It’s always painful watching your long-termer leave the car park for the last time, but knowing I won’t be able to jump into the unflappable R32 at the end of the day to carve through the freezing early-evening grime makes this one hurt more than most.

It feels like a lifetime ago that ZVB first appeared at Evo Towers, so long ago in fact that the initial disappointment at it having a DSG gearbox seems like a distant dream. I remember the morning when I arrived at the office to find my gleaming new long-termer waiting for me. Excited, I walked up to it and peered through the window, my eyes scanning the airy cabin, taking in the supportive-looking seats and the beautifully finished dash. Then I spotted the auto shifter sitting where there should have been the lever for a slick six-speed manual. At first I thought this R32 was in for some other test, that mine must still be on its way, but when I walked into the office and everyone called me grandad, I knew the auto Golf was mine.

This should be the perfect marriage – BMW’s incredibly powerful twin-turbo 3-litre diesel engine and the suave yet practical 6-series coupe. And it does have its appeal: the engine is super-torquey (how does 428lb ft @ 1700rpm sound?) and provides effortless performance, the six-speed automatic gearbox is silky smooth and the interior is beautifully finished. As a place to spend lots of time you can only conclude that the 635d Sport is a mighty impressive car.

With the first-generation SLK back in 1997, Mercedes’ aim was true but its targeting system a little out of kilter. Spot-on styling and a clever folding hardtop contributed to its strong ownership appeal and more or less sealed its commercial success. Nearly half a million first and second generation SLKs have been sold to date, a remarkable 62 per cent to women. Whether the shifting automotive demographic outside ladies hair salons in those early years was because the SLK rapidly failed to gain a reputation as genuine hard driver’s sports car is a moot point. But the shortfall of chassis talent was hard to paper over. Respectably swift in a straight line with any of the larger engine options, the SLK was hung out to dry in the curves by Porsche’s mid-engined rival, the Boxster.