My week with the BMW is over, and I know how I will look back on it. This is a car which I enjoyed having outside the house, and one that made me more keen to go travelling than might otherwise have been the case. It was a feel-good car.And I'll tell you why. It looks lovely. Ask me what I like about cars, and nine times out of ten I will drone on about strong mid-range performance and accurate handling, but catch me off guard and I'll admit that I really like an attractive shape. Tsk. Men, eh?I liked walking towards the car and I liked opening the door and I liked clambering aboard and I liked pulling away to the accompaniment of a muffled purr from the 2.8-litre six-cylinder engine.The feel-good factor in a car is more important than is usually acknowledged, certainly in that section of the market inhabited by top-of-the-range 3-Series BMWs, and the Touring reached the final control with a feel-good score of just over 930 millismirks (subject to official confirmation).In fact, I enjoyed the Touring better than any other current 3-Series I have tried, and I'm sure that the elegant rear-end conversion has a lot to do with this.What's more, there is function as well as form at the tail. Unlike earlier-generation Tourings, which had just about enough carrying capacity to deal with a slimline wristwatch, this one has a fair if not overwhelming amount of space (up to 1345 litres if you fold down the rear seat), accessed by opening either the entire tailgate or just the rear window.A basic-spec 328 would suit me very well (though, in fact, customer demand means that in the case of all new Tourings "basic" means the upmarket SE equipment level), and it would cost me £28,995, but that's just the start. Lord love you, child, the tale has not yet begun.The test car was packed with options including dynamic stability control, a sunroof, xenon headlights, a CD changer, electrically controlled sports seats, a navigation system, a cuddly toy (no, scratch that), sports suspension and a five-speed automatic gearbox.Once the smoke had cleared away from my calculator, I discovered that this brought the total price to £37,145. One would have to be quite serious about the matter to pay such a sum, and to be honest I could happily have deleted some of the items.The sports suspension might be on my un-wish list because, although the Touring soaked up long undulations with ease, it came close to inducing sea sickness on smaller bumps.On the other hand, this might have been because of the low-profile 225/45x17 tyres, which are in fact standard equipment on the 328 (the lesser 318 and 320 diesel versions are fitted with 195/65x15s likely to give much better ride quality). On the other hand, the visual benefits of the bigger wheels and racier-looking tyres probably outweigh ride considerations in the minds of most potential buyers.I would probably stick with the £1220 automatic transmission option, though, and I say this as one who reckons that automatics are second only to the car crash in the all-time list of appalling motoring developments.Even at full throttle, the system switches ratios as smoothly as I could ever hope to do myself with a manual gearbox, and in gentler driving the changes are so good you can only tell they have happened by listening to the engine note. I even found myself making frequent use of the Steptronic manual over-ride, which is the sort of thing I usually get fed up with after the first mile.My only disappointment with the car, apart from having to return it, was the fact that I sometimes started feeling twinges in my lower back, despite being able to adjust the seat and steering wheel into what seemed to be the ideal positions.Still, given some more time with the BMW, I'm sure I could sort that out. Another year should do it.Second opinion: Beautiful engine and, yes, the Steptronic is creamy-smooth in action. But is that appealing transmission worth a drop in performance and a rise in fuel consumption? Plenty of rear seat room, and I admire that neat centre armrest, which brings the view-obstructing headrest down and turns it into a cupholder with tray. Secure rear-drive handling, but as far as ride's concerned, those low-profile tyres are much better suited to places with smooth country roads - I mean Germany - than to ones with trashy surfaces - I mean here. Ross Finlay. Engine 2793cc, 6cylinders Power 193bhp @5500rpm Torque 206ib/ft @3500rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 27.4mpg / 247g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 8.4sec Top speed 144mph Price From £29566.00 approx Release date 18/11/1999
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