If anyone were to ask me about the various cars I’d owned or driven in my life and which, if any of them, stood out in my memory, there is one which immediately springs to mind.

It is a 1996 2.5-litre BMW 323 automatic convertible, which my partner and I bought to drive through France to Monaco for the Grand Prix a few years ago. There are a number of reasons why this car holds such fond memories – some of them automotive and some sentimental. We looked at a number of options before settling on the Beemer, from an MGF, through big Japanese sports cars to a Saab 93. We wanted something that was going to be fun but also practical and when we tried the 323 we knew it was perfect for the journey.

The kind of car that makes you watch Top Gear.

Anticipating fine weather in France during May (a bit of a false hope as it turned out) we wanted something where we could put the roof down and just cruise. The 2.5-litre engine was so smooth yet powerful - it was a delight to drive. I’d never been a fan of automatics before but my partner was and I soon realised how effortless it was. And with two and a half thousand miles ahead of us this was a big consideration.

Inside it was just gorgeous. Pale leather seats complemented the maroon bodywork and I just sank easily into a perfect driving position. Controls all fell readily to hand and everything had a solid feel to it, as you would expect.

The Beemer had one of those automatic roofs which, at the touch of a button, folds itself back and disappears into a space just ahead of the boot. It’s like watching something out of Thunderbirds. And it only let us down once. We’d stopped near the Pyrenees on the way to visit some friends and I’d gone to put the roof up as cloud had come over and it was getting chilly. You’re meant to keep your finger on the button all the time the mechanism is operating but it slipped off and when I tried to continue the operation it wouldn’t budge. We tried everything but the roof simply stayed half way up.

A good car, a good country, and a dicky roof.

By now we were beginning to get worried as we couldn’t drive with it like that and the clouds were looking more ominous. Finally, after 20 minutes, my partner applied gentle pressure to the mechanism in a certain spot while I held the button and it suddenly sprang into life and closed properly. We breathed a sigh of relief and carried on. It never let us down again.

And neither did anything else on the car. We did a complete circuit of France during a two week period and the car was absolutely perfect. We couldn’t have chosen better on our budget, either for looks, performance, comfort, driveability - you name it. The only time I wished it wasn’t automatic was when negotiating some of the twistier roads in the Pyrenees when a manual box might have been a little easier, but that was all.

Gendarmes. Faces hidden to protect negligence.

Having a convertible also proved an unexpected bonus when we decided to buy a cherry tree as a thank you gift for some friends who put us up for a few nights near Beziers. We drove to the nearest garden centre, purchased a seven-foot specimen and drove back with my partner supporting the pot between her legs with the tree sticking out of the roof waving in the breeze. Just glad there weren’t any Gendarmes about.

The holiday was brilliant and the car played a major part in that. So if you’re looking for something to go motoring on the continent in, that won’t let you down and will be an absolute pleasure to drive, look no further than a ten-year-old convertible Beemer.