BMW perfects the Goldilocks car, which is just right

They’ve been making the 3-series and its predecessors for about 50 years, have BMW, and it don’t seem a day too long. The cars haven’t always been what they’re cracked up to be.

The image at times outran reality, and, as a recent survey suggested, if f you want reliability above all you’re best off with a Japanese brand. For many buyers since the 1980s, the BMW 3-series has been a bit of a default choice, just as the VW Golf has been for a choice of family hatch.

This may be one reason why this previously niche model (I’m going back quite a way when I say that) often as not finds itself in the UK's top 10 best-selling models. Still and all, BMW’s staple, now available in more variants than ever, stands up well to scrutiny on its own terms.

None more so than one of the newer variations on the theme, the 340i. This has the latest six-cylinder engine and, pleasingly enough, is a traditional “straight six”. These used to be the format of choice for car makers, but the V6 gradually gained ground, not least because it offered a more compact shape, until we reach the position we are at now, where BMW is the only major manufacturer to stick to the old way of doing things.

All to the good, actually, and the 340i is a fine spiritual successor to the 323i of the 1980s, a car that also offered strong performance in a small (-ish) package.

You can have an 8-speed automatic transmission, but I felt quite at home with the six-speed manual, a manual box being an unusual item these days on such a powerful car. Again, BMW are upholding tradition in the right sort of way.

The figures look strong on paper, and it is simply great to drive. The suspension across the 3-series range has been stiffened up a bit, but the 3-series is still comfortable and cosseting in a way performance variants often aren’t. As with some of its peers, notably the excellent Mercedes-Benz C-class, the 340i offers different performance settings, including Sport + which promises the terrifying prospect of doing without the stability control. Sport mode is the default, and it lives up to the name.

In fact I cannot find anything to moan about on the BMW, save the substantial problem of the i-drive system, the jam jar lid between the front seats that controls the radio, sat nav and so on. I mention it every time I drive a BMW and I never get used to it. It is just too fiddly and distracting to use easily. That is one modern tradition BMW ought to ditch.

To me, the 340i is a “Goldilocks” car. To explain: it is just right. A V12 or a V8 are too much; four cylinders not enough. Six is ideal and a straight six even better and, as I say, the BMW is unique in this. It is priced right. I have no doubt that the best part of £40,000 puts it beyond the reach of many, through maybe not if you go for a leasing option.

But there again I would argue that no one needs to spend £50,000 or £100,000  to enjoy their motoring, while it’s hard to get excited by much that is less than say £20,000.

The 340i is bigger than previous generations of 3-series, but, in the company of today’s inflated cars from every maker, it still sits in the middle of the current pack. It has the right number of doors (four) and seats (five).

It isn’t as good looking as the Jaguar XE outside and is outclassed by the Mercedes indoors, which I suppose makes it a bit of a middle-of-the roader on those grounds too. And like Goldilocks’ bed, the ride is not too soft and not too hard. Just right, then. BMW would be good at making porridge, I dare say.