little TLC...so I bought it. This is definitely the collectible car and will hold it's value the best. And, it'a a blast to drive. Great on the twisties.

Next was a '91 M5 several years later. I bought it and now can compare the two side by side. For power, comfort and long distance driving, the M5 is superior. It's a heavy car, so be careful throwing it around corners. The back end will dance.

The M3 is so secure. It's like a go cart. It corners extremely well and is very predictable. But, it is a bit rougher, more vibration (the famous shift lever rattle) and peakier power.

I love both, but I get more thumbs up for the M3.