READ any review of BMW's 3-Series and you'll find journalists gushing in their praise of the all-conquering executive saloon.

Barely a superlative has gone unwritten and consequently it is a popular sight in the outside lanes of our motorway system.

It scores highly for looks, for its build quality, for fuel economy, for its low emissions, its luxuriousness and its handling.

All of the above are true, and more besides, however, it has one failing that has gone largely unsaid.

It's bloody useless in the snow!

Yes, for all its fine attributes, this near 40,000 Beemer was about as useful during the inclement weather as the proverbial cocoa-based fire appliance.

Barely an inch of snow had fallen when I attempted to reverse it onto my drive and 45 minutes later I was still no nearer my front door.

More than an hour later I was further away from my home than when I started and found myself trudging half-a-mile back having abandoned the 3-Series in a car park.

I had no more joy in the morning when I went to reclaim the car and after half-an-hour of trying, I gave up. It took myself and a colleague rocking the car backwards and forwards and no mean amount of elbow grease to get it back onto the road.

This experience was my first, but a quick straw poll of Beemer owning friends found to be a relatively common problem. Rear wheel drive, fat tyres would appear to equal 'snow go'.

It was all such a shame really, because up until this point I had really enjoyed my time with the car.

As I mentioned earlier, it's a good looking machine and with the addition of the subtle M Sport body kit, it appears even more purposeful.

Those 18ins alloys, the same ones that fought like lions to repel forward movement in the snow, fill the flared arches admirably.

And when you can put the power down, and it has to be admitted that's most of time, it's a glorious feeling.

The six-cylinder diesel unit has power wherever and whenever you want it and it makes a satisfying growl when you depress the accelerator.

But, as someone once said, power is no good without control, and thankfully the 330d has as much of the latter as it does the former.

It's incredibly well balanced and the ride, while harder than on the standard model due to its sportiness, still remains comfortable.

In what is more than just a polite nod in the direction of the environmental lobby the car is also equipped with BMW's EfficientDynamics(CORR) intelligent energy management system which includes the likes of brake energy regeneration, electric power steering and intelligent alternator control.

Inside, it's typical BMW fare. Our test car had aluminium silver trim, leather upholstery, electric everything and a multimedia system which is fine when you're used to it but fiddly when you're not.

There's no complaints about leg room, be it in the front or the back, though some in the rear may find their heads rubbing the roofline.

They say this is the worst snow we have had in three decades, so maybe my winter of discontent could just be a one off.

However, if it does become a more regular occurrence and you just cannot live without a Beemer then you might want to think of garaging it and breaking out something more practical instead when those flurries arrive.