The BMW M5 6 Speed Manual - When Truth Crushes Our Enthusiast Souls

Bimmerfest's very own enthusiast and moderator Emission had a chance to review the 2013 BMW M5 with the standard 7 speed M DCT and the optional 6 speed manual transmission. Emission is an enthusiast at heart with many year of manual transmission driving to his name, this isn't someone who is going to give up on rowing his own gears without a fight. That being said having driven the 2012 M6 convertible with the 7 speed M DCT I know just how good the semi-automatic transmission is. I was rooting for the 6 speed manual transmission on the M5 to come through for the enthusiasts, unfortunately it does not.

It didn't take but a few minutes to realize that the manual transmission completely changes the M5 driving experience – and not for the better.

Read Emission's complete review of the BMW M5 with the optional 6 speed manual at AutoBlog.

As hard as it is to admit I have to concede that the M5 is a better car with the DCT transmission, but would I buy one with it over the manual? That isn't so easy to say. What transmission would you get in your M5?

Watch a few hot laps of the 2013 at Laguna Seca Race Track