Latest in a line of high achievers
Our colleagues at CAR’s classic-themed sister titles remind us that the 3-series wasn’t the world’s first small sports saloon, and neither was the Neue Klasse before it. But for over 40 years it’s been the yardstick against which every rival has been judged. A new one is a big deal, and on the heels of the G20-generation saloon comes the G21 Touring: £1500 for an extended roof and fifth door.
We’ve gone for the car BMW says most of you will. Touring options currently sidestep the 318d spec available on the saloon, but include 320i (187bhp) and 330i (255bhp) petrols, and a 262bhp 330d. They’ll soon be joined by an M340i and, for the first time in the wagon shell, a plug-in 330e. But the most-bought combo is a 320d in M Sport garb: yours for £38,135; £47,005 for ours and its test-car jewellery.
The 320d delivers a solid 187bhp and 295lb ft to the rear wheels, though in this case it sends a portion to the fronts too – nominally 40 per cent, but with the potential to sling it all that way. Around a fifth of buyers will spend the £3100 premium for the xDrive four-wheel-drive hardware, which includes an eight-speed paddleshift auto ’box, itself a £1690 option on rear-drive cars. The G21’s broad tyres, balanced weight distribution and modest power mean most will rarely – possibly never – need it. But the road marker poles on the Yorkshire Dales’ highest stretches of tarmac remind us that bad weather can strike. And no one wants to be that flailing, snowbound BMW driver plastered all over the evening news.
In nothing more taxing than driving rain the xDrive 320d feels invincible. Where the 5-series goes for double wishbones and optional air suspension, the 3-series gets double-jointed, coil-sprung struts up front, as per the A4 and V60. All three use a multi-link set-up at the back and offer the option of adaptive dampers.
The BMW’s mushy brake pedal is a disappointment – the Volvo’s feels beautifully firm in comparison – but there’s stacks of retardation when you get into them, and plenty of grip. The 320d also has great body control and the best steering of the three. It’s not brimming with Lotus-like feel but it’s the most engaging of the choices here: meatier than the Audi’s; better defined around the straight-ahead, and just off it, than the Volvo’s.
It’s why there’s a Le Mans-like sprint for the 320d’s sports seat every time we move on. There’s a weight of expectation with the 3-series – but no wait to confirm that it’s the keenest of this bunch. It feels light and alive as you flick left and right. But while the more stiffly-suspended M
The pedal’s mushy but there’s stacks of retardation when you get into the brakes, and plenty of grip
Sport version’s roll resistance versus the genteel SE is definitely welcome, forget notions of this being some kind of cut-price, 60mpg M3. That xDrive hardware diminishes the G21’s rear-drive character – it’s the steering response and damping that marks this out as something special, not its rear-drive origins. If you want to feel like you’re taxing the rear tyres, you’re going to need the 75bhp-fitter 330d. But with that engine’s power and the refinement come expense and extra weight, most of it over the nose. We’d stick with a rear-drive 320d which, DIY fans need to know, is the only version available with a manual ’box.
Is the 320d fast? No, but it’s quick enough, and has the edge here. BMW says the 320d can reach 62mph in 7.4sec (7.1sec for the rear-drive version), compared with 7.6sec for the Audi and 7.9sec for the Volvo. The latter is hampered by front-wheel drive but feels less energetic even in situations where traction isn’t the limiting factor.
While BMW has made much-needed advances in both engine refinement and road and wind noise levels – both bugbears in the old car – the A4 still licks it for diesel clatter and ride comfort. If you’re going bigger than the 18-inch wheels on our car, you’ll definitely want the optional adaptive dampers to take the sting out of what is a firm ride.
The 3-series also has the smallest boot here, if only by a few juice cartons, but despite BMW’s own internal debates over whether anyone actually uses the feature, it’s a relief to see the flip-up glass window make a welcome return. We still don’t understand why this isn’t fitted to every estate car.
At the other end, G21 buyers are mercifully spared the over-sized
double kidney grille foisted on the new 7-series and X7, but you can still feel the influence of American tastes in the shape of the lamps and the flashes of fake chrome and aluminium trim inside and out.
We’ll let you make your own mind up about the styling. Asked for our opinion, we’d say the box-fresh BMW looks no more modern than the 18-month-old Volvo or four-year-old Audi, and that the BMW is probably undersold in demure Sapphire Black paint.
Aesthetics are subjective; cabin space is not. A useful 41mm wheelbase stretch over the outgoing car means you can consider this a mini 5-series in more than style. Rear legroom is adult-friendly, a first for a 3-series.
There’s definitely some 5-series going on in the design of the cabin, fused with cues from newer, more dynamic BMWs like the Z4. The orientation of the centre console – skewed slightly towards the driver in traditional BMW fashion – will be familiar to anyone who’s travelled in the bigger car, but some of the materials make no bones about reminding you you’re in the cheaper machine. Our car’s automatic shift lever feels as cheap as Alfa’s copy of BMW’s previous effort, and the large lid covering the cupholders is flimsy in action, and makes it hard to extract small cups when retracted. Think that stuff doesn’t matter? Ask a hard-working rep at the end of his three-year lease – he’ll ponder the burnt fingers and tell you otherwise.
The digital instruments (standard, but much less versatile than Audi’s Virtual Cockpit gauge pack) won’t be loved by all. Neither will the optional gesture control for the iDrive multimedia system. But the iDrive system itself – featuring a 10.3-inch screen in M Sport cars and an 8.8inch version for lesser models – just gets better. It’s great to see BMW hasn’t been tempted to throw every possible control behind the glass; there are still hard buttons for climate control. And it’s even better to see BMW hasn’t, unlike Audi, ditched the iDrive’s rotary controller simply because it now has touch and voice-command functionality. Both work well, particularly when you’ve adjusted to the order in which it prefers you to bark your orders.
The Touring blends plenty of what you think you want with the stuff you need, and the 3-series enjoys this self-assurance generation after generation. The G21 is another hugely appealing 3-Touring – more useful but also handier to drive. The others have their work cut out. ⊲
The 41mm stretch over the outgoing car means you can consider this a mini 5-series