its definitely a true M series member

 

It's just called 1 Series M because the name M1 was taken by another car

 

This. It is as much an M as the rest of them

 

It is a 1 series M car. The M1 is an older and much bigger version , that is true. But today this is a true M car in the 1 series. So you can call it either way , but you cant say it is not an M car.

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/bmw/201...e-ar98020.html

"BMW announced a sprint time from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, and yes, top speed is still electronically limited to 155 mph. The standing quarter-mile mark comes up in 13.2 seconds.

A few days after it’s long-awaited unveiling, the 2011 BMW 1-Series M Coupe was already seen at the Nurburgring performing its cursory test laps to determine its official ’Ring lap time. The 2011 1-Series Coupe just finished its date around the ’Ring, clocking in a time of 8:12, which is about 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3. More importantly than that, BMW’s latest addition to the M family posted faster times than its other competitors, including the E60 M5, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, and the Porsche Cayman S.

When BMW unveiled the 1-Series M Coupe, there were some people that suggested a small car like this could never deliver the same performance numbers as the BMW M3. German sports car magazine, Sport Auto, took that as a challenge and took the coupe to Hockenheim where it clocked a lap time of 1:14.1. This final number is slightly better than the 1:14.2 time obtained by the BMW M3, but not as good as Porsche Cayman R’s PDK time of 1:12.4 or the BMW E46 M3 CSL’s 1:13.5."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPXDz72MdaE

 

Yea, in gas mileage...

 

the 328 is a great choice, if you hate driving, and you're a female.

EVO X all day. The only one I'd take over the EVO X is a 335...which I did lol I traded my 2010 EVO X SE in on a fully loaded 335i....then bought another EVO IX MR to play with.

 

if you want a sportier, faster, better handling car then get the evo, if you want a luxery, cruiser car then I would get a loaded g37x or TLsh(assuming you need awd) before I ever even considered a 328

 

I took a couple different 3 series out for test drives, and the handling was nice, but the cars, themselves, just didn't excite me enough to want to own one. I did see a sweet pre-owned black 650i, but no chance I was getting a casual test drive from the dealer on that one, and those are serious coin.

 

I own a 2011 A4 which is the same basically as a 328i except I would take any Audi over any BMW. Any Audi will cost way more in maintenance than any EVO all things being equal. As for fun to drive? Only an R8 would pull me away from my EVO, see if your dad will buy you one of those. I've owned 5 Audi's and 2 Evo's in the last 7 years, Evo all day any day.

 

Thanks for the responses guys!

 

I'll let you know what happens in a month or two when I graduate

 

My wife's car is a 2008 A4, and as much as I like it, am not convinced Audi's are meant to be owned past the extended warranty period. When I test drove the BMWs, the salesman said, "You are clearly an Audi man, not BMW," as he knew my heart wasn't into their cars, as much as I wanted to like the "Ultimate Driver's Machine". I really want an S5, but the longevity concerns are keeping me back (other than the price tag).

I think I have been spoiled by driving the same Mitsubishi built car for over 20 years.

 

Is the Evo safer than these cars or less safe? Where could I go to find safety info.

 

Here u go:

http://www.kbb.com/compare-cars/safe...lancer-372431/

No data on crash tests though...