Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £21,525 to £38,060
Usual superb level of build quality. Entertaining handling and excellent six-cylinder engines; 330 Ci is great fun to drive and the 330d is unrivalled in this class.
Restrained styling blunts its sporting edge, as does the steering feel and the body's weight; some slightly cheap-looking interior trim; fiddly (optional) SSG gearbox.
A little less sporty than its predecessor, but even more of a quality object. Still highly desirable, and the default-option choice for keen drivers in this sector - these cars are popular for good reason.
The usual logical dashboard layout is almost identical to the saloon's, but the driving position is set noticeably lower. It doesn't compromise the view out, though. The controls feel like precision instruments and are a delight to use, but the engines' drive-by-wire accelerators can respond a little unprogressively when you're trickling through traffic in the earlier models.
Despite its credentials, the 3 Series coupe drives more like a very capable saloon than a sports car. It is fast and agile, but not as entertaining as others in this class because the steering feels a shade aloof and is slow to respond. This assessment changes with the 330 Ci and 330d though, because the more potent engines exercise the suspension harder and make for a much more interactive driving experience - the way people imagine a BMW should be.
In later models, the optional SSG (sequential sports gearbox) is awkward to use, despite its steering-wheel mounted paddle-shifts, and doesn't add anything to the driving experience. It is calibrated differently to the system fitted in the M3, and just doesn't seem to work as well in the 330Ci.
Four engine options are on offer, starting with the 318 Ci (actually a 2.0-litre) which is willing, but hardly enthralling. Of the six-cylinder options, all are smooth and sharp, and these engines pull more keenly from low speeds than their predecessors did. The 221 bhp 330 Ci isn't massively faster than the 325 Ci on paper, but its extra pulling power makes it a punchier, gutsier drive that's worth the extra cost, and it makes a particularly glorious sound. Top marks to the refined 330Cd diesel, which has immense mid-range pull and in-gear acceleration, and sounds fantastic too.
