"Why hello, boys!" I looked up to see where the voices were coming from and I couldn't believe it when I found them. We were sitting at the traffic lights, stopped at a red in the middle of Downpatrick when it happened. The blue Peugeot 206 had slowed down on the far side of the road, all the windows had been wound down, and a bunch of what Father Ted would have called "lovely ladies" were calling to us, all smiles and waves.I know my cousin Mark and I are a couple of sharp-looking rascals, but I don't remember us ever having got such an enthusiastic reception before. There was only one explanation - the fire-engine red BMW 330 Ci Convertible we were sitting in with the top folded back was simply a most potent babe magnet.I've always been a bit sceptical of the concept of a car attracting women, preferring to hope that such a shallow concept was an out-dated, sexist cliché, and - fair enough - maybe the girls were just having fun with us, but I have to say this stunningly good-looking motor was turning heads everywhere we went. Men, women and children were honestly smiling at us, even waving or saying hello as we cruised slowly through towns and villages.The car is in its best looking incarnation yet. From the front its expression is aggressive; more akin to the old Z3 sportscar than a solid executive cruiser. From the side it's an elegantly sculpted evolution from the rather block-like car it replaces.Around the back it's just gorgeous, with pepper-pot clusters of LEDs making up all of the lights except the rear fogs and reversing lamps. It comes in a limited range of bodywork colours, all of them rather cold and steely; all that is except this vibrant, blazing red. And for my money it's the only option if you want to be noticed.We were in the perfect car for this trip. It was a bright and breezy autumn day in Northern Ireland, and we were off to have fun in the sun. Bundled up in jumpers and jackets we settled down into the supportive leather front seats, pumped up the climate control to bath-like temperatures, stabbed on the seat heaters at the maximum of their three settings and held down the button to open the roof.It took about 20 seconds for the side windows to drop, the hood to unlatch front and back, the storage-box lid to elevate and for everything, including the heated glass rear window, to get safely stowed away out of sight.Starting up the three-litre straight-six engine had us turning to each other with a big grin. We'd loaded up the CD autochanger in the boot with some favourite sounds, but right from the word go it was clear it'd be redundant.I slotted the stick into the first of the six available gears and pulled out into the big clear day. Ahead of us were miles and miles of golden autumn woods, open moorland roads and high mountain passes, all done to the soundtrack of that thrumming engine with guest appearances from hedgerow birds, rumbling surf and vortices of skittering leaves.With the scents coming and going, from town bakeries and coffee shops to salty seashores and damp leaves, we revelled in the performance. On the long straights it was as smooth and effortless as you'd expect a 231bhp six cylinder engine to be, the 221lb/ft torque helping make that sixth top gear useful for more than just fuel savings when cruising.It was on the back roads, particularly in the mountains, where the BMW's poise and flexibility were best demonstrated. I could appreciate the sub-seven second 0-62mph time. The whole thing felt taught and rigid as it skipped and weaved through the valleys and crests - a perfectly tuned symbiosis of razor-sharp steering, supportive suspension, efficient brakes, slick gearbox and that silky engine.There's a windshield that you can fix in place behind the front seats (£250 option), but at any speeds, right up to where you shouldn't go in this country, neither Mark nor I was getting anything more than a gentle ruffling of the top hair, and a playful breathing on our necks and shoulders. The heating was too good. We turned it back from its 35 degrees Celsius to about 28 just to stop the leather of our shoes cracking in the superheated blast.Leaning on the rail watching the approach of the Strangford ferry, listening to the engine ticking as it cooled behind us, we decided we'd have to try the roof up some time. It was several hours later before we finally, reluctantly relented. About five miles of fast straight road were enough to convince me that despite a minimal amount of wind rush, the set-up was tight as a drum and apparently without leak. Headroom front and back was adequate too. You can get an elegant hard-top for winter if you wish. It'll cost you just under £1600.Safety and security are challenges for soft-tops. The 330 Ci Convertible has standard front and side airbags, and there's an optional package of side bags for the two rear seats as well (£250). The roll-over safety system has reinforcement around the windscreen and pop-up roll bars built into the back headrests. As you'd expect, the car is also comprehensively alarmed.I know it's not good form to be unable to find anything to gripe about, but I couldn't fault the BMW on anything to do with handling, equipment, performance or image. I could even live with the 29.4mpg fuel consumption and, while the £30,000-plus price is beyond me, it seems fair for what you get.BMW has some impressive competition in this sector of the market. Executive class, four-seat soft-tops are made in this price and size area by Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Saab and Volvo, but to my mind none of them carries the same combination of class, image and dynamics.Driving back to Belfast airport early next morning, top down for me to see the first blush of dawn coming up over the Irish Sea, it was grim to be giving the 330 back. The emotional attachment had grown very quickly, and it's not often you can say that about a car these days. Engine 2979cc, 6cylinders Power 231bhp @5900rpm Torque 221ib/ft @3500rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 29.4mpg / 229g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.9sec Top speed 153mph Price From £30801.00 approx Release date 01/03/2003
