Are you sure on this? Im at 108,000 Miles and still on the original clutch. All depends on how you drive I guess.

 

DSF is right, the more the engine is powerful, the less the clutch will last

 

DAMN!! That was just rude.......



Personally, I like the fact that I can choose to drive the car as a manual or automatic. When I want to really drive the car and be in control of when the car changes, I use the sport mode and have found that it definitely makes driving the car more fun. And then when I'm in traffic, or just want to get where I'm going, the automatic suits me perfectly. Best of both worlds in my opinion!

This thread will give you the best info on the sport auto transmission. The guy did a great job explaining it's benefits and downsides.

 

I was driving my MT G35 yesterday,( I usually only drive it on the weekends)anyway I had to stay late at work so I caught in rush hour traffic. Its been years since i drove on rush hour traffic with a MT and it was a pita I wished I had driven my AT 535i. If you drive in rush hour on a daily basis go with the AT if not I would pick the MT.

 

Yep, my OEM clutch lasted 100k. And those werent exactly easy miles. I beat on it pretty regularly.

 

Sport Auto is the answer, you can drive fully auto or switch to manual and paddle your own gears. With a big high end luxury car such as the 550i, a standard manual is a downgrade. Stock to stock, a sport auto wins over a manual every day. I would laugh if I got into a 50K+ sedan and there was a standard shifter sitting there, just as I would laugh jumping into an automatic prosche. Iv'e been driving standard manuals for 20 years and the sport auto is much faster and much more comfortable at that. Bottom line, standard manuals are just about a thing of the past. Paddles are the future.

 

Manual - will obviously give you complete control over the shifting and you will feel more connected to the car. If you live in an area where you do not encounter a lot of stop-and-go traffic, you'll be fine with this.

Auto - I'm not sure how options went for the e60 after the LCI changes (model years 2008 - 2010) in France, but in the U.S. at least there was the 'normal' Steptronic and there was also the optional Sport Automatic that added paddle shifters on the steering wheel and a sport button near the shifter that, when engaged, affected a few things but mostly made the shifts LIGHTNING fast. Also, if you are in an area with a lot of cars and a lot of stop-and-go traffic, you'd be better off with the auto. More specifically, the Sport Auto if you're looking for fast shifts.

Hope this helps your decision.

 

Thanks everyone.

I'm going to use the car everyday, globally it is half city and half highway.
So I don't think that manual will be a problem.

acorradi87 > it is the same in France, there is the Sport Auto available with the paddle shifters (which are not as beautiful as the paddles of the SMG-III of the M5 according to me).
It would be with this and the manual that I would still hesitate because I really know how comfortable it is not to have to shift when we're blocked in traffic.

I still don't know what to choose.

 

If you still don't know what to choose now, I think you should choose automatic.

 

If I choose Automatic, it will be Sport Auto...

It still remains a big dilemma as I love shifting with a genuine manual gearbox, but on the other hand I know how boring it is rush hour...