BMW's new 3-Series sedans take after big brothers
By Russell Williamson
BMW's new 3-Series sedan -- due on sale in Europe in May after a launch next week -- has joined the corporate family.
While previous incarnations have been clearly identified as small sporty brethren to the larger luxury sedans, the fifth generation 3-Series is no longer as distinctive as its predecessors.
From the exterior styling to the mechanical underpinnings and high-tech features, the new 3-Series shares a greater conceptual commonality with its bigger 5-Series and 7-Series brothers than any baby BMW before.
It is almost a case of the greatest distinction between the three model ranges being simply in body and engine size.
At first glance from the front, the visual commonality is most obvious with the trademark kidney grille now part of the bonnet.
A pair of L-shaped tail lights distinguishes the rear end and the grab-type door handles mark the car apart, but the overall silhouette of the car closely resembles the larger 5-Series.
The new 3-Series has also grown closer to its bigger brother in size -- albeit moderately.
The car is 40mm longer and wider, 20mm higher and sits on a 25mm longer wheelbase with both front and rear tracks having been widened about 60mm.
The new body also uses high-strength steel offering about a 60 percent increase in stiffness to improve safety and dynamic stability.
The main beneficiaries of the bigger body are the rear passengers -- who gain about 20mm more kneeroom and 10mm headroom -- while the boot space has also grown by five liters, offering a capacity of 440 liters.
Like the exterior, the interior of the car resembles its larger siblings more closely with the "driver's cockpit" of the current car having been softened with a more open and expansive dash layout.
Under the bonnet, five engine options will be available in Europe.
A new 1.9-liter, eight-valve engine will replace the present 1.8-liter unit while an all new 2.0-liter direct injection diesel engine is also on offer.
The new 1.9-liter gas develops 87kW at 5500rpm and 180Nm at 3900rpm -- a lift of 2kW in maximum power and 12Nm in peak torque over the 1.8-liter engine.
The three six-cylinder engines -- the 110kW, 2.0-liter engine from the 320i; the 125kW, 2.5-liter unit in the 323i; and the 142kW, 2.8-liter power plant from the 328i -- will be carried over unchanged from the present models.
The 2.0-liter diesel engine produces 100kW and 280Nm of torque but is unlikely to be offered in markets outside of Europe.
All models in the range get a new suspension which, like the 5-Series, uses some lightweight aluminum components.
Like their bigger brothers, the new 3-Series sedans will bristle with the latest technology aimed at improving safety and comfort.
All 3-Series sedans will have eight air bags as standard - driver, passenger, side front and rear and two head bags - and the ASC+T traction control system. A further development of this system, called Dynamic Stability Control (DSCIII), will also be available.
BMW's sequential automatic transmission -- Steptronic -- will also be offered on six-cylinder models while the integrated audio, television, phone and navigation system complete with monitor will be available across the range.