If these awards were just about driving solo, the BMW would be hard to beat. Searing performance, precise steering and grip that seems to never end make the 335d an absolute hoot on twisty roads. Strap a caravan on the back, and the 335d barely seems to slow at all. Our 30-60mph test took just 7.1 seconds. That’s comfortably the quickest of all 50 cars tested.
As expected, the BMW was impressively solid through the lane-change test, although a little steering correction was needed on the final fastest run.
It’s not all good news, however. At higher speeds, the rock-solid stability we expected simply wasn’t there, and for an estate car the boot is disappointingly small. The hefty price is also an issue.
