[sor]

Wow. A lot of touchy folks here. It seems to me like people who care about badge dilution must be buying M cars for the badge and upset that more people will now have it, rather than looking at each car for what it is. In other words they feel like it devalues their M, which means they care more about having the label than that they got the performance they paid for.

I like it. I've been looking for a winter vehicle for awhile now. I want something with more clearance, but also something a bit more sporty than an X3/X4 35i. I don't want to go rally car Subaru, and I don't feel like I need to go full on Macan or wait for an X4M. SQ5 was on the radar, but now I worry about the state and resale of VAG vehicles over the next few years while their rep heals. I don't give a crap about the M labeling on this car but it sits right in the sweet spot that would scratch my itch for a sporty winter vehicle with decent clearance.