I hear you loud and clear, now.
I had a 2012 335i Msport and then a 2016 340i Msport.
Both were very nice and reliable.
Yes, I still felt like my former 2003 325i sport was a more fun to drive and more visceral automobile, but the F30 was/is a very competent sporty sedan. The F30, for me, lost the SPORT-sedan moniker.
The LCI 340i Msport really did give noticeable improvements, for those who can sense those subtleties. For me, the LCI improvements were very nice and appreciated.
So, the G20 was too far away for me as I wanted/needed a new car last August 2018. I had two F30's. BMW wanted me in another and new F30. I decided not to. I looked at the 2 series, but the dealer was being a non cooperative person, and BMW has driven the price point of an M240i too high for my taste. I had a 2009 135i MT and I lOVED it. The M240i is very nice, but at a price much too close to an M340i, what is BMW smoking and then trying to think?
So, I test drove some Audis, the S3, A4, and S4.
I kept my eyes open for BMW to announced release dates for the G20, and word came that the G20 would be released around or after the new year. The M340i even later.
SO, I decided on a 2018 S4 w/ZF AT.
Oh I wish I would have spent a LOT more time test driving on various roads and conditions than I did.
The new S4 is an easy second to nearly third place to the BMW F30 M340i, even with the S4s quattro.
The ZF AT in the S4 is Audi tuned to be nonsense. It's slow to react, lazy, fussy, and if often caught paining it's nails when I need a lower gear NOW! Couple that with a throttle where the word "response" will never come near, and the Audi has a drive line that is at least a generation or two behind with modern ZF ATs.
It's astounding how poorly Audi implemented the newly improved ZF 8AT that is in the last F30 3 series. The 3 series, and 2, have no drive live lash. My S4 has a LOT of it. The ZF in the S4 feels like an older torque converter AT with all of it's rubbery antics.
I wish I had opened my eyes even wider and just extended the lease on my 2016 M340i.
My S4 looks great. The interior design and execution is better than the F30. Everyone who rides in it comments on how "fancy" and nice it looks inside and out.
Sure, it looks very good.
However, I'd rather have the cute lady with the charming wit and beautiful smile over the self absorbed and very personality flawed glamour girl.
But, that's just me.
Hind sight. Yes, things look clearer once you've come up close and then started moving away.