As a tuner I am in the fortunate position to get to drive most modern hot hatches/sports cars. I drove a 135i and loved it so I bought one. For your budget you could get a nice example with the later DCT box and the more economical n55 engine.
Mine has:
Non-runflats, Quaife ATB limited slip diff, Remus exhaust, Sedox stg1 map and Bilstein B12 pro kit.
It does everything well, enough power for any situation (380hp) handles brilliantly, sounds great, traction is never a probem thanks to lsd, comfortable on a long run and not too bad on fuel. Also boot is huge! Comes with Brembo 6 pots as standard so no need fr brake upgrades.
335i is similar but feels fatter and more relaxed.