Quite agree, the first car was a disappointment. I had confidently predicted that the first B5 would be an infinately better car to live with for 30000 miles a year than the M5 when it first came out; but boy was I wrong! The M5 tugged at the heart strings while the B5 just was not sharp eneugh and left me cold; this car however should genuinely be a better car to use everyday than an M5 and be 'real world' faster to boot.
Alpina, with the D3 and B5S have yet again found niches in BMWs product range for easy to use cars with a good ride and eneugh presence to satisfy most people without looking to 'boy racerish'.