Performance vehicles represent the passion of the auto industry. Over a century, automakers have sought to go faster, corner harder, and deliver greater thrills to consumers. In the process, the number of performance vehicles and their variety has exploded so that today we have three-row luxury SUVs that can snap to 60 as quickly as a Ferrari from 20 years ago.

The year 2021 is brighter than ever for performance, with the rise of EVs leading to quicker vehicles than ever before. But our contestants for Best Performance Vehicle aren’t some newfangled things – they’re the latest versions of two icons. The 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI and 2021 BMW M3 represent legendary products that date back almost 40 years, and in that time, they've thrilled consumers and critics alike. The latest examples of these thoroughbreds are no different.