What can I say, best real world car well to me so far it certainly is. Yes I have gone for the auto but I drive in congestion and mway slog day in day out with the odd camping jaunt or visiting friends at which point the sport mode might be used but probably will just use D all the time.

It is laiden with extras still getting to understand how to use them all.

Handling is sublime & I have the non rub flats optioned from new.

Economy more than living up to & exceeding my expectation note the mondeo st 2.2 was identical on economy !!

Performance well it blows me away really gutsy and relentless surging all the way to the red line. Noise under load is very pleasant a growling at idle cannot hear it inside the car.

Sports Seatsbrillient

Update.
Well had the car nearly 2 years now.

Pro's
Not a single breakdown
Usual economy is 40mpg on a commute but on a run it has hit 55mpg many many times.
Strong performance you can really hustle this car on the A/B roads and overtaking a number of cars is frankly too easy.
Handling and ride - I've always liked firm hard rides so this is fine, however when I change cars to drive certain roads I notice a huge difference. Handling is to me exceptional the best handling car I have had by such a huge margin I still feel spoilt.
Tyre wear seems to be good as well - I'd estimate mid 30's to 40k miles ....
Up against a 535d it does seem remarkably similar in performance which is nice.

Cons.
Servicing isn't cheap.
Using it even with a slight layer of snow its terrible
Wish it had the Ford Quickclear windscreen


Boot space not a patch on the Mk3 Mondeo but it is a rare occurance that we need to use the rear seats for shopping.

Only issue I can see is if you have kids and use the "Travel system" it will not leave a lot of space in the boot. This may be the only reason we change.

The newer F30 330d seems incredible sub 6 to 60mph 55mpg combined. Tempting.


Other thoughts wish Id got the 335d Touring adds some very useful luggage space (not a requirement when we bought nor has it been for the first three years of ownership but is becoming more and more important) also wish I had the 335d power.

Even given the milage at 106k and always going up the car is honestly in great condition you simply wouldn't be able to tell what milage it has done everything still seems tight.

So its a great car reliable fast enough great handling. I guess this is pretty much the key reason why I have kept it so long it does a great job and could continue to do so for a very long time to come. A newer version be it a 335d or the F30 330d would certainly be faster in all situations more economical (well the F30 330d would be) but it really is hard to justify the cost to change for frankly not that much more.