BMW 3 Series Coupe – First Drive: My college graduation present was an expensive watch that did more than my childhood Timex could have ever imagined. Large and rugged, that reward for scholastic success was good for a respectable dive depth, offered an altimeter for those upward climbs, and, of course, featured the requisite compass and stopwatch. The timepiece was capable of countless other tasks and calculations, but truth be told, I never took the time or had the desire to fully investigate them. But I enjoyed wearing it, for it served my purpose and elicited ten times the compliments drawn by the $15 Wal-Mart job it replaced. Call it poseur-ism.

I thought of that watch while driving the redesigned 2007 BMW 3 Series Coupe at a media event in San Francisco. Both are immensely capable, both are desirable and thus purchased by a broad range of consumers. But their fates are solely determined by who takes them home. Like my ownership of that watch, a 300-horsepower BMW 335i could be destined for a short daily commute, seldom eclipsing 45 mph or ever venturing within striking distance of a hairpin turn, serving as attractive transportation for a driver shopping for perceived quality and, quite possibly, a healthy dose of social acceptance. Wasted? No. Underutilized? Maybe. And then there’s the other type of buyer, the one who will personally test the validity of published 0-60 acceleration times, the one who sees a direct correlation between green lights and red lines, the one who purchases with full intent of exploiting every bit of this car’s potential.

Regardless of what motivates the purchase, BMW has done its best to ensure total product satisfaction. The average owner will enjoy top-notch materials and craftsmanship, a hospitable interior, and a smooth powertrain making traffic navigation and highway merges a cinch. Sure, the ride is stiff, but, as was the case with that oversized watch, sometimes a little comfort can be sacrificed for the greater good. And for the enthusiast, the overhauled 3 Series Coupe offers power and performance encroaching on M3 territory for thousands less. That reason alone makes this one worth a look.