FULL REVIEW: http://jalopnik.com/5801175/2011-bmw...pe-first-drive
"This is most definitely an M car."
"If the sign of a good car is how soon after your first drive that you're comfortable pushing the limits, then this is a very good car."
"and here's where the 1M is indeed true to BMW's own narrative for it — the 1M resembles those nimble, neutral-handling, frisky M cars of yore, which should make pain-in-the-ass purists very happy."
"The 1M isn't particularly quick; BMW says it can get from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, which isn't far off the 135i's low-five-second-range time, even if the company's being typically conservative. No, the point of this car isn't blinding quickness; the point of the 1M is agility, and it has plenty of it."
"The 1M can carry an astounding amount of speed through corners, and there's plenty of advance warning before the tires finally give way."
"And then there's that stance, which BMW's gotten exactly right. The wider track and ever-so-slight negative camber in the rear wheels gives the 1M an attractive, bulldog stance. In fact, stance-wise, it's leaps and bounds over any other modern M."