roller coaster cornering, barry white exhaust tone, tyra banks soft leather, womb-like interior

A word of warning to those who are married or have a girlfriend: you might find yourself caressing the leather seats and realise you no longer need her ;-)

I sat in a Z3 coupe in a showroom about 6 months before I bought this car. That''s all it took. I no longer concerned myself with purchasing a new practical VW GTI as all my daydreams and fantasies were about driving this car....but because of the rarity...it was nearly impossible. Then, one day, while talking to my friend, a car salesman, I tell him - "what I''d really like to get is an M-Coupe, but I don''t know if I could afford it." And, he nonchalantly replies, "oh, really, well, we just happened to get one in on trade-in yesterday." "oh," i say, feeling as if i had just won the lottery AND completed a rubix cube. So, the next day I drove (1.5 hours) there and test drove it. Well, it was parked out front, and I could see her....er...I mean it as I drove up. Well, to make a long story short, it was love at first sight; and we are living happily ever after with each day like a dream; and whenever i''m on the highway, it''s as if all the other traffic is sitting still. (sigh) THE END

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Victoria''s Secret, Disneyland, and Hershey''s chocolate syrup.

Quality of materials and workmanship!

Not a car for larger people. Quite a chore to get in and out of quickly.

The M Coupe has always been my dream car - just imagine my suprise when a 2001 Titanium Silver Metallic and red/black interior M Coupe showed up in my driveway for my 40th birthday!

Beautiful car - tight build, impeccable paint, and kick-ass materials. Oh ... and 315 horses under that fabulous hood. Unlike my E36 M3, this engine is a beauty to behold - it looks like a high-performance engine should look - 6 individual butterfly throttle - stainless steel fuel rails - double vanos housing - new M badge - just beautiful!!

It's a Hot Rod plain and simple. Wicked fast!! This must be what it felt like to drive one of Carrol Shelby's original cars - light and quick (but with modern saftey and comfort).

It's a keeper - some lucky friend or relative is going to love me a lot one day!?!

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Same quality as my '95 M3 coupe and '99 M3 Convertible - much more responsive and "sporty" than either of these. More of a personal car!

Engine,handling and styling.

The prior owner I think parked the car under the trees too many times. There is some slight discoloration in the paint on the roof from droppings but who cares, polish does wonders.

Absolutely incredible car. Drove it for one month, did a little research, decided to up the ante and had a new exhaust, computer chip, throttle body,cold air intake and the stage two suspension kit installed from Dinan out in California. Now the car is ridiculous. I did inquire about upping the ante on the tires and was told it would increase the limits of the car but it would make it less forgiving at the limit. It is interesting in the comments how some felt it was unforgiving in turns at its limit. I don't know if I agree. I guess if you do something in the middle of a turn one shouldn't do it might snap on you but so far I find it is just amazing just how much control I have with the car in the way it is set up. I strongly recommend this car to anyone who really appreciates an incredibly great handling car with an engine to back it up. And definitely has character.

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Andi TT, Boxter

Gee..everything! Seats! Neck snapping brakes! Exterior styling (it grows on you. Trust me.) Power in spades! Even a useful storage area in back, instead of two pointless microseats. And if I had a dime for every "Awesome car, dude!" or it's equivilent, I'd be rich! The heated seats are so comfy, I've fallen asleep in them a dozen times!

Snow? Flakes of death unless you spring for $2000 in Pirelli Winters. Strange wheel offsets front/back makes having a spare almost impossible. ires are expensive (not unexpected for such a cat though). High door sills makes getting in and out awkward. A little hard on gas, but then again, it is 240 HP. No standard cupholder.

It truly is a car that makes you want to drive it. Comfort. Performance. Quality of build. Damn the torpedos styling. It has it all. And that loooong bulging hood that just shouts "THIS....is an M ENGINE!"

Little touches. Windows that auto-lower slightly when you open or close the door, to prevent seal damage! Excellent pedal/deadpedal layout. Traction control. ABS. Even sensors to tell you when the brake pads need replacing. I changed my oil at a Mr. Lube, and the techs spent five minutes just gawking at the engine!

And I had a brake caliper seize, and replaced under warranty. The dealer made me feel like royalty. Service techs in blinding white lab coats!

BMW are Gods! Gods, I tell you! :-)

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TT, Corvette, M3

Looks, power, handling, torque, rarity

Interior could be a little more updated, they should put some better stock tires on, some minor quality issues

I would highly recommend the M-coupe. It is one of the best drivers cars in America (for under $50K) and is extremely rare. You will see more Vipers and Ferrari's than M-coupes. It's looks will stop people DEAD in there tracks with either awe or distaste.

The power from 0 - 100 is amazing. It's like a go-kart made for the streets. Feels faster than the M3's I've driven too.

It's got a nice size cargo area as well. I've driven home with a quite a few shopping goodies in the trunk.

If you drive and M-coupe you will buy it.

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M3, 318i, Mustangs (kind of similar, I guess), Corvette

Flexible engine with lots of midrange grunt. A true drivers car. Practicality. Unique retro styling. Build quality is on par with the best. Relatively inexpensive. A memorable drive everytime. Rare!

Small gas tank. Hatch rattles a bit on hard bumps. Not much else.

I was shopping for a Boxster when I came upon this car. After test driving many of high performance cars on my list, it was the M-Coupe that was the most memorable. I didn't care for the styling at first but it has definitely grown on me. What did impress me though was the M Coupe's driving dynamics. It was love at first drive. Good power and it handles like the older Porsche 993s. I feel most cars today lack character. The M Coupe oozes with personality. Yes, the Boxster is a better balanced car in terms of handling but it lacks a certain something present in the older Porsches. The Vette has awesome stragihtline power but it lacks the build quality of the Europeans and Japanese. The M Coupe has almost as much power but achieves spees with much more finese. This car has it all, unique looks, refinement, performance, and practicality.

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Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, Porsche 911, NSX, Corvette.

Amazingly fun to drive, extremely reliable, great performance for the dollar, rare to see another Coupe, modern/retro styling, BMW dealership support is second to none

Tires (Dunlop 8080 --My 95 M3 came with Michelin MXX3's which were dramatically better), cheap feeling interior, loose interior panel noises/rattles uncommon on a BMW, idiot magnet, an absolute joke in the snow without snow tires (duh)

Definitely recommeded, but with a caveat. For sheer driving thrills its hard to find anything even close in this price range. To go fast it likes to have the traction control off and the tail out --way out. It's so fun sometimes you have to pull over because you're giggling too much. I caught my normally car-indifferent wife staring at it for 15 minutes straight -- the way kids dream of driving...and it often smells like hot rubber when she returns from a drive! An Mcoupe won't be nice if you do something dumb, but it would have to be REALLY dumb for you to totally lose it. At the other extreme an M3 will be so nice as to make excuses for your mistakes. The MCoupe downfall is only if you want the car to be anything other than your toy. - 2 seats eventually seems less ideal than when you first got it, but then the unique styling, oogling stares, throaty exhaust, and fantastic torque make up for occasional inconveniences in spades. I've driven faster cars (not that much faster), more forgiving cars, more refined cars... but I find myself more attached to the Coupe than those others, it has personality -- something hard to find in today's cars.

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95 BMW M3, Audi A4, BMW 2002tii, 911, 935, 928, Ferrari 355- M3 rear sticks better than the coupe on rough pavement, but is less exhilarating to drive

SA spec is 236kw/350nm torque (Same as Germany). That is nothing to sneeze at. Faster than most Porsches, especially Boxter and Boxter S. Nicer looking (for me)as well.

We do not get it with traction control etc., only help is ABS, power steering & thankfully aircon. We also get a thin sparewheel in addition to the can of goo. Speed limit in SA 120km/hour on highways, however good, long & empty roads someplaces. So I know speed limiter actually kicks in (starts reducing power) at an indicated 265km/hour. How many people can say they have done that for a car at this price & with such ease & control?? Must be the ultimate driving machine at the price -- compare it to the biggger Porsches or even M5 Beemer & see what you pay & what you get.

Our model fully imported from Germany, but right hand drive -- build quality (generally speaking) very good. Engine absolutely marvellous - better than the old M3 two door (E36). Body very rigid, no sunroof in our spec. Car addictive, you are looking for excuses to drive it all the time. Surprisingly comfortable as a long-distance tourer too. True GT in the best tradition.

Some rattles in the box housing the woofer & CD. Sounded as if from back door, was not. Got to the stage where I disassembled the whole thing and put in some rubber strips between adjacent housings -- much better, don't know why BMW does not do it properly to start off with. Sent them a snotty E-Mail in this regard. No reply so far. Some brake/wheel rumble/shudder under heavy braking from 200km/h plus.

BEWARE -- it bites if pushed really hard through corners!!! Tail loses it suddenly and without prior warning!! NOT a car for slippery roads or for young people playing -- you WILL go fast and you may just kill yourself. A bit like the sea -- it is NOT totally predicatable although you may think so, especially as it is so docile at slow speeds. Recommended for anybody that is addicted to fast, purposebuilt, performance machines, who preferably only has a dog for a companion (your wife or girlfriend may leave you beacuase you may become obsessed with the thing) & can live out of a smallish suitcase. (Especially wiht the spare wheel in the boot)

Fuel use heavy in stop-start traffic, better on open road. Chips relatively easily, paint not that good.

Unconditional recommendation to anybody that really loves performance cars and what they stand for. Dont buy it for the image -- it has plenty, but this is not what this particular Beemer is about. Rather buy a Merc SLK or whatever. If you have it, don't sell it -- this is going to become an exclusive classic & your grandchildren will thank you.

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Old M3 Two Door Coupe -- better
BMW 328i -- much faster, more torque
Audi S3 Turbo -- More purposefull than Audi

I had a Porsche 964 C2 a few years ago, and the M coupe feels very similar to that car, but a lot more balanced. It is ultra responsive and FUN to drive ! Fast, too.

no spare tire

I recommend it whole heartedly if you love to drive. Its like a very comfortable go cart. Better(in terms of driving) than anything I have owned before. This is, as one of the car magazines has said, the new 911 that porsche should have built.

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911 C2, E36 M3,E30 M3,Porsche 968

This car rocks ass.. My friend has a M Roadster and i wax him ever race..

none except the rear hatch makes noise going over bumps.

This car is way better than the Roadster..i have a supersprint exhaust and the car went 13.6@ 100.8 mph at the racw track.

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