BMW got back to basics with the E90 generation 3 Series.

This was the car that shucked off the gimmicky styling and did what BMWs have always done best - concentrated on the engineering and let form follow function.

The results have been spectacularly effective and are a testament to sticking with what you're good at.

Used examples are now appearing in decent numbers but they do hold their value well despite industry mutterings of oversupply harming the car's so-called exclusive image.