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I'll start the ball rolling by answering your question to the best of my ability as I own an XF at the moment and previously owned the M3 before it, plus I have had enough seat time in the XFR to understand it's differences between it and the ordinary XF and how it differs to the M3.
Plus points of ownership with the XF/XFR
1/ Heated windscreen is absolutely brilliant and something that more car makers should offer as it works within 60 secs in light frost and when combined with the blower approx. 2 1/2 mins in heavy frost, easily halving or bettering the time expected in a normal car.
2/ The seats are extremely comfortable for long journeys and give a decent amount of support for spirited driving.
3/ The 5.0L supercharged engine is a monster and combined with the ZF auto it works seamlessly between a cruiser and a full on sports saloon, it simply never runs out of power.
4/ The suspension in my opinion offers be far the best compromise between luxury and sportiness of any car in this or any other sector.
5/ It looks like a 4 dr Aston Martin from side on or viewed from the rear, plus it's nose isn't the normal German stereotype which is a breath of fresh air.
6/ Options are cheaper than with the German brands and you luckily need to add very few, namely the B&W speakers, rear camera+front sensors and possibly heated wheel.
7/ More standard kit than most others offer.
Minus points of ownership with the XF/XFR
1/ On summer tyres and in even mild frost it's not the best car to make progress, but in the slightest of snow it is plain awful. So in Canada you will need to think about chains and proper snow tyres in the winter months.
2/ Heated seats take an age to warm up.
3/ Sat-Nav is old hat, though it works surprisingly well.
4/ Touch screen is not a wise move in my opinion, you need to hit the required spot on the screen which means taking your eye off the road.
Plus points for the M3
1/ Great thing to drive with more involvement than the XFR can offer.
2/ An engine that loves to rev and wills you on to do just that.
3/ Manual gears means you have more control.
4/ EDC, a better option than stock suspension as you can balance the comfortable.
5/ Chassis is a marvel and gives more control than just about any of it's main competitors.
Minus points for the M3
1/ Engine though great it does lack low end grunt when compared to what the Jag has to offer.
2/ It's no where near as refined as the Jag, be that on the motorway, the city or on back roads.
3/ Surprisingly it's not anymore economical.
4/ It's ride quality though good because of the EDC, it's again no where near the class that the jag has to offer.
5/ Image but not in a negative way, it's just that when compared to the XFR you will appear to others as a yuppie/wideboy where as the XFR gives an air of class.
Both are great cars but in very different ways. Where as the XFR is more a competitor to the M5/RS6/E63 and it's ride/handling and performance has been gearing to beat these cars, the M3 is developed to compete in a class below and it's ride/handling and performance in far more in your face.
All I will say as a closing note is that the XF has been one of the best cars I have ever owned, never missed a beat, never failed to amaze and will be sadly missed when it goes.
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