Standing water and driving rain means only one thing: I start in the M5. This is one of 50 run-out LE models, but is mechanically identical to any other six-speed 3.8-litre M5 (the M5 ran a 315bhp 3.6-litre straight-six up to ’92). And despite a notable lack of traction control or stability systems it’s a friendly, easygoing beast. Thank the long wheelbase, the wonderfully accurate throttle control and the supreme balance of the chassis – in these conditions it feels confident and composed.

But if the luxurious surroundings and long-legged stride of the M5 ease you into the treacherous conditions, the jagged howl of the 340bhp straight-six spurs you on to look beyond the big saloon’s ability to cosset. At first it feels a little lacking in torque. You fear that the sonorous, searing soundtrack is writing cheques that the engine can’t cash, but stick with it and use all of its l-o-n-g throttle travel and the big M5 starts to get serious.

At 4000rpm the 3.8-litre engine thumps you up the road on a rich seam of torque, and as the revs increase, the power builds and builds. Between 6000 and 7000rpm the engine is in the sweetest of sweet spots – and if that sounds fleeting, it isn’t; the M5 is very long geared (third stretches to 100mph) and you can savour the final metallic cacophony for what seems like an age. Keep the M5 singing over 4000rpm and it lives up to its supersaloon billing with ease.

In fact it’s even better than that. The E34 is smaller than equivalent modern four-doors and is almost 200kg lighter than the current M5. The way it keeps its 1650kg under control is simply stunning. The Boge electronic dampers that make up the ‘Nürburgring’ suspension package (standard on the LE, an option on other 3.8-litre M5s) have two settings, ‘S’ and ‘P’ (Sport and Performance). The latter is certainly firm, but the M5 always feels fluid and supple, never crashing or skipping over rapid-fire bumps, yet the body stays flat even when tucked hard into a turn.

There’s just a bit of understeer at the limit, and even when you deliberately provoke it the M5 seems happier to adopt small oversteer angles than mighty power-slides, but it’s immensely satisfying to use the saloon’s competence to good effect. As you get more committed to the throttle, so you learn that the M5 has enormous reserves of grip and seemingly limitless composure. It’s an astonishingly wieldy, nimble car. Only slow steering slightly spoils the picture, but you soon forget about that and revel in the engine’s response and the chassis’ remarkably tweakable balance. If the sign of a truly great chassis is its ability to adapt to the driver’s every whim, then the E34 M5 is from the top drawer.

It takes time to uncover this precise adjustability, though, to learn how to get the best from the big straight-six, but it’s worth the effort. It’s a car you have to show commitment to before it reveals its soul. It’s a car you could spend a great deal of time with and never get bored. Phwoar.

The day I have allocated to try out, among others, the BMW M5 is not the brightest. There is rain driving in from the ocean, and the constant overnight precipitation has led to a minor inundation – not quite at the point where the storm drains start backing up and roads become rivers, but certainly a fair distribution of decent sized puddles to negotiate. The M5 is constitutionally inseparable from any other six-speed 3.8l M5 that they have produced, and in spite of a suspicious paucity of traction and glaringly absent stability systems it nonetheless presents as a easygoing, equable creature. Contributing to this demeanour are the long wheelbase, the terrifically spot-on throttle control and the joyous balance and heft of the chassis – just what I require to drive away the winter chills.

Yet all life is not represented in luxuriant environment and fine-limbed striding, which the M5 can toss off without lifting its eye-line – the searing yelps emanating from the 340bhp sixer encourages me to cast my mind beyond the narrow confines of the spacious saloon’s facility with interior coddling. Immediately it seems to be short a bit of torque, but as I gave it a chance to pay back my trust it rose strenuously to the occasion and began to make its considerable presence manifest.

The 3.8l engine whirls one up the highway strip at around 4000rpm, and from there on things get only better. Hit 6000rpm, and you have a period of the most sublime grace between there and about 7000rpm – and if that sounds like a brief epiphany, be not deceived; the M5 is very long geared and the tympanic symphony can be enjoyed for a stretching epoch. Above 4000, the M5 is as luminescent as the lights that proclaim its name on the billboard of BMW big-hitters.

In fact it’s even better than that. The E34 is smaller than equivalent modern four-doors and is almost 200kg lighter than the current M5. The way it keeps its 1650kg under control is simply stunning. The Boge electronic dampers that make up the ‘Nürburgring’ suspension package (standard on the LE, an option on other 3.8-litre M5s) have two settings, ‘S’ and ‘P’ (Sport and Performance). The latter is certainly firm, but the M5 always feels fluid and supple, never crashing or skipping over rapid-fire bumps, yet the body stays flat even when tucked hard into a turn.

It is incumbent on me to flag a minor amount of understeer at the vertical limit, and even when you taunt and tease it the saloon appears to be sufficiently placid and content just to adopt smaller oversteer angles at the expense of implementing a program of mighty power-slides – nonetheless, it’s terribly fulfilling to employ this competence to optimum effect. As you pour more of your soul and being into the throttle, so you absorb the diffused realisation that herein lies enormous reserves of grip and apparently unbounded balance and poise. One is constantly surprises by the gentility and fleetness of such a brute. Only slow steering slightly spoils the picture, but you soon forget about that and revel in the engine’s response and the chassis’ remarkably tweakable balance. If the sign of a truly great chassis is its ability to adapt to the driver’s every whim, then the M5 is from the top drawer.

It is no immediate intuitive deluge that allows one to take advantage of this adjustability, however; rather, to learn how to extract the juice from the straight-six is a pursuit that exiges dedication and investment – totally worth it, though, once things start flowing. Pour yourself into it and you will soon find your cup runneth over. And I challenge you to become bored driving this thing.

Specifications:
Engine: 5.0-litre V10
Power: 373kw @ 7750rpm
Torque: 520Nm @ 6100rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed SMG III
Driven Wheels: Rear
Brakes: Front: 374mm x 36mm, ventilated & cross-drilled, dual-piston floating-calliper, compound disc brakes. Rear: 370mm x 24mm, ventilated & cross-drilled, single-piston floating calliper, compound disc brakes
Top Speed: 250km/h (AUS limit) – 275km/h (GER limit)
0-100km/h: 4.7 seconds
CO2 Emissions: 357g/km
Fuel Consumption: 14.8L/100km
Fuel Tank Capacity: 70 litres
Fuel Type: 98RON petrol
ANCAP Rating: Five-star
Airbags: Front, side and curtain airbags
Suspension: Front: Double-joint tension rod spring-strut suspension with displaced camber; small positive steering scrub radius; transverse forced compensation; anti-dive. Rear: Integral axle (aluminium), wheel suspension with special effect anti-squat/anti-dive.
Cargo Capacity: 500 litres
Warranty:
Weight: 1755kg