BMW is all about luxury and status. This is a maker that knows what its customers want and delivers. From James Bond to Formula One, power and speed come with class and style. The company will tell you it has the 'Ultimate driving machine' and plenty of people will agree. Whether it's the ground-breaking X6 or the stylish hybrid M3, BMW offers top quality and comfort.

Sporty

When it comes to being sporty, BMW does more than talk the talk. It hurtles round tracks and circuits, with the BMW Sauber Formula One team starring Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld being backed up by motors like the BMW 320si, the vehicle driven by Andy Priaulx in the world touring car championships. So sporty is BMW it even likes to get into yacht racing. But top-class cars are what this prince among manufacturers is all about.

Sexy

Naturally enough, a fast, strong, sexy car goes well with the fast, strong and sexy alpha male, so perhaps it comes as no surprise that a number of BMWs have appeared in Bond films. These include the Z3 in Goldeneye, the 750 I in Tomorrow Never Dies and the Z8 in The World is Not Enough.

Quality

According to Autotrader's review, the X6 is a "stunning" four-wheel drive vehicle, one made to "redefine" the whole off-roader market in Britain and "the best-handling and best-looking luxury SUV on the market".

And if that isn't impressive enough, the M3 was praised for its versatile handling by Car Magazine, which said it "represents one of the very best performance cars you can buy", while Jeremy Clarkson's review for the Times commented of the M3 CS: "The body seems to have been stretched over the wheels, in the same way that bodybuilders' skin appears to have been stretched over their muscles."

With praise like that, BMW clearly has what it takes.