bmws in general are superb, my friend has a chipped 520d and it keeps up with my mates e30 325 sport and the 520 is one of the nicest cars ive been in.
I had an r1 follow me and gave me a thumbs up, although there are alot of dogs they still get respect. there are sooo many good cars about though nowadays, seat leons, gtis etc. and soo many wicked diesels, it really is the people that love them for what they are not necessarily how good they are(/were)