A white 318i motorsport saloon

[ade and liz flint]

Whilst our D3BT is being fettled back at Newport, we've got the pleasure of using their 318i demo for a week. Bog-standard, but does look good in white.

Usual positives with the 3 series....excellent grip, steering etc, and the suspension of the standard msport on 18" wheels is now much more comfortable than it was on the E46, far less crashy and less inclined to tramline. All the major controls are nicely weighted, particularly the gearbox which is lovely to use. Don't like the engine, though. Underpowered for the car, not as smooth as we'd like and the fuel consumption is around 31mpg after some spirited, but not crazy, driving on good A-roads.

It will do until we get ours back, hopefully Friday.