THE arrival in Britain of BMW's new four-door M3 saloon in imminent, and the car offers the same levels of scintillating performance as the latest M3 Coupé.

The German firm hopes the four-door bodyshell will take the M3 to an even broader audience. The 420 horsepower saloon is powered by a 4.0-litre V8 engine.

Performance figures include a zero to 62mph time of 4.9 seconds (0.1 seconds slower than the coupé), a limited top speed of 155mph, and a return of 22.8mpg on the combined cycle.

Expect to pay around the £52,000 mark.