Hailed almost since its inception as the benchmark against which all other sport coupes were measured, the entire BMW 3-series line is a tight package of engineering and design rolled into one very desirable automobile and the coupe is in my opinion the best proportioned of them all.

The quality of the materials is undeniable, the solidity with which the doors close is reassuring and the overall finish on the car is worthy of your attention. If you're in the market for a sporty 2-door, this should be on the top of your shopping list.

Other players in the market are striving to catch up to the leadership role of BMW in this sector, the most notable being the Infinit G35, but there's still a gap between the two, mostly in cachet rather than in engineering excellence.

Others will keep trying, but for now, the BMW 3-series is still on top of its mountain and it doesn't show any signs of letting up. However, I am going to keep my fingers crossed for the next version of the 3-series after having seen what Chris Bangle has done with the design of the new 7-series flagship, the 5-series mainstream sedan and the Z4, the next 3-series will be an "interesting" design to say the least.