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I got my 228 Sportline (I wanted Valencia Orange so M Sport line was out) on 12/31 and I absolutely love this car. I have the Track Handling Package which I bought "blind" because it is impossible to find a 228 with track package to test drive. I would highly recommend the THP. As others have said on here, it truly is like two cars in one. The difference in the suspension between comfort and sport is very noticeable. The car is plenty fast, obviously not as fast as the 235, but unless you intend to track the car I can't imagine how you would use that extra power. I find my car very difficult to drive slowly (or even at speeds close to the legal limit). I look down and I'm doing 85 without even knowing it. The auto transmission is nothing short of a work of art. The shifts are smooth as butter and the timing of the shifts is absolutely perfect (hence the higher estimated mileage for the auto vs the manual). I'm coming out of a MINI S which was the most fun car I have ever driven. To be honest, I still think the MINI was a more fun drive only because of the size of the car and the fact that it was even more "tossable" than the 228, but make no mistake, the 228 with THP is a hoot to drive (and I'm loving the Michelin PSS tires that come with the THP). I have read in this thread that there is a relatively small difference between the MSRP the 235 and a comparably equipped 228. This is not a valid comparison, however, especially in Southern CA. The discounts available on a 228 are much higher than on a 235. In fact, it's tough to even get a discount on a 235 here. I got 6.4% off MSRP on my 228 and that was a pretty good deal in SoCal. The pricing situation may be different in other parts of the country. But using jbenington86's numbers above, if the 235 is $46,250 and you have to pay MSRP or close to it, and the 228 is $42,795 with 6.4% discount, you're looking at a difference of over $6,000, not an insubstantial amount of money. The bottom line for me is, the 228 is a helluva car, fast as you need and probably want it to be as a daily driver, and great fun to drive. I wouldn't change a thing about the car I chose and the way I optioned it (except that I would have deleted the moonroof if I was able to which I was not on a Sport line).
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