Faults:

A couple of very minor rattles. The seat belt handover mechanism sometimes misses the seat belt.

General Comments:

The engine is a revelation, combining really useful "grunt" with fantastic economy (50mpg+ being easily attainable), but without ever sounding too much like a taxi or being intrusive.

The run-flat tyres give a rather sharp ride. Given the choice (which one isn't) I'd go for conventional rubber.

The i-Drive system is complex, but not as annoying as some critics would have you believe. I'd have preferred a touch-screen system, though.

The seat belt handover arms look a bit flimsy to me and sometimes get tangled in the belts. They also get a bit confused if you jump out of the car with the engine running (for instance, to post a letter) and try to pass the belt to a non-existent driver!

The adaptive Xenon headlamps are very effective, and the high beam assistant feature is quite surprisingly effective.

The DAB digital radio struggles to find a signal in rural areas, but that's not a fault of the car - simply a symptom of the current level of coverage.

The live traffic information, which updates the satnav route, is a bit erratic - again, probably because of the nature of the system itself rather than anything particularly Bavarian.

The styling is far more attractive than the E90 saloon, but I wish I'd opted for the 18" 5-spoke alloys as the standard-fit 17" 7 spokes look a bit weedy by comparison.

I chose the camel coloured nappa leather and walnut trim options, which lightens an otherwise sombre interior.

Faults:

Too early yet, but it is exceedingly well built.

General Comments:

This car is absolute heaven.

Fully loaded it is not cheap, but the performance and road holding are stunning.

Acceleration is top class 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds and the 6 speed auto changes seamlessly.

But its overriding advantage is its non lag twin turbo engine which on a recent 120 mile run over country roads with some very quick bits!!! Averaged 39.7 mpg. I was staggered by it.

Well done BMW: the rest of you have a long long way to go to equal this car let alone beat it.