BMW 3 Series Review

The 3-Series might trick you into believing that its just a driver’s car that only knows tricks that work for the person behind the wheel, but once you get in one of its other seats and it starts eating up mile after mile of road, you’ll see that it’s also an excellent long trip partner.

So, while the driver is enjoying the optional variable steering and the low position, you can sit and relax, as the Comfort mode of the adaptive suspension and the generous seats allow you to relax. This is true regardless of you position in the car, as the rear passengers now benefit from a lot of extra head and leg room.

The access to the vehicle has also been made easier, thanks to the longer wheelbase and the seating position is almost paradoxical: it’s quite low, but this doesn’t make it unpleasant at all. The all-round visibility is good, so you get to enjoy the landscape in every way you like.

The soundproofing detaches you from the elements, but you never get bored, as you’re always aware of the vehicle’s speed and, if, like in the case of our test car, you choose to take a deep dive in the list of optional extras, you’ll have plenty of toys to keep you busy.

The fact that the driver doesn’t have to work too hard to overtake also offers you a certain dose of psychological comfort. However, not all the tech assets of the car work for this chapter. For example, the excellent autonomy of the car means that you’ll no longer have an excuse for asking the person behind the wheel to pull over for a few moments from time to time.

The Bavarian engineers have been obsessed with having their cake and eating it for quite some years now. So, what is this desert made of? Class-leading performance and efficiency at the same time. So, let's see what the exact ingredients of the F30 320d are.

You start with a 1995cc turbocharged diesel engine that delivers 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) between 1,750 and 2,750 rpm and 184 hp at 4,000 rpm, virtually the same unit used by the replaced E90 generation.

You right foot won't quite feel that this is an oil burner, as the engine pulls linearly throughout the rev range and goes over 5,000 rpm. It feels muscular, but the fact that is uses a single turbo and offers a high specific output does bring a certain lag. Fortunately, this only becomes annoying if you drive the car hard.

However, the slight lag can be overcome by using the manual mode of the optional eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox, not allowing it to go under a certain level of revs. The engine isn't quite as refined as it should be, but you only feel this while driving in the city at low and medium speeds. Once you go past a certain speed or you start abusing the throttle, it doesn't feel rough any more.

As for the transmission, this can now be found on most BMW models and is one of the best torque converter units on the market. You can downshift multiple gears at a time and the response is instant. A few years ago. nobody would've believed that you can actually enjoy a two-liter diesel working with a flappy paddle gearbox.

Like we said, the powertrain doesn't just convert diesel into sensations, but is also extremely careful with the amount of fuel used, with this being the most economical proposition of its kind.

The powerplant is not the only tech ingredient that has been inherited from the E90. The F30 uses its predecessor's aluminum, multi-link rear suspension, but this has received more rigid mounts. However, up front we have a dedicated architecture, which uses pseudo-MacPherson struts and lower wishbones.

It's now time to talk about the chassis, which has grown in length by 93 mm (3.7 inches), with 50 mm (1.9 inches) going into the wheelbase extension. In addition to that, the front track is now 37 mm (1.5 inches) wider, while the rear one was extended by 48 mm (1.89 inches). BMW topped that by using high-strength steel to increase torsional rigidity by 10 percent. All these assets make it almost impossible to believe that the vehicle is now 40 kg (88 lbs) lighter. As if that wasn't impressive enough, the car also comes extremely close to an ideal 50:50 weight distribution.

In the case of our test car, the connection to the road is established via adaptive dampers, with the system proving that it can please both hat and helmet bearers. The leather-covered steering wheel was connected to the (also optional) sport variable steering, which offers a good level of feedback. The system adapts to driving speed and makes wonders for its ratio, so you can forget the annoying "spin, spin and then spin some more" maneuvers forever.

Our test car was exploding with other optional goodies that range from a Professional navigation system to a Head-Up display, but we'll talk more about these goodies in the "Gadgets" chapter.

We don’t usually mention the pricing of the vehicle in this chapter, but to get an idea of how gifted our test car was, we have to start by telling you that we drove a car that was priced at EUR36,600 (USD48,600 at the current exchange rates) and carrying goodies worth EUR 26,400 (USD35,000).

Since this is a BMW, we’ll start with the part that influences the driving dynamics. First and foremost, our test car was fitted with the Adaptive M chassis and the variable sport steering.

Basically, this means that you’ve got more cars built into one, with the switch between the personalities being made using a little button placed next to the gear shifter. You can choose between the Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport + modes and we can tell you that the active dampers really act different in the Comfort and Sport modes and so does the steering. Any driver, regardless of the skill, will feel the difference and find the one that’s more suitable for him or her.

Another extremely important optional tech feature is the paddle-fitted eight-speed automatic transmission, one of the best torque converter units on the marker today. This perfectly complements the engine’s multi-purpose character, further increasing the overall versatility of the car.

Moving to the other side of this chapter, we’ll mention the Head-Up Display, a function that takes one second to get used to and a few days to get over after you drive another car that doesn’t have it, the power front seats with a heating function (the latter was also available for the rear seats), the adaptive Xenon headlights, the Professional satnav system, which is really intuitive and useful and the Hi-Fi harman/kardon audio system that relies on 16 speakers to turn the car into a concert hall.

We also have to mention the systems that didn’t impress us all that much. First, there’s the automated parking system. This just doesn’t work in the real world, simply because technology hasn’t gone that far yet, so forget about it. The same goes for the high beam assistant, which only works in ideal conditions.

Next, we have the surround view system, which is useful when parking, but lacks the ability to offer you a full understanding of the surrounding world. It doesn’t include a front view camera and it can’t really show you the height of the objects around you, so you’ll have to use it with certain cautions.

We’ll also mention the adaptive xenon headlights, the rain sensors, the adaptive cruise control, the heated steering wheel and the keyless access systems. In addition to that, we have BMW’s Internet and Apps - the vehicle came fitted with an iPhone, which it used to connect to the Internet in order to allow us to use various apps, such as social networks and web radio.

Our test car topped all that with a series of BMW accessories, including floor mats, a luggage bag and an iPad support that allows the rear passengers to play with the Apple tablet. In addition to that, the list of extra goodies for our test car also included safety features, such as the lane departure warning and the blind spot monitoring function.

The BMW 3-Series is not the kind of car that can get away from the Euro NCAP, but the vehicle hasn’t been tested yet. Until it gets to meet the official barriers, we can only rely on assumptions to talk about its passive safety.

First of all, BMW used high strength steel and a special construction, with the F30 being 10 percent stiffer than the E90 it replaces. In addition to that, the architecture of the hood, which offers a very generous amount of space between the place where a person’s head would strike and the hard structures of the engine.

However, nobody wants to end up using BMW’s call center for handling a post-crash situation, so let’s see what the F30 does to prevent this from happening.

Even when using the Sport + mode of the adaptive drive, which offers a softened response from the electronic nannies, the 3-Series feels like a safe car to drive. How could it not be this way since you rely on a great deal of mechanical and electronic goodies to keep you on the road? The best examples come from the chassis, which offers a 50:50 weight distribution and comes with (optional) adaptive dampers.

Our test car also came with certain optional safety features, such as adaptive headlights, multifunctional steering wheel, an adaptive cruise control system, as well as a lane departure warning function and a blind spot monitoring system and the active protection function. The last makes sure that the windows and the sunroof are closed and the seat belts are pre-tensioned when it detects an imminent crash.

We’ll also include two other goodies on this list: the Head-Up display, which is great, but should also display the gear you’re in, at least when you’re using the Sport modes, and the surround view system, which offers you a lot of help, but could be improved.

Until somebody decided to bash the new 3er against a wall, we’re inviting you to the “Conclusions” chapter, so we can see what this car can do, besides from keeping you from crashing.

The story of the F30 looks more like that of a man, rather than a car's tale: now that he's passed 35 years of age (he's now 37) he has completed another evolutionary stage that allows him to be more refined. He not only has better skills, but is now a complete man, one that can take care of all aspects of life.

Mr. Three was always the sporty type and now he's dedicating more time to his body than ever, with the result being an appearance that a synonym for masculinity. "Well dressed" is a perfect description, one that will probably be given to you by the many heads that he turns when he's out in the city.

Those who get to know him closer receive a confirmation of what was already known: He is a true athlete and will impress you with his physical abilities. However, he knows how to adapt to every situation and fits in perfectly in the current financial-sensitive era, being extremely frugal.

No, Mister 3er isn't perfect. He's just very good. In other words, he impresses through the good overall package that he delivers, but doesn't actually manage to dazzle you with a certain asset.

He's the type that wins thanks to points, not KOs and sometimes in life you want that extra bit. Of course, this is true for his 320d personality, with his more powerful alter egos certainly set to offer a different experience. but, of course, not with the same efficiency.

He also has a dark side, one that can't be ignored: the pricing. When he visited us for a test, he came with a price tag of a little under EUR63,000 (about USD83,600). However, around 40 percent of that money went into the optional goodies and while you do need certain features when buying a premium car, not all of them were necessary. Then, there's the comparison with its competitors, where he gets a good rating, as there are more expensive premium models, none of which is superior.

What the F30 320d actually does is offer you all you need in terms of transportation on the road, with some added spice. Anything else you would like and that would require buying a superior car, can be called a caprice. People will drive this car for a lot of miles, thanks to its frugality, dynamics and comfort.