2001 BMW 3 Series 330Ci review from UK and Ireland

Absolutely faultless.

I took the decision early this year to opt out of our company car scheme being offered the choice of a Ford Focus TD or a Peugeot 307 HDi. Both decent cars, but doing 30k a year, I wanted something I would enjoy driving rather than tolerate. Looking around, I was amazed to find a choice of decent 2000/2001 E46 330's for around £15k and decided to take a test drive. I fell in love instantly.

It's hard to say what it is about the car that had such a dramatic effect, but suffice to say that the whole air of precision engineering and quality about the car is truly magnificent.

The interior is an object lesson in quality and attention to detail, with a first class driving position and seats that never get uncomfortable or induce pain. The interior plastics are high quality, the ergonomics faultless and there is a general "feel good" factor when driving the car.

RWD handling takes some getting used to after years of FWD, but boy is it fun when you turn the traction control off. Wet roundabouts and opposite lock took me instantly back to my misspent youth driving a beaten up Ford Sierra, and ten years on, and these hooligan antics are as much fun as ever. The car rides firmly, but not harshly, and throttle response is instantaneous. My only real complaint is the steering which in my opinion lacks weight and feel. Odd when the rest of the car feels so precise and accomplished, but I would say the Focus steers more positively.

Running costs are astonishing for a 200 and something bhp car. It returns an average of 32 mpg with a mixture of 80-85 motorway cruising and reasonable progress A-road driving, and the worst I've achieved is 24 mpg from a tankful after looning around some Welsh mountain roads with a few like minded mates. BMW dealer servicing is high quality, but seriously overpriced. I'm considering using an independent from now on, especially as one has set up recently in my area run by the same BMW technician who actually did the last main dealer service on my car. He's left and set up on his own.

Reliability has been faultless in the 9,000 miles I've done, and the car still sounds, goes, feels and looks like a low mileage 04 plater. This is the other joy I'm discovering about BMW ownership. Providing the cars are serviced correctly and looked after reasonably well, they age superbly.

Here's to 60,000 miles over the next two years! I can't wait.