I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING: where’s the 3-series? The car BMW built to create and define the compact sports saloon sector. The benchmark in terms of driving dynamics, quality and, of course, sales. The 3-series is a phenomenon. Or rather it was. Its star hasn’t faded as such, rather its position has been challenged, and not by the usual suspects. Audi Sport and Mercedes-AMG may square up to the M3, but further down the pecking order an A4 or C-class in non performance dress-up have struggled to impress, their go falling short of matching their show. Not so the offerings of Alfa Romeo and Jaguar.
The XE isn’t long for this world and production is a little on/off depending on parts supply and where JLR needs those all-important chips to be installed (Range Rovers normally, because they generate more profit than a PPE supplier back in 2020). Yet
