I pretty much guessed what they would be based on what I see at lapping events.

I bought an E46 because I needed something my girlfriend would like to drive every day, and it could handle more upgrades without taking away from the daily driving experience.

Even if money is not a limiting factor, these are still the best cars to start with. Because I'm in Vancouver, probably half to 3/4 of the cars I see at lapping days are 400 hp +. A lot of the novice drivers bring an M5 Comp, C63S, 911 Turbo or GT3 or even a 720S and they have a very frustrating time because they can drive at 4/10ths maximum and anything more is (and should be) terrifying. It must feel like such a long road ahead to get the potential out of your high performance car that it's a deterrent to coming back.

Meanwhile after two seasons I can drive my 328 ci at basically 9/10ths lap after lap and focus on details like nailing the heel and toe on turn 1 coming down from 160 km/hr to 40 for the hairpin, or getting the right line through the chicane, rather than trying to avoid looking like an idiot by panic-braking your M5...