Big Al 330i said:
But you are not comparing apples to apples. I don't see anyone dumping their E46 M3 for an E36 M3 or an E46 330 for an E36 328. Of course, in a raw performance perspective, a non M E46 is not going to compare to an E36 M3. But the fact that it comes close is pretty impressive. But then, an E36 M3 does not compare to an E46 M3.
Actually, in raw performance terms, the 330Ci comes pretty close to the E36 M3. It's definitely a battle of driver skill.
I bought the M because it just FELT better to me. It's louder, has heavier steering, is less luxurious inside, and definitely shows the marks of being designed ten years ago. Some of that is better than the 330Ci, while other parts aren't...but the good far outweigh the bad FOR ME. The 330Ci is just as good, but it's less of a "hard driving" car and more of a cruiser. I would say that many E46 owners would agree and say this is a good thing.
And you're right - I'm comparing an M car to a non-M car, which is unfair in some ways. But for what I wanted, it was perfectly fair. I wanted a car under $40,000 that gave me high performance acceleration, world class handling, and the comfort to drive in bad traffic every day. The M3 does everything I want better than the 330Ci for less money - and in my case, I found a car with low enouhg mileage to make me happy. It doesn't give me the luxurious feeling I get when I step into an E46, but that matters less to me than pure performance.
To give you some more insight into my decision, I'll tell you that the S2000 was very high on my list. In fact, I came very close to walking in and ordering one several times. Where the S2K lost was in the comfort department - I saw myself LOVING the car on weekends, but hating it for those hour-long trips through downtown D.C. with the top up.