[advantage20]

This was predictable. First, 'M Performance' is misleading, as it sounds more upmarket than just M when it is in fact the opposite. Second, 'M Performance' is highly ambiguous, since it designates both the M light model lineup and the sporty accessory range which is available for the whole BMW lineup, when in fact the latter neither constitutes nor overlaps with the former.

To those complaining that this move 'waters down' the M brand: this claim itself implies that the branding seems to matter more to you than the vehicles' actual hardware and philosophy, which is precisely what you claim being puristic about in the first place as opposed to drivers of the more pedestrian M light models. So far the hardcore M models differ significantly from their M light counterparts, this quantum leap is what should matter the most as long as it remains true. Besides, M being BMW's performance branch, it only makes sense that BMW's whole sports universe (various layers of performance models, performance enhancing or purely aesthetic accessories...) be included under this umbrella.