Complementing its neatly tailored looks, the 3 feels as tight as a drum, thanks to its stiff structure. And the firm-yet-compliant suspension teams with a balanced and frisky chassis and Miata-like steering. Our glowing real-world handling judgments weren't dampened much by the car's midpack 0.82-g skidpad performance or so-so 179-foot stopping distance from 70 mph. We tested the 3 at a different venue than usual, and its surface felt noticeably slicker than that on our home turf. Acceleration is fairly zippy, with 60 mph arriving in 7.2 seconds, and the automatic's manual shift mode—operable via the shift lever or steering-wheel paddles—is quick to respond. Sport mode further sharpens the powertrain, and even when left to shift on its own, the transmission always seems to find the right gear. Despite spending most of its time in our hands being hammered down back roads, the 3 returned a respectable 26 mpg—2 mpg shy of its EPA city fuel-economy estimate.