Launched a couple of years back, rivals are only now starting to catch up with BMW‘s Connected Drive, which allows access to RSS feeds and an array of news headlines through the media system, as well as letting you email addresses from your desk to the car’s navigation.

The press of a button also links the car to a call centre, where you can ask for the address of Halfords, for example, to be sent to the car. Which is where the only problem I’ve experienced with the system emerges. Twice now I’ve been sent directly to a residential road near the destination, but not actually to the right place. Frustrating.

BMW 520d saloon SE manual
Mileage 9350 miles
Our average consumption 43.4mpg
Forecast CPM 61.6p
Actual CPM 63.4p
Positive Interior quality,
dealer service
Negative Electric steering,
start-up procedure