More often than not a BMW is going to end up at the sharp end of any performance car list. That said, the versions that typically impress are prefixed by an M and usually have a racer feel to them. Last year Beemer?s M5 finished on the top step and this year the Bavarian brand was back to fight it out, albeit without the aid of the M tuning boys. The 335i is that good.

My first impression was that the 335i is a stopgap for those not willing to splash out on a current M3 but find the wait for the 2008 V8 rocket a bit long. A number of hours later, kilometres of road driving and a number of laps around WesBank Raceway, I realised that the 335i has found its own spot in the BMW line-up.

In performance terms, the car does the business and will glue you to your seat but what really makes it a worthy contender is its sleeper tendencies.

Understated looks and the lack of racer appeal combine with beast-like performance to make this car so good. While the likes of the M3 have flared arches, dished rims and raucous exhaust notes, the 335i comes to the party like James Bond to a black-tie function. It rolls up with class and elegance without much fuss, but onlookers? heads still turn and it can deliver a knockout punch. Plush electronic leather seats deliver decent support, the 3-spoked leather wheel frames the traditional round BMW gauges and a simple uncluttered consol is capped off with an I-Drive screen. Rear seat space is limited to two, as the centre seat makes way for cup holders and gives the back passengers a bucket seat environment.

Sneaking up on the opposition and then blowing them away is the name of the 335i game. A twin turbo set-up delivers power to the back wheels without removing any of the inline-six growl we have become accustomed to. Traction control keeps the back from spinning but if switched off the rear livens up dramatically and wet traffic circles become a source of lethal entertainment. Grip from the front of the 50/50 weighted car is good and it turns in sharply, holds its course and exits with a tail wiggle. It is a brilliant combination of subtlety, performance and practicality. But the P in PCOTY only means performance and there is some serious opposition.