When I got my B5 S4, it definitely performed on par with the outgoing M3 of that time. When BMW upped the ante, the B6/B7 didn't really match the M3 (the last gen M3, not the upcoming M3). Nonetheless, I stuck with Audi (based on my happiness with my B5), and got the B7 S4. Then the current RS4 appeared, and became the competition for M3 (the B5 RS4 was much harder to get - similar to M3 CSL?). With the advent of the 335i, the S4 (my S4!) was firmly no longer M3 competition, but standard 3-series competition - basically killing the (already US Audi-grade) re-sale of the S4. Thank you so much Audi. Now it's official with the new S4 numbers. I think BMW handled its customers better. Outgoing M3s are still the top of the line, as opposed to introducing something like an RM3 (RS4 analogue). I'll look a little more broadly for my next car. I do still love driving my S4. It's the financial issue that bugs me.