2004 BMW 3 Series 330 Ci Sport review from UK and Ireland

Nothing has gone wrong.

Has surpassed every expectation.

The engine is incredible, giving true sports car pace whilst returning 31 mpg average. How do BMW do it? I used to have a Mazda MX-5 which was 1200cc smaller, 300kg lighter, had only 60% of the power, yet returned 1 mpg less. A remarkable feat of engineering on BMW's part.

The car is fun to drive, although my only real criticism of is that it does isolate the driver a little from the action. Cocooned in a comfortable cabin with lots of noise insulation, it's not until you look at the speedo that you realise just how quick and capable the car is. This isolation however makes it a superb long distance machine. My job regularly takes me from the South coast up to Tyneside, and the car will munch this 400 mile journey so effortlessly that I rarely need to stop en route.

It's a fast, good looking, reliable, beautifully built and incredibly economical car which has a real feel good factor about it, even if they are pretty much everywhere these days. Exclusivity does not come with 3-series ownership any more, but that's a mark of the excellence of the car. I struggle to see how BMW will improve it in all honesty.