BMW 3 Series F30 M3

The F80 is where the M3 grew up, bolted on a turbo, and split itself in two. Arriving in 2014, it was the first M3 to use forced induction, its twin-turbo S55 straight-six making 425 hp and a slab of torque the older naturally aspirated cars never had. It also pulled off a quiet bit of bookkeeping that confused half the internet: the coupe and convertible wandered off to become the new M4, leaving "M3" to mean the four-door sedan from this point forward.

Purists grumbled, and not without cause. This was the first M3 with electric power steering, which swapped some of the old hydraulic chattiness for efficiency. The payoff is serious real-world speed. The S55 turned out to be one of the more over-built M engines, mostly free of the rod-bearing dread that follows the V8 around, and it responds to tuning... quite well.

It sings less sweetly than an E46 and feels less exotic than the V8, but it is brutally quick and easy to live with daily. Competition models nudged power to 444 hp and firmed everything up. If you want a modern M3 that still offers a manual and won't keep you up at night worrying about the bottom end, the F80 is the comfortable middle ground between old feel and new pace.