It would be easy to dismiss this version of the fourth-generation M3 as just an M3 with two extra doors allowing humans to use the rear seats, but that would be a slight injustice. Not huge, but slight.

The very sexy M3 Coupe body is the definition marquee model for the bread-and-butter 3-series, and the convertible M3 will be the choice of flagrant spenders in that mid-size windblown niche. But it’s this M3 Sedan that we are convinced will prove the sleeper hit of the 414-horsepower V-8 range. It is the thinking enthusiast’s choice.

We spent two days with the M3 at the Laguna Seca circuit and on the deserted backcountry two-lane roads of Monterey County, and this four-door with its less show-boaty tail end attracted quality attention high up on the tree, the low-hanging mouth-breathers oftentimes ignoring it.

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Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 32