Originally Posted by Steved

Personally my definintion of good handling has to include a number of factors; steering feel and accuracy, body control and agility, the ability to flow between corners in a balanced manner, being able to feel the sweet spot (the car's centre of mass) through the seat of your pants and ultimately does it put a smile on your face and make you want to go back and tackle a challenging road again. I found my 330i very effective (i.e. quick) but not as much 'fun' as I find my 4.8is. The steering on the 4.8is is better IMO and there is greater reward in getting a corner right, but the 330i is an all-round near perfect saloon/sedan so it's hard to compare objectively.

The overriding feeling I have when driving the 4.8is is "why aren't the mainstream BMW saloons even better?" Clearly a lot of clever engineering went into creating such an agile, sporty big car and it means that whenever I go and drive a 645Ci or 330i today, I find myself dissappointed that they don't blow my socks off. To put it in perspective I also have an M3 CSL in my garage and it's an amazing car, but I drive my 4.8is more often and don't find myself wishing I was in the CSL very often.