[mcompact]

Before I purchased the M235i I considered the following:

Boss 302
Camaro SS 1LE
Cayman S
Challenger SRT8
Elise
Golf R
GTI
Fiesta ST
Focus RS
Miata Club
M3(E46)
Mustang GT Perf Pkg.
WRX STI
135is
335is
370Z NISMO

I've had at least one BMW in the garage since 1983, but I was open to other brands. Track capability was my primary non-negotiable factor. In the end, the Mustang GT PP was a close second. I found a clean 2013 Boss 302 but the PO's mods disqualified it. The M235i showed up at a BMW dealer not too far away; it was an off-lease CPO and the price was right. It replaced a lightly modded Mazdaspeed 3 I had bought to learn how FWD performs on the track- I instruct at HPDEs and we were/are seeing more students with Minis, GTIs, Focus Sts, etc.
I'm still very happy with it, but it will definitely get an M Performance diff and a mild tune.