I went to the M-Town Tour on Tuesday, drove every car. The staff were awesome and even though I only had a reservation for 2 cars (waitlisted for the rest), they got me into every single car.
I've never driven a real M car before this. I can definitely tell the difference though! My favorite was definitely the M2 Competition. Its too bad they don't have a 4-door version of the car. I would have considered leasing an M3 this go-around but of course there isn't one available right now!
The M5 competition was awesome as well - if I could afford one, I'd definitely lease one, but it is way out of my price range
The engine/exhaust on that car sounds amazing and I hit some red lights and got to launch the car up to 60 -- (no launch control since you need to be in RWD mode to do that and it disables DSC) - holy crap it is fast!
M850i sounded great but I didn't really push it since someone was in the car with me. I didn't really like the X3M like I thought I would. The power delivery is really smooth - but it meant the car didn't feel fast. The engine / exhaust didn't sound that great either, I actually think the M340i sounded better.
This M340i that I drove was different than the M340i I test drove back in May. Not sure if the recall that lowered the power has anything to do with it? The torque delivery felt more like my 2017 340i, which pushes you back into the seat more than the M340i I test drove in May. The exhaust also had more pops and crackles and overall was louder than the M340i I test drove in May (maybe the exhaust needs some time to break in?).