Welcome to drive the debate

Smoother to drive than the 3 series. 7 spoke alloy wheels look good and are a dream to clean. Seats are really comfortable. Instrumentation is very good.

Getting in and out in car parks can be difficult due to large heavy doors. This is made easier if you have electric seats and turn on the easy access option which lifts the steering wheel and automatically slides the seat back when you take out the igniton key.

I have owned my car for about 2 months now. It is a 2002 models with 25K on the clock. I have covered about 2500 miles. I was pleasantly surprised how economical the car could be on motorways if you keep the speed down. I couldn't get official returns but could get 33mpg by breathing on the throttle and accelerating gradually. Typically I get about 25 mpg which is mainly on motorways and dual carriage ways. The car is great with all the windows down and really feels open. At speed you will find the seat belts flap irritatingly with the windows down. The car is manouverable but you do feel the weight of the car when you put down the throttle through twisty roads. Under the bonnet everything on my car is still as new. Even though the car is 7 years old the exhaust is showing no signs of rusting.