BMW 3 SERIES COUPE
If ever there was a benchmark car, then
BMW's 3 Series is it. In latest Coupe form, as June Neary discovers this week, it's irresistible...
Back in the 80s, owning a BMW was almost de rigeur for the Filofax set. Although I succumbed to the latter (which I still use faithfully - a working mum needs diary discipline more than most!), the former never really came into the picture. My company car was a
Ford or
Vauxhall and a jolly nice perk it was too. When the keys of the 325Ci Coupe fell onto my desk this week I had no idea what a treat lay in store.
The latest car looks good, but that's not an original remark - a BMW, by definition, pleases the eye. The deep jade colour was seductive, so too was the understated dark grey of the upholstery. The Coupe, of course, is not a family car, but behind the wheel of the 325Ci, nothing is further from your mind than enjoying the car for its own sake. And yours.
..
Unlike its predecessor, the latest shape Coupe really is a Grand Tourer, with plenty of space to take four adults and their luggage on almost any journey. Inside, the extra shoulder, elbow, leg and luggage space of the latest version makes all the difference, plus there are plenty of useful touches. Rear
seat access is easier thanks to front seats that not only fold and slide forwards but actually lift off the floor to make entry even easier. For the driver, a double press of the remote entry button on the key lowers the window automatically make it easier to wriggle in should the car be parked in a tight space.
The boot was much more spacious than I had anticipated and thanks to the low sill was easy to load.
The 325Cis 2.5-litre engine is impressively smooth and fast, really making driving a pleasure. Just a trip around the block had me hooked - I couldn't wait to get out onto the open road. Even the engine sounds tantalising, a muted roar that says forget about rushing from A to B, sit back and enjoy the moment. Rest to sixty, I'm told, takes a fraction under eight seconds on the way to 145mph. You don't need to drive it to its limits, though, to appreciate that this car is a thoroughbred. Once I had learned to gauge the dimensions of the Coupe, parking was no problem. The car is capable of tight, smooth turns in those awkward spaces in car parks designed, I have a sneaking suspicion, by men who never park in shopping centres.
Expect to pay £23,180 for the entry-level 318Ci right up to £43,555 for the top of the tree M3 CS coupe. These arent the kind of figures that are easily absorbed in the family budget, but if you have the means, then this is a car to tempt you to throw caution to the wind financially. Theres even a 320Cd diesel coupe if youre concerned about fuel bills or CO2 emissions. Equipment levels are high, including twin front, side and head airbags, a remote control alarm, electric seats, alloy wheels, air conditioning and 60/40 split-folding rear seats that can be unlocked from the boot.
Like all Coupe models, my test car came with
BMW's ASC + T anti-slip system and CBC (Cornering Brake Control) as standard.
I don't even have to think about that. The BMW 325Ci Coupe is a car I would love to own, so it was quite a wrench to give the keys back.
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