thats a surprise.

I test drove friend's 330ci sprt steptronic and M3 SMG II b4. compared to my 2.7 987, there is NO MATCH.

speed wise, M3 will kick my ar$$ on the straight, but the BM's steering "feel" is a huge disappointment. better than the 330 (maybe cos of the nicer s/wheel), but still not good enough for this money.

the E46 feels heavy and slow thru the corners, my box feels (and is) lighter.

and dont get me started on the whimpy sound of the 330ci.

the boxster has got the best steering feel in any car I have driven (not a lot mind u). and I would take the boxster any day.

having said that, the E46 is a finely balanced car. dont get me wrong, and the M3 is definitely a good value performance car with four seats. but personally I still like the E36 over the E46 in terms of dynamics. E46 + E90 are just hopelessly over weight.

just please dont go for the tiptronic. get a S manual.
just my 2 cents.