Is the BMW 3-Series still the car to beat?

There's no such thing as perfection, but the new BMW 320d (now in the sixth incarnation of Three, and known as the ‘F30') looks suspiciously like a magic bullet when it comes to recommending a mid-sized executive diesel. No matter what the question, BMW's scrupulous box-ticking for this particular car sticks it near the top of any league table you care to mention, with chinks in the 320d's armour remaining impressively elusive. In fact, the four-cylinder turbodiesel's roster of good news comes dangerously close to the irritating. Good-looking? 320d. Tax-friendly? 320d. Economical? 320d. Fun to drive? 320d. Spacious? 320d. Comfy? 320d. Actually, there's only one question fumbled by the small-saloon Answer to Everything, and that's when people say: "But I just don't want a BMW."