how is a 330i not practical? It has 4 doors, nice size boot, is safe, is awesome, has nice power..
My fiance's Corsa 130i gets 15l/100km at the moment.. has only 2 doors. small boot. and is not as safe as a e46... SO not nearly as practical a a 330i.. and also really not as cool... But it only cost R40k last year. has very low mileage & runs good. so for her its perfect as works only 1.5km from the house..
Guess I am used to high fuel consumption... As all our family cars have a higher than normal consumption..
the E30 got 15 to 16l/100km ( driven hard once engine warmed, every time)
the E36 i got about 14.5l/100km (Had to be driven hard to get it to go anywhere)
the e46 i get about 12l/100km (also has to be driven hard to get going)
the e46 auto gets about 15l/100km (heavy car, underpowered engine & auto....)
the e90 sitting on 16l/100 (underpwered, heavy, auto, woman with a heavy right foot driver)
the e60 sitting on about 19l/100 (got the power, gets used

)
the jeep 4.7l V8 sitting on 30l/100km (has too much power, we use all that torque up (needed a new set of engine mounts at only 58K KM)
the landy 3.9 V8 gets about 26l/100km (holiday house vehicle, only very short trips)
the pajero old 2.5td 13.3l/100km (holiday vehicle & 4x4 toy

)
so it all depends on driving styles.. as most our driving is short, stop/go, traffic type