Alrighty, I've tested the car alongside the M3 at Spa 2003 and the Ascari Race Resort. First impressions are good - the AE86 definitely has the edge in the twisty bits, and it's fun exploring how hard I can push it. It's a bit more tail-happy than the other 87 cars, but you can hold it in a slide for quite a while before it gets itself back into line without fuss. It is grippy and very responsive.
However, this being the early beta, there are still a few major issues to be ironed out. At Spa, a track that should really favour the M3 due to the long, fast sections, the AE86 is actually faster (2:30.1 in the AE86 vs. 2:30.6 in the M3 - the latter could be improved slightly). While the physics are heaps of fun, I found that I could take Eau Rouge and Blanchimont flat out - it's hard to believe that the real car would be capable of that, but I haven't found anything in a quick search of the world wide web to show me otherwise. At Ascari, the AE86 simply killed the M3 (2:15 versus 2:17). However, if Yves tests the M3 on these tracks (assuming he is part of the beta team) I'm sure he could better my times... he is the BMW alien after all... :tongue:
Anyway, that's my first impression of the new car. Hope this feedback helps...