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The telephone rings, and it’s my pal “Deep Pockets.”

He’s moving out of the city and into the suburbs – babies, dogs, all that – but will still need to show up at his office in the city. He’s always loved cars – performance cars – and he’s looking for something in which to commute with a certain gusto.

How about the BMW 540i, he wants to know, hesitating not a whit at its $55,000-plus price tag. What he’d really like is a Porsche Boxster S but, even though he will drive this car alone 95 percent of the time, he still needs to be able to haul the family on occasion.

“Mmmmmmmm,” I say. That’s not contemplation. That’s a recommendation. Several of them strung together. “M” as in BMW’s M Division, which turns sedans into high-performance sports cars. Specifically, I tell him, the new M3 Coupe. Costs less than the 540i, outperforms it by a long shot, and will carry the kids, dogs, groceries.

Go drive it, I tell him.

He’ll be testing a car that weighs about 3,400 pounds, has 333 horsepower and 262 lb.-ft. of torque produced by an inline, six-cylinder, 3.2-liter engine. That’s more than 100 horsepower per liter. That’s impressive.

And talk about torque. It comes smoothly and abundantly, with a particular bite in the 2,900-4,200 rpm range. There’s a vibrant, basso gurgle that emanates from the paired twin tailpipes and raises the question: Is there such a thing as a European muscle car? Yes. This is it.

Where does it get the power? Bigger bore cylinders and longer stroke than in previous models. Add faster piston speed, graphite-coated pistons, and four valves per cylinder head. You can go cruisin’ or you can go sportin’ with this powerplant. For those feeling sporty, a switch on the dash let’s the car know your intent and adjusts gas pedal/throttle response for a more aggressive mode of driving.

It is one wickedly stable car.

On the highway, during a thunderstorm and accompanying winds, it drove straight, solid, and true. The winds might as well have been trying to push around a tank. The water on the road might as well have been trying to put to the skids a steel-tracked bulldozer.

On dry highway, at hefty commuter speeds, it ran flat and hard in lane changes, burst out rapidly for passing, and moved smoothly back into the flow after the pass was completed.

On corners, a philosopher might postulate: “WHOOEEEEE!”

Take a corner too tight – it holds – with just a slight sense of understeer. But once you know that’s coming, it’s easy to live with.

Take a corner too wide – it holds.

Take it either way too fast – it holds.

Take that corner fast and true to the proper line and the sensation is – nothing. It’s that smooth. No body roll, no yaw, just an exhilarating, carved turn. I repeat, “WHOOEEEEE!”

Of course, even in the boldest moments, there may come a time when it’s necessary to stop quickly. In my case, it was the mail truck stopped just around the corner, just over the blind ris e. Front and rear discs approaching 13 inches in diameter clamped tightly brought the M3 to a sudden, eyes-pushing-forward-in-the-skull stop. And the nose never dove.

Underpinning the surge of speed and the sureness of stopping is a tweaked suspension system that includes struts, double-pivot lower L-arms, coil springs, tube shocks, and antiroll bar up front and, in the rear, a multilink setup with coil springs, tube shocks, and antiroll bar.

Underpinning driver safety are dual front and side air bags, optional rear side air bags, a head protection system, antilock brakes, and yaw and traction control. The yaw and traction control can be a bit intrusive, I found, and enthusiasts will want to switch them off under the right conditions for a better feel for the car and a little dance on the edge.

This is a great-looking car – aggressive, busy yet clean, its front air dam looking like it wants to eat the road ahead, kidney grilles looking pinched between broad, horizontal h lights and steroidal bulging fenders. A five-slat notch in the front fender well, just ahead of the doors and and branded with the two-tone blue, red, and white “M3” badge, continues that aggressive look along the sides.

The interior, which seats four comfortably, features sharply bolstered seats with sectional, adjustable thigh support slabs at the edge of the front bucket seats. Instrumentation is all business, grouped beneath a deep brow that juts in from the dash. It is a car that seems to wrap itself around you, holding ever tighter the harder it is driven.

Having trouble convincing the spouse that a sports car is just the thing at this stage of your lives? Just tell him/her that, hey, you’re willing to compromise. And go get in line to buy an M3. Compromise can be a good thing.