The only thing an S4( B5,6,7 ) have in common w/ the M5 is that they both have 4 doors.
Having owned both I feel I can somewhat qualify that statement.
A stock 3.6 M5 ,which is pretty much what you'll be limited to here in the US, will entertain you. The tq will pale in comparison to your S4, but it will get to 110 just as fast w/ a lot more visceral pleasure. Although the suspension is older than your S4, if fresh and well sorted ,will down right outperform it. No contest. There are lots of E34 M5's that outperform 911's at the Nurburgring. Go to e34m5.de and those bad boys do it all the time w/ video proof.
I write this fresh from yesterday's jaunt w/ my M5. As you know, I too face a choice between keeping my beast or buying a friends 993 Carrera....so I thought maybe a spirited drive would help narrow my choice.
I also feel that the E34 M5 chassis power to weight ratio is just right . 355hp-3700 lbs w/ a long wheelbase makes for a car that is balanced. It will make you a better driver. I find most cars I've driven have too much power for the average enthusiast to drive at or even near limit. Unless you've got a hundred or so HPDE hrs behind cars like a Z06,996,E46 M3 , less power, more suspension = more pleasure.
As far as an older 911, I had an 87 as well as an 81 SC. I agree w/ MStupp. Fun cars, pretty reliable at times,but I don't think I'd revisit those days. Even when clean, they look so dated. Its a 'tweener P car.
Not old enough to look sweet like a 69 911S,T,or E, and not as sexy as it predecesor the 964 or 993. But thats just me.
I have way more than 100 hours of both DE and racing under my belt in rather high HP cars - 360hp Camaro, 400+ HP C4, 330hp C4, 400hp Z06, etc. But I do know exactly what you mean about the balance thing. The Z06 is actually a pretty well balanced car stock. Because the limits of the car are way up there. My race-only C4 was a bit of a handful with the 400hp motor but much easier to drive quickly with the 330hp motor. And my current race car is a 215rwhp car at 3200lbs with driver and fuel - Camaro that I run with the NASA CMC series. Or used to - I gave that up this year because I can no longer support the yearly budget associated with organized racing due to family priorities. that is much more of a momentum car - it has some V8 grunt, but not like the stuff I was used to. And I absolutely agree that it forced me into becoming a better driver. But the biggest factor in becoming a better, faster, safer, more aware driver was running wheel to wheel racing with the NASA CMC boys. It is just simply amazing the speeds you can take a 3200lb Camaro with 255 toyos through a turn - and that has zero to do with HP. So running in a pack of highly skilled drivers in nearly identically prepped cars was an exponential learning experience for me, even after 10+ years of doing DE's. I could watch them up close, see what they did - how much speed they could carry and then follow them and section by section of each track we ran I got faster. Way faster than I ever would be doing even in a Z06 - because there is no way I am going to take a $30K+ street car through corners at 9-10/10's. The consequences are too high. So I guarantee I ran faster lap times in my race car which was the same weight and was down 150hp and also had a way less sophisticated chassis and no ABS - although we ran way more negative camber than you could ever get away with in a dual purpose car.
So I know where you are coming from with that. And that said - I probably like my S4 so much (I have the later model even more piggie one) because I never push it past 75% on the street. I would probably hate it on the race track. But I love driving a stock power E36 M3 on the track. That's the thing - 10/10's doesn't apply for me on the street. I won't go there. I can go there on a race track, even in a pretty fast car. But that just doesn't apply to the street for me.
So to your point - I agree that a more balanced, lower HP car with a great chassis can be a lot more fun to drive both on track and on the street. And especially on the street where there is just a limit to how fast you can safely go anyway, having a lower HP car can be a lot more fun. I used to have a ton of fun in the E36 M3 and while I sometimes wished for more power, the great balance that car had from the factory made it fun to drive and I could wring it out a bit more without going crazy fast in no time like in the Z06. That was part of why I got rid of the car - it was just too fast for the street. Couple seconds of WOT merging on the freeway and before you know it you are past 90mph and still in 3rd gear. That's bad. Especially since mine was red...
I was noodling about this today during some down time at a soccer tournament with my daughter. The whole sports car vs. sports sedan thing. And really for the type of driving and use that I have now, a sports car doesn't make a whole lotta sense. Maybe after the kids have left the nest. Like I would not have wanted to drive a really nice 911 up to the field and leave it sitting on the street next to all the minivans and SUV's and so forth. I would be too nervous about it. And after sitting out in the sun, even on a moderate day - upper 70's - it was nice to get in and blast the cold AC for the ride home.
So as a practical matter, I really do not have enough opportunity right now to enjoy a sports car. I found that with the last couple that I have owned, then I go without one for awhile and think it will be different this time, and it isn't. So I think I am going to refocus on getting some kind of sedan or 2-door, 4-seat coupe. Something more modern than the 911. Sure - if I could swing a 993 I might be considering it, but that is just outside my realistic budget right now.
So a E34 M5 or E36 or E46 M3 are on the top of my list. Probably I will turn to dinan for a suspension either way I go - factory set up is probably good enough on the E46 actually. And leave the motor alone other than a chip and intake. I do want a nice balanced RWD car that handles well and has great road feel and feedback. And has a back seat so I can use it with the family or at least with my 2 girls. BMW M cars have proven to have that in my past experience, I see no reason to expand that horizon...
The M5 would be the more useful, the M3 the more sporting.
Go for the M5 on over the M3 if for no other reason than you're so much less likely to see another on the road. I gotta say I prefer the feel you get from driving the E34 M5 over the E46 M3 as well. It just feels like a more solid car it all respects.
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