"A sports car for the Nineties? Purists may wince. How can a car that carries four people comfortably and has an excellent sound system, air condi­tioning and electrically operated win­dows be a sports car? What about the old “contains nothing that doesn’t make the car go faster” ethic? Aren’t sports cars supposed to be just a little harsh and difficult?

No, sayeth the engineers at BMW, they are not. With proper refinement, even a reasonably plush 4-place sports coupe can carry two (or four) people over a winding road about as fast as a car should go, with proper respect to the natives and stationary roadside objects. If a car is competent beyond all expectation, why should you suffer?

A good question. And one this car answers surprising­ly well."