Correct, a few years ago, the 5 series was the ultimate performance sedan. The 540 was ruthless for a non "performance" sedan. I do not like the redesigned versions nearly as much. The M variants are another story entirely. My new favorite performance division however is the V series from caddy. That new CTS is an absolute beast, and cost savings to boot. Given a few more years of refinement they will be up at the top of the game, and are very close now
The Vs are excellent cars. The CTS-V is a tremendous piece of work. I just worry that with the problems that GM is having, expensive (although less than M cars) and low volume selling cars like the V series are in serious jeopardy long term.