Then drove home in my year-old E93 335i. Compared well, still a superb car … but it ain’t an M.

Keep your eye out for BMW Drive For The Cure at nearby dealership. The fleet touring Florida has the M-3 to drive (and an X6 to look at – The Incredible Hulk). Had a 1-series, but was pulled from fleet to keep from overshadowing model’s launch.

Gabe, I was under the impression that BMW couldn’t offer a sports suspension on their AWD cars because their AWD set-up didn’t allow it.

I was told their AWD design limits the car from being lowered sufficiently for a sports-suspension. Something about the axle being in the way.

The reason it sounded plausible is that it’s sort of puzzling that BMW would intententionally deny customers a true AWD sports suspension for philosophical reasons, as you suggest, and grant Audi its one and only claim to fame over BMW for winter drivers, which seems to pretty much keep them Audi business.

Is BMW hesitant to do AWD cars “too well” and dull/confuse their RWD heritage? Is it a must-offer for the market, but not a main focus?

(When I say too well, I mean that Audi offers high hp AWD cars like the RS4, while BMW seems to limit their AWD car offerings to the lowest engine.)

I’ve always wondered about this, and your comment touched off this flurry of questions–really, the same question. Thanks for reading.

All of those videos are awesome. Looks like you had a fun time. I know that I would have.

I agree, an LSD should be an option, just like it’s an available option for the Mini Cooper S. One doesn’t have to get a full-blown JCW kit to get an LSD; it’s available separately as a stand-alone option.

It’s true that the 335xi doesn’t have the sports suspension, but that is at least more easily rectified by changing the stock suspension. Adding on 4wd to a regular 335i is a much more difficult task. That’s why I’m leaning more towards a 335xi, whose suspension I can mod later.

That is something that boggles my mind. Why wouldn’t BMW at least offer LSD as an option on the 335i? That is a HUGE handicap for a car with such a large and immediate level of torque.

NIce review! Sounds like this car is a giant bag of technology and plenty of ponies… which will definitely set it apart from the competition and its family members.

Quick question for you. The M3 looks impressive, but for ~$2000 you can have Dinan reprogram the ECU of a 335i and give you 384 hp and 421 lb/ft of torque and still have $ leftover. Which would you recommend?

However, having come from an M roadster and E46 M-3 to a 911, I really don’t see the cars as competitors. If you need the storage space, and the extra seats and want to save some rather serious $$ difference, the M-3 is an outstanding choice.

But the 911 is a sports car designed to be one from the ground up. P has honed that chassis over 40 years and its obvious within the first few miles behind the wheel. The 911 is a surgical driving instument. Amazing brakes, steering and balance in all its inputs.

BMW will sell a ton ( or many tons LOL) of M-3s and the inevitable comparisons to the 911 will continue just like when the E 46 M-3 came out.

IMHO….the M-3 is amazing sports sedan BUT the 911 is an amazing sports car.

I’d love to see a comparison of the M3, 335xi with xDrive, and 135i.

I can tell you right now that anything with xDrive doesn’t belong with the two other cars you mentioned. BMW doesn’t believe (rightly so IMHO) that an AWD vehicle should be meant for sporty driving so they don’t offer even the normally optional sport suspension on those cars. A RWD 335i would be an interesting comparison but I can tell you that the M3 is a much more focused performance car and would easily be my pick of the two if money wasn’t an object.