BMW twin test special

Spare a thought for the engineers at BMW. The 3-Series has been a huge sales hit, so how can they make it even more appealing?

With its classy saloon, sporty Coupé, elegant Convertible and practical Touring bodystyles, plus BMW’s clever EfficientDynamics hardware, there’s hardly a chink in its armour. Despite this, the firm has tweaked its Coupé and drop-top offerings to see off the latest competition. Do the changes improve matters?

To find out, we put both to the test in a pair of twin tests. Facing the Convertible in the battle for cabriolet honours is the Volvo C70. It has been given a major boost with a glamorous new look, but can the D5 diesel match the 320d?

The tussle for the Coupé crown sees the 335i M Sport up against the Mercedes E350 Sport in our second shoot-out. They’ve never met before in Auto Express, and there’s little to separate them...