My brother was very close to buying an 135i and test drove it a few times. He absolutely loves the car: so much power on tap, excellent power delivery meaning that the car pulls in any gear at any speed, nicely balanced with great steering response etc.

There's videos of it beating the new M3 in drag races and other tests (BMI for example did a test between them and the 135i did really well, especially considering that it is half the price!)

But then again, an M3, is an M3

And yep I agree Kato: the back seats are effectively non-existent and the car needs a lot of expensive options!