With the latest round of changes - including new engines and a host of styling improvements – BMW reckons it has given the American-built Z3 more man appeal. The most obvious changes to the car are visual and are designed to make the Z3 appear tougher on the street.

By and large, they work. Re-profiled rear wings, wheel arches with bigger flares, new tail lights and a curvier, broader look, help make the car seem more purposeful. At the front, chrome rings emphasise the circular headlamps, while a new range of body colours and distinctive 16 inch spoke alloy wheels help make the car look more aggressive.

It's much the same story inside, where there's a new centre console and switchgear liberated from the M Roadster. But the big news lies under the bonnet. In the past, the choice lay between a lack-lustre 1.9-litre four cylinder unit and an altogether more potent 2.8-litre 'six'. Both have gone, to be replaced by a trio of new units.

Although the idea of a 1.8-litre engine in place of the old1.9-litre might at first seem a retrograde step, the truth is quite different. The new 118 bhp engine, taken from the 318i, actually develops the same level of torque – the engine's pulling power - as the old 1.9, but does so lower down the rev range.

The upshot is even better in gear acceleration - and a price that been kept below the £20,000 threshold. Not bad considering the old 1.9 cost £21,505...Likely to be the biggest seller, however, is a new 2.0-litre straight six cylinder engine that comes from the 520i.

Developing 150 bhp, it combines the smoothness of a six cylinder engine with enough punch to launch the car to 60 mph from rest in under 8.9 seconds.

In practice, this means overtaking power is instant and plentiful, which as it should be in a sportscar. Snick the stubby gearlever down a cog, squeeze the trigger and you're past that smelly truck or swaying caravan in a trice.

Problems are few. As ever, the Z3 is a little short on oddment space and the boot is tiny. And there's some evidence of scuttle shake on the more powerful version - drop a wheel into a pothole, and a shudder runs through the car's shell underlining the fact that, without a roof, no roadster is as stiff as a coupé.