I've had the car now for a couple of weeks and I thought I'd add a few thoughts for those who care:

I live in North Iowa and we have had quite a bit of snow over the past few weeks. So far I have been VERY impressed with this car's handling in snowy and slick condtions, (note: I put new 17 inch rims and Blizzak L-22 tires on a few days after the car arrived for the winter.) I have even gone to a large parking lot which was unploughed and tried to make the car skid, or lose control, but had very little success. However with the VDC turned off....doughnuts are very easy! I got home from Chicago yesterday and had about 5 inches of snow in my driveway, which has a fairly steep grade and is about 100 yards long, and we went up the hill without ahitch or fishtail or wheelspin. I was somewhat concerned about driving this car in North Iowa over winter, given that it is rear wheel drive. I am used to driving a 2002 Viper (during summer months only), which has no traction control, which taught me few lessons on respecting rear wheel drive vehicles on cold and slick conditions. So far I am very impressed with the M45.

Also for those wondering, the rims I installed do not have tire pressure monitors. All I get is a dashboard light after driving 20 or so miles. No alarms.

I have put about 1500 miles on so far (took a long trip to Chicago) for few days over the weekend, and I am currently getting about 19 mpg. A little better than I anticipated.

Handling in traffic in Chicago was awesome. Excellent passing abilty with plenty of punch under my right foot. Loved the inteligent cruise control driving into and out of Chicago in traffic. Didn't have to "bump off" my cruise control once.

So far so good. No real complaints to speak of.

If you live in an area that receives a decent amount of snow during the winter and are trying to decide between the M35x or M45, I believe with proper driving care and common sense and good snow tires, the M45 will treat you well. Also that means you get to have few extra ponies to play with during those dry summer months!

Very nice info!

Glad to see that the car is working out well for you. I heartily endorse your decision to put on the snow tires - the Blizzaks will make all the difference in snow with rear wheel drive cars!

Z