With all the recent posts about "vintage" BMWs, I've been looking a lot at listings for 5-series from the early '90s, and I'm completely surprised at how reasonably priced they are. I'd definitely suggest looking in that direction, especially if you can drive a manual transmission.

"Think of it, if you like, as a librarian with a G-string under the tweed." Clarkson on the Mondeo.