I owned a '99 BMW 328i, and I loved it. Since then, E46 M3 was my dream car. Unfortunately, after a few weeks owing it, I found it a bit over weight. The SMG auto manual sucked. Either shifting too abrupt or too slow. I was never able to dial it to behave correctly. Well, it could be me who expected the computer to shift better than human could. Obviously, with single clutch, that is not possible. I kept the car for a year or so and got rid of it so soon as I could. That was my last BMW.

Living with the M3 means enduring the drama of its carbon-ceramic brakes, which repeatedly frighten us when they get wet and pedal feel vanishes, even as BMW is adamant that they are working properly. It also means suffering a loud, bone-jarring ride that cannot be ameliorated, even by switching the adjustable suspension into Comfort mode. It means listening to the muffler do its best impersonation of a garbage disposal filled with rocks when we start the car in the morning, even after multiple visits to service. It means that by this time in our test, some editors are as tired of the car as the car is tired, even if we all still love the way it looks and performs.