Hate to ask a stupid question but I am considering an M5 (used 07) and curently drive a 545i with 6 speed mnual. My wife doesn't care for the 6 speed. The only SMG I've driven was a 04 or so M3 and i didn't care for it but can't say I was driving it correctly. Thoughts?

There's no real decision with the E60 M5.....SMG or nothing. You will love the SMG on this car....you have to drive it to see its real potential and benefits over the manual (which is a carry over tranny from the E39 M5).

Think of it as a manual tranny that utilizes a real clutch but with no actual foot clutching...the computer does it for you, at a speed which a human could never match. I loved the rev-matching on the downshifts best. The car will actually roll on you at stop signs & hills like a manual would but only if you leave your foot off the brake for a few seconds, however there is brake- assist just like on the manual (at least my 550i has it) to prevent you from drifting backward on a hill during the initial brake-to-accelerator transition.

Plus, the tranny has an "auto" mode that is useful for times when you might have one hand occupied and can't manually flip the shift lever or paddles. But, I see no other real use for this mode except maybe for stop-n-go rush hour driving.

From the FAQ section: http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=2106

As much as I believe a MT is "TRUE" driving, SMG is simply AWESOME!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

I put 70k miles on my 1st SMG (04 M3) and have 18k miles on my 08 M5. Once you know how to drive it, there is no going back to the clutch. It takes a little time to learn and then it is quick, double clutches, and you can be very smooth. Don't forget to reset the SMG every now and then.

Thanks guys so this car can be driven like a traditional automatic trans then too correct? My wife will love that :)

It truly is the best of both worlds, my current loaner (still) has the paddles, and I've been having a bit TOO much fun with them!! :whistle: :lol:

For the wife it can be driven like an automatic. Once you get used to and good with the SMG, you will hate the D modes.

Paddles do not equal SMG... If I remember correctly, you're driving an automatic tranny with paddles. Although it may seem to be like an SMG, it isn't.

To the OP, if you can, have the wife drive it in automatic mode to see if she "approves"... As I said already, it shifts the gears all by itself but it isn't an automatic transmission.

as the M5 is actually my wife's daily driver, I had to be sure she liked the Auto mode. Had my fingers crossed that she liked it, and luckily she did. It works "well enough" in auto mode, but it does hang on to gears. When I've used it I've found it to be in a lower gear than I would be in if I were manually selecting. And at a typical cruising speed where I would be in 7th, the auto mode would be in 6th burning more fuel. not sure what speed it wants you to be doing for the auto box to select 7th, but it aint 70mph that's for sure. basically, I NEVER use the auto mode, but the wife does everytime.

Rudy -

How are you liking the new sport automatic transmission in your new 550i? I know you were a huge fan of the SMG in your last car and just wondered if you miss it. I'm debating going from 6MT to auto in my next car, just for convenience sake.

Thoughts?