Funnily enough my son recently bought himself a 2005 330ci. And I can agree, its a lovely thing. And unusually for Beemers (since they were Bangelised), good looking from any angle.
I drives great and the auto box is so good I can't see why you'd want a manual
In bumbling along mode the engine is noisier than the V10, but then everything in the BMW is noisier. It sounds wonderful when you open it up, but not anyway near as loud as my standardly exhausted 8, IMO.