In Defense of the BMW E60

"Aloha Milkyway" (alohamilkyway) 01/28/2014 at 00:15 • Filed to: BMW, E60, 5 Series

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Here's a tidbit to make you feel old. 2003 was 11 years ago. 2003 was the year Saddam Hussein was captured, 2Fast 2Furious came out and the release of the BMW E60.

Controversial. Perhaps the best way to describe the E60 5-Series when it first came out. Gone were the elegant soft curves of the E39 and was replaced with sharp edges and acute angles. Some critics said that it lost its elegance. For others, it looked so ugly that some say that BMW has lost their way. Of course, there we a few who thought the car looked good when it first came out. James May was one of them. May called the car "modern and groovy". Unusual that Mr. May would like something that looked far ahead of its time.

So, why the initial backlash? It's rather simple really. With the E39, you had the easy on the eyes looks of Leonardo DiCaprio with the bonus of talent. With the E60, you got the exact opposite. A little challenging to look at but still very talented nonetheless. It was the radical change that put people off. The backlash was made worse with the introduction of iDrive. So if it wasn't scaring enough people away on the outside, it was as if BMW wanted to make more people technophobic.

So, why am I defending it?

Time to bring out the flame suit and state my case

1. It Aged Well
The E60 was flamed by almost everyone when it first came out in '03. Nowadays, people can't believe it's been over 10 years since it first came out. Show the Average Joe a humdrum E60 and he might think it came out in 2010 or 2011. The design is still relevant to this day and perhaps in another 10 years time. It will still be an aspirational car and still surprise people in the future. This was proof that daring didn't have to mean it wouldn't age well.

2. It's Influential
Bangle's styling direction was bashed by a lot of people at first. By the late 2000's though, you can see a hint of Bangle in a few best sellers. There's the small Bangle Butt in the 2007 Camry and with the previous generation Lexus line up. The previous generation Accord had a bit of a 5 Series tail light from the side. Just about every car in the mid to late 00's was styled using a machete. Hell, just take a look at the Korean cars now. Slashy.

3. It Changed The Game
With more features and gizmos to put an E38 7 Series to shame, we soon started seeing the competition playing catch up. It made the W211 feel decidedly last century. It forced the Audi A6 to take Vosprung Durch Technik literally and inspired Lexus to step up their game. See the scroll wheels in just about every premium and aspiring premium cars? You gotta give credit to BMW for that. Now you have Audi's MMI, Mercedes-Benz's COMAND and Lexus' quirky mouse pad thing. Some would say iDrive, and the similar systems that followed it, is safer than good old touch screen as you don't have to aim where your fingers go when you drive (they may have a point). Sure iDrive came first with the E65 but it was more livable with the E60.

Now, as an E39 owner, I would say mine still has that hint of elegance to it that the E60's techie personality lacks. As time goes by however, my E39 started to feel decidedly analogue. Hell, my friend's Honda Civic was better equipped. With the E60, you feel more in touch with the decade. Get one now and it's still better equipped than most new cars. Step in one and tell yourself, this design will be 11 years old by July. It's revolutionary, influential and eventually aged gracefully. James May once said "It will take a little bit of getting used to, I know, but the good stuff always does". With over 1.2 million sold, BMW had a royal flush with what people thought were a pair of 3's.

JasonStern911 > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:20

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But isn't that part of the problem? All of those technical gadgets that don't really add to the driving experience in a car that is now 11-12 years old. I agree that the E60 has aged gracefully; but, unfortunately, parts don't age based on aesthetics...

daender > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:21

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Let's not forget the E60 M5 came with a howling V10 and tire-shredding performance.

Brian, The Life of > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:22

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At least it wasn't as bad as the e65. Amirite?

Brian, The Life of > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:22

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At least it wasn't as bad as the e65. Amirite?

wpudvah: GTI, Super Beetle, now with more 80-Series > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:24

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I work on weekends as a valet and I get E60s all the time - solid cars, I would also defend them! Of course, nothing compared to the F10.

Arben72 > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:25

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I really want to pick up a e60 m5 and just lock it in my garage and hide the keys. When the hybrid overlords take over I'll then dd it.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:25

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The best reason of them all!

GhostZ > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:25

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Best 5 series since E28, in my opinion.

Milky > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:28

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I'm a big fan of the bangle cars …. this one though really makes the 'new' design look like the Jetta of the large sedan segment.

wpudvah: GTI, Super Beetle, now with more 80-Series > daender 01/28/2014 at 00:28

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there's a regular at the restaurant that I valet for that has an E60 M5 6MT - I always blip the throttle after getting in; puts a smile on his face every time.

DollaMoneyAve > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:31

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"Show the Average Joe a humdrum E60 and he might think it came out in 2010 or 2011."

Spot on. I agree with everything else you said as well. The tail lights are my favorite design element. They look amazing at night.

Also, the E60 offered two of my favorite type of wheels:

Bangle's nice work on the E60 is overshadowed by that horrendous E65. I feel like the only time you hear his name anymore is when somebody is talking shit about the E65.

Aloha Milkyway > Brian, The Life of 01/28/2014 at 00:31

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The E60, I can defend. This? I'd be asking for a plea bargain

Montalvo > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:35

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I loved the the E60s, I have many good memories being the passenger in them with a huge grin on my face every time my father put the pedal to the floor. I look at 2006 fondly in particular as the year the BMW 550i first parked into the driveway. The V-8 would scream and you could wake up the entire neighborhood with it, there was no silencing this beast with its 4.8L of unbridled N/A fury. It was reliable and practical with enough torque to whip your head back mercilessly and at the same time could carry you hundreds of miles at a time in pure comfort. The best part of it all was that it was the ultimate sleeper. No one expected the black sedan to suddenly erupt into a monstrous roar and seconds later be nothing more than a speck on the horizon. The E60 needs no defense, if you don't like it that is your problem and most likely you haven't properly been in one when it is getting tossed around.

Textured Soy Protein > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:37

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I don't mind the Bangle looks. I have a Bangle BMW. But the chrome trim on anything below a 7 series just doesn't work for me. At all. They all look so much better with the shadowline (i.e. no chrome) window trim, and the E60's weird shaped grille really benefits from being blacked out instead of highlighted in chrome. M Sport aero bits help too. So while I can't stand the chromed up non-M versions, I wouldn't mind an E60 like this one:

Aloha Milkyway > Montalvo 01/28/2014 at 00:40

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I was 12 turning 13 when this first came out. I remembered the howls of hate when it first came out. Just about every magazine I read at the time SLAUGHTERED its looks. As for me, I always liked it. I was pretty much the only kid in class who thought it was nice. Maybe that was the reason I was so unpopular back in high school

Doug DeMuro > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:46

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IT AGED SO WELL! This is a great post. You can buy an 04 5 Series for like eight grand now and it looks like a brand new, much classier car. An 04 E-Class looks ten years older than the BMW. I HATED the E60 5 Series when it came out, but I feel precisely as you do now. They did an excellent job. I was wrong.

NOW! There is one key here: the REST of the Bangle designs do not get this same beneficial feeling. The 02+ 7 Series aged HORRIBLY, the 6 Series still looks like trash, and the E90 3 is merely average. But the E60...

Manuél Ferrari > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:48

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I agree with all your points. It was controversial but it was also a game changer.

But I will say that you forgot one important point! It was the last true 5 Series!

While the E60 added tech toys it didn't get too much heavier. It was still a true 5 Series. The best quote I ever read was that the E60 and prior 5 Series generations drove like a bigger version of their contemporary 3 Series cars, while the F10 drives like a smaller 7 Series. Which makes sense because the F10 shared its platform with the 7 Series.

A lot of reviewers have said that the F10 feels numb. Nobody says that about the E60. The main complaints about the E60 have always been about how it looks, how expensive it is to maintain, and that it had iDrive (some people will always hate it). I never hear about people complaining about how the E60 drives.

The E60 was the last 5 Series you could get with a N/A I6 and hydraulic power steering. And you could get it used for a pretty reasonable price. It may not be that fast but not everyone is all about 0-60 times. If you care about driving feel it's a great mid size car.

wabbastang > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:50

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The e30 was mocked in its day. Dare I say...I often feel that the e60 could become the next underdog favorite. I side with May in that it was a little too ahead of its time at first, too out there, which is why it has in fact aged well and yet captures something just a little different than anything else.

Aloha Milkyway > wabbastang 01/28/2014 at 00:53

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How was the E30 mocked in its day? I always thought people LOVED them! Now, all you'll hear is ALL HAIL THE E30

wabbastang > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 00:55

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They were touted as overprice and underpowered. But yet, feel the love.

Manuél Ferrari > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 01:01

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Check out how much car you can get (with an extended warranty) for $24K :

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/…

Is there a better deal on the market right now if you want luxury, speed, RWD and good MPGs?

Leadbull > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 01:02

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It's your solemn duty to buy one and entertain us.

Doug DeMuro > Leadbull 01/28/2014 at 01:08

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I wouldn't mind a stick 545...

Aloha Milkyway > Manuél Ferrari 01/28/2014 at 01:12

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How I wish cars were that reasonably priced where I live. In the Philippines, $24k would be the price of a lowish spec Civic or Corolla. An '04 530d is still well over $30k. An F10 520d? It almost nudges 90 grand

Manuél Ferrari > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 01:18

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Bummer!

That does suck. I heard it's even worse in some of the other countries in Asia.

The US is great for car prices. I never complain about how much companies charge for their cars. Because I know the prices are lower here than anywhere else.

Aloha Milkyway > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 01:19

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A bit of a counterpoint, I think the E90 LCI aged well enough. I really liked the return of the L tail lights. The pre-LCI models however look decidedly 00's

Aloha Milkyway > Manuél Ferrari 01/28/2014 at 01:24

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Just try buying a car in Singapore. $108,000 for a Corolla! You guys are so blessed

Manuél Ferrari > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 01:29

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That's what another Oppo user told me. So nuts!!

offroadkarter > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 02:04

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you are right that the car still looks really modern to this day

I still stand by what I said on jalopnik the other week. The e38/e39/e46 is the trifecta of bmw greatness. After that... I just don't know, many ups and downs

offroadkarter > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 02:15

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On one of the forums I hang around on, a member has a manual 545i and ran a 13.3 @ 106 bone stock in the 1/4 mile, on 215 snow tires. Thats like freak show fast for that car.

link

Its for sale to, ditch the cube and DD this

FS link

ciscokidinsf > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 02:18

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Yeah, but a big reason on the price depreciation is the maintenance cost. These are not exactly easy on the wallet beyond their warranty period. Most 5 series aren't.

Aloha Milkyway > ciscokidinsf 01/28/2014 at 02:21

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As an E39 owner, it does Break My Wallet. I still love the 5er line despite that

Aloha Milkyway > Textured Soy Protein 01/28/2014 at 06:50

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The M-Parallels look sweet on that. I thoight they only go well with the pre Bangle Bimmers

Sinanigans > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 08:30

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My dad had 2 535's and while they weren't initially beautiful - they had a tendency to get under your skin and charm you. Both were riddled with problems but you're right, they've aged quite gracefully.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Aloha Milkyway 01/28/2014 at 15:37

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Great post. I have always loved the E60...mostly. Count me as one who thought the exterior was beautiful. I don't like the dash, but it's livable. They're excellent to drive too. And they were the lightest cars in their class apart from the old GS, which really wasn't much of a competitor. Very solid cars. Excellent deals are to be had too.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Textured Soy Protein 01/28/2014 at 15:37

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I would agree with that. And I'll echo that post above...the M Parallels look strangely good on this car...I had honestly always assumed they wouldn't.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > JasonStern911 01/28/2014 at 15:39

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How do you mean? I find the E60's electronics package to be adequate...I'm not sure what you want. All things age. Things get better. In a few years, the F10 even with all it's amazing tech will be outdated as well. You can't prevent that. If you can't live with it, I guess you just have to find a way to afford the current model, whatever it is.

Textured Soy Protein > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment 01/28/2014 at 15:39

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I'm partial to split 5-spoke wheels on Bangle BMWs. Because this is my car.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Arben72 01/28/2014 at 15:40

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Do it do it do it. People will cower in fear as you tear down the street with the V10 shrieking.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Textured Soy Protein 01/28/2014 at 15:51

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Very nice...335is wheels are very good-looking. 128 or 135?

Textured Soy Protein > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment 01/28/2014 at 16:09

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135is with...135is wheels.

JasonStern911 > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment 01/28/2014 at 17:06

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I mean that the E60 is an early adopter of quite a bit of technology, and those tend to be the cars that are more difficult to maintain long-term. By no means was I shunning the E60's feature list or implying that any other car's features will always remain cutting edge.

ThinIce-Koe > Doug DeMuro 01/28/2014 at 17:06

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Test drove an E60 55oi with a stick(used at a bmw dealer) years back. Wasn't that fun to drive that car with a stick to be honest. The shifter was just meh, same goes for the clutch and steering. I mean it's okay, but then I felt the car was better suited with an auto. It just felt kind of odd driving that car with a stick. I guess it felt too big to have a manual, a bit like how I would only like to drive a stick-shift bus for a grand total of 10 minutes, then get horribly tired/bored of the constant shifting and managing such a huge ass vehicle...Egad the horror, I can't believe I just recommended that in any car :P

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > JasonStern911 01/28/2014 at 23:04

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Oh ok I see what you mean now. From what I've seen they've been mostly reliable, it will be interesting to see how all the electronics last long term. I have a good feeling though. My E28 is still mostly functional after 26 years, and that stuff seems barely as if it should have worked when new.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Textured Soy Protein 01/28/2014 at 23:05

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Oh now I feel silly....I had totally forgotten there was a 135is. Very nice car.

GARedE34 > DollaMoneyAve 01/29/2014 at 10:42

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iDrive and those rear lights were my favorite features of my 535, (manual!). I absolutely love how the second gen E60s look at night, thanks to both the xenons up front and those sick neon (?) lights in the back.

Unfortunately, to have fun driving it I had to absolutely hammer the thing as hard as I could. Up to 8/10s it felt about as exciting as an Accord. Nothing against the noble Accord, but I wanted my German sedan to feel more special.

Sold it and bought an E39 M5 and... yeah, the iDrive is all I really miss.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Aloha Milkyway 01/31/2014 at 09:17

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Not its best angle...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Doug DeMuro 01/31/2014 at 09:20

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Actually, I think the 6-series is one of the best representatives of the Bangle era at BMW - the 7 is definitely the worst. The Z4 coupe wears the design the best, though.

phenotyp > Aloha Milkyway 01/31/2014 at 22:57

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Way late to the party on this one, because I haven't been on Oppo much this week, but I just wanted to say: spot on, buddy. I bought an '07 two months ago. Personally, I love it. Of course, I also came from another nearly-universally-derided car, the MR2 Spyder. Which I will also defend too my last breath. The E60 debuted at the end of my senior year of car design school, and while everyone criticized the Dame Edna headlights, the thing that intrigued me was the bodyside section. It has THE most perfect section in car design in the last three decades. There's not a single thing I could suggest to change. And those headlights, which I didn't like at the time, now make so much sense to me. They're a pure function-over form necessity, due to changes in headlight laws, and when seen from the side and rear three quarter poke out just enough ahead of the front arches.

It also doesn't hurt that the engine's a manic goddamn V8 that sounds like a Mustang at idle and crackles on the overrun.

TotallyThatStupid > Aloha Milkyway 02/04/2014 at 10:25

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"With the E39, you had the easy on the eyes looks of Leonardo DiCaprio with the bonus of talent. With the E60, you got the exact opposite. A little challenging to look at but still very talented nonetheless."

So, it's like the Steve Buscemi of BMWs.

Aloha Milkyway > TotallyThatStupid 02/04/2014 at 10:29

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YES. I was about to say that but I thought I might offend Steve Buscemi fans

Ricky Weston > Aloha Milkyway 02/04/2014 at 11:28

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This is an E60. All the above pictures are just banker's cars. ;)

I do agree with the article in that the E60 has aged well. With that said, it's not a car I would ever call pretty (or all that good looking for that matter). The key to the E60, for me, is that it's not offensive (like all the new F series BMWs).

My father actually has an '08 M5, and I love it. Some Dinan engine mods and a Brembo GT kit front and rear. We always vacationed in Europe with it. I have about 500 laps at the Nuerburgring in it. Absolutely awesome car on track. It will run 8:00 laptimes all day long (with the stock brakes, not so much). I actually liked my father's M5 so much, that I went out and bought a 2007 M6. While my eyes bleed every time I see my M6, it makes up for the looks in the performance department. It's about 350lbs lighter than the M5, so it's a lot more fun.

Ricky Weston > Aloha Milkyway 02/04/2014 at 11:31

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Maybe you were the only one in your class with a brain :)

Built BMW Tough > Aloha Milkyway 02/04/2014 at 12:15

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The LCI 550i M-Sport is a wonderful car. I'm considering getting one instead of an E39 M5. I'm terribly conflicted, to the point of tears.

Aloha Milkyway > Built BMW Tough 02/05/2014 at 02:17

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Let's weigh the options:
With the 550i you get very close numbers to the E39 M5. Both do 0-60 in the low 5's and both have sleeper appeal. You won't get the M-car bills but you won't feel as much as the E39 from behind the wheel. It is, however, a better daily prospect

The M5 on the other hand has bags of feel, more tossable and way more exclusive. On a straight it's pretty much a dead heat with the 550i but you'll leave him in the twistier bits. However, you won't be as comfy as in the E60, it'll drink more and comes with bills if you're not careful in your search.

Alex87f > Built BMW Tough 02/05/2014 at 03:35

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It'll never have the collectible appeal of the E39 M5. On the other hand, a non-hooned one is probably easier to come by. And in manual, they have the sort of appeal that unexpected hot rods have!

Has to be a manual though. Otherwise it's just another -albeit powerful- 5er.

911e46z06 > Built BMW Tough 02/05/2014 at 04:58

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What's nice about M cars is that they're overbuilt because they're supposed to be hooned. So if you plan to take it to autocrosses and beat the shit out of it a little bit, go with the M5. It will hold up a lot better to the kind of driving most people around here do. If you plan to drive like a responsible adult, go with Blobzilla.

I love you but I've chosen hooning! > Aloha Milkyway 02/05/2014 at 05:18

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I wrote an article in defense of the E60 last week and made the same points as you:

1. It still looks fresh and modern

2. It influenced many, many cars

3. iDrive was revolutionary

My article was just less articulate and started with "Deal with it haters".

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/this-design-is…

Aloha Milkyway > I love you but I've chosen hooning! 02/05/2014 at 09:05

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Hmm, you seem to have attracted a hater in your post

I love you but I've chosen hooning! > Aloha Milkyway 02/05/2014 at 09:35

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Writing a post about the E60 in which you don't mention the E39 once is bound to attract haters.

Built BMW Tough > Aloha Milkyway 02/06/2014 at 00:25

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You are preaching to the choir. I've done so much research my head hurts, and my boss told me to say 'fuck it' and buy a 335d instead. I won't falter.

Built BMW Tough > Alex87f 02/06/2014 at 00:26

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It'd be a manual, definitely.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Aloha Milkyway 02/06/2014 at 08:12

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E60 is my favourite BMW 5-Series. Really.
And this is one of the few cars that i really really want but i don't have balls to buy one.

But my mom did. And she buy one, a 530i.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Aloha Milkyway 02/06/2014 at 08:16

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Is it akward that in Indonesia 520 is cheaper than corolla?

12k get you a '03-04 520i in here. really.

Aloha Milkyway > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 02/07/2014 at 06:33

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How's maintenance so far?

Aloha Milkyway > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 02/07/2014 at 06:39

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Wow. The cheapest E60 here goes well over $20,000.

intheDeedtheGlory > daender 04/28/2014 at 02:32

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heres the picture that I was waiting for.

intheDeedtheGlory > DollaMoneyAve 04/28/2014 at 02:38

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I Just posted about how I think the E60 was the best M5. If you get a nice 535, and investigate the performance potential of that N54 motor you have yourself the ultimate car. Cheap enough to buy (20000?), big enough for four comfortably, good handling, fast with a tune, all the modern bit that cars need, and only like half a mortgage to repair compared full mortgage with M5 or even 550 variants.

vSUPERfreckles > Aloha Milkyway 02/21/2015 at 13:42

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Significant other has had the 530xi for awhile. 75k miles and the only thing we've had to do besides routine maintenance has been replace the windshield (huge rock flew out of a semi and hit it). The thing has been a problem free dream.

Dap ‘o oppo > Aloha Milkyway 12/28/2019 at 01:19

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You should buy one. You only live once,  and this car will put you back in touch with why you love driving. Give it a tune and don’t look back.