DD (CA)

Previously (many years ago anyway), did not...

Reduced your gap further, if not. :-)

DD

Randy M

Yeah but they took away the fit and finish

April

car is by far the fastest. Otherwise we'd see pro racers sliding cars around corners;-)

ESFO

But the M3's controlled oversteer is better than crippling understeer.

Vijay

has to do with AWD vs. RWD. In a car such as the M3, you will sacrifice traction for better dynamic feel. Still, the AWD gives you a safety advantage when driven hard. I'm not questioning that the new M3 is a better pure performance machine on a dry track. I'm simply stating that as a whole, Audi seems to put less emphasis on pure dry track performance in it's car designs than BMW.

I drove the 335xi. Found it to be sluggish with unpredictable turbo lag and power delivery. The steering was numb, the suspension was too soft, the shifter was rubbery. Basically, I thought it pretty much sucked. So, it's not about BMW per se as it is about the M cars which are magnificent machines to be sure.

However, I still feel that for a street car, to be able to safely put down all the power you have, above about 360-370hp, you need all wheel drive. Now, if I lived in SoCal or Arizona where it is dry and sunny most of the time, I may have opted for the M3, but I do in fact live in New England, with rain and snow, and if want to be able to enjoy driving a high powered car in those conditions, AWD is essential.

343Bhp

With oversteer, you don't necessarily have to. You may have to, but not necessarily.

And on a tight turn, like a hairpin, you can stomp it to get the tail out a shade, catch it with a 1/4 turn of lock, and then power out almost instantly in the direction of the apex. It can be putty in your hands, and immensly pleasurably & yet demanding to extract max performance from. And ANYTIME you get understeer, the cure is a bootful of throttle away.