When I was in the market for my latest car, I had the opportunity to drive back-to-back in same dealership an M3, Cayman S, and C2S. It was a great way to feel the differences among these cars.

As others have said, the M3 felt a bit weak in low torque, but had the power once you rev it up. However, it felt heavier and significantly less nimble than the C2S. I felt less connected to the road with the M3 than with the Porsches. The M3 felts a bit too civilized.

After test driving these three cars back and forth, I ended up getting the C2S; and have not regrets.

 

The new M3 is a great car and in my opinion a better daily driver than my 997.2S...quieter, more room..as far as power delivery, everyones opinion will vary on what they think is powerful/fast.

 

will no longer work for you if your child refuses to ride in it.

 

why would you buy an m3 when a couple simple and cheap mods get your 335i just as fast? Get a C63.

 

After reading the whole thread the above ^^ is correct. You cannot make a car work that just does not. Many times the position we are at in life dictates what automobile we purchase ...unless you have space and money for all cars. But if you can have two nice cars...which you can and you live in New England...which you do. I would get the M3. I know the 335 is so close, but it really is two different animals. 335 excellent in snow, then you can choose sedan or coupe M3. With children I have to say 911 can be tough and then adding New England roads and weather into the mix creates even more reasons for the M3. I have personally bounced between 911's and M3's because IMO and many countless magazines opinions these are the two greatest cars...considering price of course. As far as edginess I will give it to the 911 because it has "less" between you and the road feeling more like a giant go cart! Which is very fun. BUT when you have family to consider I believe the M3 to be a solid choice. I personally have a DCT sedan and it is great. Family likes it and I have an upgraded exhaust/intake and Suspension which have lifted it to a new level of feeling while still maintaining its daily drivability. And it is plenty fast....although nothing is ever fast enough!!!
Too many times I have purchased so many cars practical and impractical and when you are struggling to get family in the car it just sucks. PM me if you have any other questions regarding the M3. I owned both DCT and Manual E90 M3's as well as 997.2s. I spent too much time and money making the wrong car choices to now I take my time and look at all of the aspects before purchasing. I even make charts sometimes of positives and negatives like the magazines do! Anyway. They are all awesome cars! So at least you aren't deciding on anything boring!
Good luck with your choices and congrats on owning your 911 outright!

 

Sorry - Can't drive anything with a torque converter. Plus AMG MB's depreciate like a rock - far worse the the 911 or the M3.

 

Great car and I love V8s. I still notice them when I see one. I wouldn't fault anyone for buying one even over a 911.

 

Caveatesq -
I really think they'll take the 335i lease off yoir hands for a minimal loss going into an M3 --even with the 23 months. You stand to lose about 3-4 grand at the most and they can take that off the MSRP on the new car.

Then you's have a 997S and an M3 . That's the ideal combo. IMO.

 

Absolutely agree... I wouldn't have to 3 series in the garage. I use my e46 M3 as the daily driver and take the 997 out a few times a week. Nice juxtaposition. Anyways, I do think the current M3 is probably better built than the 335s. I have a couple of coworkers who use them as DD and have had nothing but trouble. It's those damn fuel pumps. I guess one of the cars was a 535 but the same engine. Has gone through 5 fuel pumps and lots of time in the shop over the past few years. BMW agreed to buy the car back. Another with a 335 lost a fuel pump as 1200 miles. He's nervous about the next one. IMHO, the 335s will depreciate like rocks when they're out of warranty. I think you'll get a great deal on the M3. I found the car to be more civilized, quiet, and didn't feel particularly fast (of course I didn't have a broken in car on the track). I know it's a superior car to my e46 but I think the e46 is more fun to drive. We had a an e90 M3 on order before a surprise pregnancy. Now my wife has her heart set on an Audi S4. I wish she'd consider the M3 again. I also wish they though about and AWD M3. OH well.

 

I switched out recently from 997.1 carrera s to an 2011 e90 M3 dct comp pkg. I call the M3 the best compromise my car. It's not the fastest, low torque heavy, blah mpg and dime a dozen in socal. Defintely not as fun as the Porsche and miss the torque. But to transport 3 dogs and still have the ability to be competitive at the track? Priceless . If I had the luxury of multiple cars, the 911 would of stayed or been updated to the GT3 a d have a M3 sedan for my DD. Plus with the DCT, it's the first non embarrassing "automatic" to drive

 

Never tried the M3 but went to look at it at the dealer, looks nice...interior was comfortable but saw one thing on the car that I hated!! For the amount of money you gonna pay for the car you would expect that BMW would try to complete the car as much as possible like Porsche or Mercedes, I'm talking about the crappy, cheap looking brake calipers!!! I know, it may sound petty but I absolutely LOVE my Porsche red calipers...to me they complete the car!!!
On a side note, has anyone test drove the Audi S5?? is it at all comparable to the M3?? I really like the look of those, and they sound really nice too!!

 

I considered the S5 as well. It's a great GT car and has a much better interior than the M but perfomance-wise it's not in the same league. That said the RS5 will be out soon if it isn't already in Europe and that could prove some interesting competition.

 

I am fortunate enough to have a 997.1 and a new M3 which I recently picked up in Europe. Porsche 119 accurately states that one of the unique factors about the Porsche is the feeling that there's less between the driver and the road. That's very well put. I just drove the M3 from CO to CA and that was a very easy, very enjoyable, and very fast 1,000 miles. The M3 has beautiful road manners with just enough of the creature comforts to make you marvel at the wonderful balance between raw power/performance and excellent road manners. And, as Larry says, there's great utilitarian value as a DD and the anonimity factor is most welcome. There are many high traffic days in SoCal when I don't need to be bothered with the third pedal and I find the DCT a very worthwhile option. The M3 delivers less visceral pleasure than the Porsche, but is easier to drive, particularly when slightly distracted. Blondes and brunettes -- love them both.

 

Sold my brand new ordered M3 DCT for my used 997.1S and have never regretted it. No doubt the M3 is the more practical car but I did not want practical. Also I feel the 997S is the faster car. On paper I guess it's a drivers race...

 

Or didnt the OP say that he needs a winter car in there. Hence the reason that the 335i is xdrive and a winter car? Or did I read wrong. Perfect world situation here is M3 and 997, but not as winter is a concern...correct?