BMW M5: Rarely have we been more convinced that €134,000 is good value for a car. True, the bank manager won't buy that line and your partner will undoubtedly see it as justifiable grounds for divorce.
However, it takes no more than a quick spin through town followed by a short diversion to a race track or runway to bring doubting Thomases on board. If the bank manager still doesn't give you the loan then change banks. Likewise your better half.
All the talk about crossover vehicles combining sportiness and practicality reminds us that BMW set the trend with the original M5 back in 1984. A traditional family car both in practicalities and looks, it hid its supercar performance from public view. It's the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde.
The new M5 sets a new benchmark which others will be hard-pressed to follow. Powered by a superb 5-litre V10 engine - voted engine of 2005 - and with parts sourced from the same plant which builds BMW's Formula One engines, it can outrun most flasher supercars on the market. Yet it's cloaked in the smart metal of a family executive saloon.
The four exhaust tailpipes gurgle out a beautiful throaty warble every time you tickle the throttle, but it's only when you start to climb towards the ridiculously high 8,000-plus rpm redline that you really unleash the beast. The raspy whine is true F1 - you actually get a hint of it changing down even at slow speeds, when a built-in mid-change power blip from the exhaust makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
The M5 leaves the likes of the Porsche 911, a couple of Ferraris and even the Maserati Quattroporte in its wake. In fact, Maserati reportedly modelled the Quattroporte on the previous M5. This new version outshines its predecessor by a country mile.
In normal mode it offers 400bhp, but at the touch of a button 507 thoroughbreds come to your aid, getting you to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Top speed is regulated to 249km/h (155mph), but without the regulator this car will happily hit 330km/h (205mph) - faster than most supercars on the road these days and just as much fun.
This is the sort of car that demands two features as standard: a tracker to stop car thieves and the number of a good solicitor. Its natural home is the German autobahn, where you can really let those 500 horses gallop free. With our 120km/h limit, you get there all too quickly for any real fun - and, incredibly, can do it in second gear.
The M5 lets you enjoy toying with boy racers and wannabes, leaving even Porsche owners eating tyre dirt as you break away from a standing start. Its handling prowess weaves you through even the tightest bends at speeds that should have you picking grass from your teeth.
Some of its brilliance is down to one thing: the M-Button. It's like entering the surreal world of the Sony Playstation - for real.
Let's say Wayne Rooney or one of his cronies pulls along side in a flash new 575 Scaglietti. You want to teach this uppity youngster a thing or two. Just hit the M-button on your steering wheel and suddenly all 500 horses are unstabled. On the autobahn his prancing horse could turn out to a donkey.
Some critics have attacked the M-system, but we found it easy to programme and it stays on your settings until you adjust it. You can change everything from suspension settings to gear change settings. Fancy a softer ride, more sedate gear changes - or how about letting loose? It's all adjustable.
The M5 has nice little touches, such as side cushions that follow the turn of the wheel - if you turn left sharply the right cushion extends to hold you in place. Forget Gran Turismo - this is real life!
The M5's 7-speed SMG transmission is best operated through the F1-like paddles on the steering wheel. The automatic function is smooth when cruising but rather jerking in town traffic.
The gearbox also features launch control. By simply holding the stubby gear lever forward and flooring the accelerator, the car sets up a sequence that will get you off the starting blocks like Michael Schumacher. Release the gear selector and, to the accompaniment of a roaring V10 engine block, you'll be sent hurtling towards the horizon with every ounce of power maximised. The only problem lies in finding enough road.
Work on the M range is restricted to the cream of BMW's engineers. The fact they've chosen regular tyres rather than run-flats is telling, particularly when you consider the strong line taken by BMW of late in support of run-flat technology. Interestingly, the M5 also does without two other controversial features of the 5-Series range: active steering and the Dynamic Drive.
The M5 features electronic damping control and traction control, but for the brave of heart, all can be switched off to give you 100 per cent locking control.
With the M5 you never stop learning. Unlike its competitors, it's got so much more to offer thanks to the M system. It's an education to drive it from the start, when you can simply set it on a general mode and enjoy the fun for the first few months, before spending the rest of your time tweaking the system to try to perfect your own car to the routes you take and the driving style you desire.
Yet the M5 doesn't demand any special driving skills. Even the most amateur driver can enjoy its awesome ability. Yet in the right hands, it's dynamite. In summary all the supercar fun without the usual supercar problems.
There are criticisms, as there always are. The hideous Madeira walnut interior in our test car was a stomach-turner.
Then there's fuel - you'd need to be on personal terms with an Arab sheik to keep it in fuel. Forget the ill-conceived protests against SUVs - this car makes even the most thirsty Range Rover look frugal. The official combined consumption is 14.8 l/100km (19.1 mpg), but our figures were rarely out of the 28.2 l/100km (9.8 mpg) region.
Yet it's the one car we'd opt for in a minute if we could find a willing bank manager. It's the first car that could persuade us of living on a diet of Schnitzel.
The Bavarians boast of building "the ultimate driving machine". That's extremely far-fetched for some of its models, but in the case of the M5 we couldn't disagree.
