Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Powerful, smooth engines, great fun to drive, full four-seat practicality, the can't-go-wrong option.
Bit dull to look at, arrogant image, increasingly the default choice in the sector and thus not particularly exclusive.
The 3-Series Coupe is every bit as good as predicted - but perhaps a little bit too predictable.
The latest E90 3-Series saloon remains a class-leader.
Countless rival carmakers benchmark it as the car to beat in the compact executive sector: every pretender in this category claims that its car is going to take on the 3-Series, but very few ever really come close to matching it for handling, performance, quality and sheer kudos in the company car park. The C-Class, A4 and IS-series have never quite managed to trump it; the 9-3 and S60 are some way off; and only the Alfa 156/159, perhaps, has given off anything like the I-seriously-care-about-cars aura of the 3-Series.
It's a slightly different story when it comes to this type of coupe, though, which is more of an image-driven arena where looks can count for more than outright performance or on-the-limit handling ability. There's an ever-wider choice of models out there for those that don't need a full five-seat, four-door vehicle and BMW already has, at one end of its range, the Boxster-rivalling Z4 Coupe and at the other, the luxury-spec 6-Series.
This 3-Series Coupe's unlikely to get overlooked, though. It combines the salient points of the Z4 and 6-Series into a package that's sporty yet comfortable and practical, and it comes with all the usual BMW characteristics: rear-wheel drive, direct steering, superb balance and stability, powerful and smooth engines - and the requisite aggressive image.
