The Best Handling Around..

STRENGTHS:
PERFORMANCE: Incredible. Smooth, powerful acceleration. 0-60 in 5.4s. Hits 90 just on onramps. 60-0 in 116 feet. Surreal brakes! Unparalleled passing power. Not enough O's in smoooooth to describe this engine. Handling is simply out of this world. FUN FUN FUN.
STYLING: M3 touches are beautiful. Ground effects look great!
INTERIOR: Super-comfortable seats that offer incredible lateral support (especially the M-sport seats). Harmon Kardon sound system w/ the 6 disc CD changer is incredible -clear and powerful even with the top down! Trip computer is cool, dual-zone climate is very useful, list goes on and on. Surprisingly amount of back-seat room. Even the plastics feel great. FANTASTIC ergonomics.
QUALITY: The finest. BMW engineering all around. The convertible top mechanism is really great. Defroster is very effective and the plastic rear window is clear - defroster also works great on that window! NO EXCESS NOISE even at 110+ MPH in this convertible!
VERSATILITY: Great! Coupe quiet with top up, fun with top down. M-spec suspension and performance, but can be driven like a docile sedan.

WEAKNESSES:
STYLING is great looking, but too reminiscent of the regular 3-series. It has some subtle differences, badging, etc., but it needs more to be THE M. OEM Rear wing ($280) will look great.
PERFORMANCE is so good that it's gonna get lots of speeding tickets. $400 for a Valentine radar - they'll even pay your first ticket if you get one with the radar.
INTERIOR is a little bland. Aluminum or carbon fiber would give it some character. Still looks nice. Too many buttons for its own good.
CAR gets a lot of attention. Built-in alarm protects from theft, but not those jealous keyers.

SUMMARY:
Highly recommended. Under $55k, nothing can beat it. At any price, NOTHING can compare to its practicality and versatility. Behind the M5, it is the best handling car in the world.

It's a whole lot of fun for a price that won't break your bank (compared to its competitors).