BMW 3 Series shows off new features

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sports car aficionados will have another option for their shopping lists with the launching of the new BMW 3 Series here.

The fifth generation of the BMW's sports sedan icon -- which accounts for 44 percent of the company's global sales, or around 10,000 million units, since it first rolled off production lines in 1975 -- was launched on the Jakarta market just a month after its launching at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show in March.

"The 3 Series represents sporting performance and supreme driving qualities combined with elegant design and outstanding product features," PT BMW Indonesia president Josef Honsel said during the ceremony at the Sentul circuit in Bogor last week.

The new 3 Series still retains the BMW coupe-like silhouette and has BMW's "family design" double-kidney grill and twin headlamps, making it similar to its big brothers; the 5 and 7 Series cars.

But the new 3 Series has new side mirrors and new rear lights, giving it a sportier look.

During the product presentation by the company's vice president of sales and marketing Harald Meyer, The Jakarta Post had the chance to sit inside the car.

In the back seats, BMW offers additional high-end diversions -- hip portable iPods and DVD players that can be removed and installed inside your house if you think this is all too high- tech for a car.

The longer wheelbase, by 35 millimeters, also enables back seat passengers to sit more comfortably.

The 3 Series models are available in three variants -- the BMW 330i, BMW 325i and BMW 320i; the 320d diesel engine is not available from BMW Indonesia.

However, during last week's launch only the 330i and 320i were on show.

The BMW 330i has a six-cylinder 3,000cc-engine that can result in 258 horse power (hp) with a maximum torque of 300 Newton meters (Nm) at 2,500-4,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). The engine has Valvetronic technology that reduces load change resistance to a minimum but guarantees efficient use of the fuel supplied and a much better engine response. The maximum speed of this car is 250 kilometers per hour (kph) with an acceleration from 0 to 100 kph of 6.3 seconds.

Meanwhile, the BMW 320i has a four-cylinder 1,995cc-engine that produces a maximum output of 150hp at 6,200 rpm and maximum torque of 200Nm at 3,600 rpm. It accelerates from 0-100 kph in 9.0 seconds and its top speed is at 220 kph.

My group of journalists had the first session of the "flat tire" run, where we drove the car at a top speed of 80 kilometers an hour with one flat tire and slalomed through cones.

"Did you feel anything when driving the car?" was the question from our instructor Stephen Schimft. My colleague, who had forgotten that were driving with one tire completely flat, said he felt a slight oversteer when making the curve at high speed.

"With this technology, the car can travel for 250 kilometers with two passengers at 80 kph maximum speed or for 150km with four passengers at the same speed," he said.

The next session was to try out the 320i and 330i to feel the difference of Active Steering and to test both cars' Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).

Our instructor, Aswin, told us to drive both the 320i and the 330i at least 80 kph before making a sudden stop to test the ABS, and continue with the slalom at a constant speed to feel the Active Steering.

The benefits of both systems were readily apparent. The 330i is equipped with active steering and the car was stable even when I slalomed past the cones, noticeably handling better than the Active Steering-less 320i.

Both cars are lighter than their predecessors thanks to the use of magnesium in the crankcase, for the first time in volume production, that reduces the weight by 30 percent compared to aluminum.

The last session was a pace lap in which we tried the 320i on the circuit to feel the handling of the car.

With safety features become more concern for both carmakers and customers, the BMW new 3 Series are also equipped with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) and, of course, airbags.

Meyer said the new 3 Series cars have six airbags -- side ones for front-seat passengers located in the seats rather than in the front doors. "It is to protect the passenger's side and pelvis," he said.

Available in two colors -- black and silver -- the BMW new 3 Series start at Rp 540 million (US$56,250) for the BMW 320i, Rp 659 million for the BMW 325i and Rp 800 million for the BMW 330i. All prices are on-the-road ones. The cars will be on the market by the end of May.