The first BMW M3, that little snarly sweetheart E30 from the Reagan years, didn’t invent its genre. There were heroic versions of otherwise mainstream cars long before it, starting with the Cosworth Vega and VW Golf GTI. Well, actually, starting with the Pontiac GTO. No, really, starting with the Chevy II Nova Super Sport. Okay, fine, starting with the 1949 Olds “Rocket” 88. Discussion closed. But while the M3 wasn’t a new idea, through successive generations of sublimity it became a benchmark for a narrow niche: practical sports sedans with enhanced capability. They’re fast but also reasonably roomy and road-trip comfortable. That segment, let’s call it compact radar bait, is now so formulaic that our three cars, the current M3 and the new Cadillac ATS-V and Mercedes-AMG C63 S, are all but track-sheet clones of each other.
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https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15103934/2015-bmw-m3-vs-2015-mercedes-amg-c63-s-2016-cadillac-ats-v-comparison-test/