juventus, I am in a similar situation and am going for M3 sedan. My kids are 9 and 10 but they rarely ride in my car and when they do, it is always a short trip. And yes, the M3 is a fine car. It will cost you about the same as a loaded F10 550 but you can most of the technology options including the new iDrive, bluetooth, comfort access etc...

 

I test drove an M3 a few months back and my wife was also entertaining the idea of a 335. We agreed that the 3 series would be too small since we have 2 children. I went from my X5 to my M5 and I'm telling you the interior wise there really isn't a huge difference.

In your situation I would consider the M5. You can get a loaded M for about what you are looking to spend. Good luck with your decision.

 

Maserati FTW until you see the maintenance costs.

+1 on the M5

 

you can get a slightly used panamera S in the high-70's to 80K (on ebay), if you can wait a few more months you could find them for that price everywhere. and maybe in that time the f10 550 with sport package will grow on you.

have u driven the e500? i havent but maybe you'll like it?

 

Seriously, check out eBay motors for example. There are basically brand new 2010 M5s with 2K miles for $75K: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2010-...item1e5c53ddeb

 

IMO the problem with getting an e60 M5 now is the f10 m5 will be out in < a year. so youre gonna take a big depreciation hit when it comes time to sell it. if thats not a concern then go for it.

 

Thanks for your replies everyone. The Base Panamera-even that is too expensive and slow.