Mmm Good ; BMW's M3: Bread and butter for the enthusiast.(Brief Article)

The BMW M3 is about as good as it gets. No, it's not the fastest car out there, nor is it the most nimble. But the M3 can legitimately claim to be one of the best balanced, most fun enthusiast automobiles on the road. And after reading letters from several dozens of you who own one, we think you agree.

The balance comes from the combination of a meaty inline six with a torque band that stretches flat across the rev range, and a chassis as lively and responsive as any in the BMW stable. The M3 exhibits almost no dive on braking or understeer in turns. It has a quick turn-in and crisp steering, with little tendency either to push or get tail-happy. Handling remains neutral even when the driver is less than perfectly smooth. If the car is pushed past its (or the driver's) limits, traction control does a great job keeping the M3's nose pointed in the right direction.

Its 3.2-liter variable valve six turns out 333 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, enough grunt to allow for spirited passing at highway speeds

in fifth and sixth gears. Put the pedal down and the engine pulls no matter where on the tach the needle points or what gear is engaged.

At the track it quickly becomes clear why so many of the respondents to our AutoFile survey autocross their M3s on weekends.

The M3 pulled 0.87 g on the skidpad, and it ran our 490-foot slalom at 46.0 mph, the same as the ...