BMW’s fashionable rebel
test car — a BMW Individual option.
It’s still practical, with a 40/20/40-split rear seat (that can be dropped electronically with a button in the boot) and 500-litre boot capacity. Not cavernous, but only 50 litres shy of an X3 SUV.
The tailgate is a glass hatch because the window can be opened separately. That’s handy if you have a bike rack hanging off the towbar.
But now to important BMW business: driving briskly. You can have the 3 Series Touring as a fourcylinder diesel (320d), but most buyers opt for the big 330d.
This straight six turbo-diesel engine is epic. A bit reticent from standstill, but from 1500rpm it’s a wave of torque that carries you to wonderful places. It tails off beyond 4000rpm, but the six embraces hard work and the eight-speed gearbox keeps it on the boil.
And the 330d hits 100km/h in 5.4 sec. You can’t have a six-cylinder diesel Audi A4 Avant or MercedesBenz C-class estate. Form a small but excited queue here.
For NZ, the Touring models come only with xDrive; again, move over SUVs. It’s a heavily proactive system that has deep conversations with the electronic stability control to predict when to shift the power around.
It’s designed to be the best AWD system it can be. It works to great effect on-road in the X3 and X5 SUVs and it’s even more engaging in the 3 Series.
Perhaps because of the customer focus on SUVs, BMW took the seventh-generation 3 Series to an even sportier place than previous models. The M Sport package is also standard on every Touring model sold in NZ.
Everybody who got into our 330d commented how low you sit; a few said the ride was on the firm side even in Comfort mode and it is, especially with this model’s 19in wheels.
It’s a traditional BMW in terms of styling and driving experience, in other words. But don’t let that distract you from the fact that it’s also one of the most high-tech cars on the market. The full suite of driverassistance features is a given (BMW is right up there with Mercedes-Benz and Tesla for this kind of stuff). A bonus is a function allowing the car to automatically reverse the exact path it took for the last 50m before you parked. You’d be surprised how useful that is.
BMW continues its fascination with Apple connectivity by offering wireless CarPlay, while ignoring Android Auto. (You can have still remote connectivity via a BMW app with whatever phone you own.)
A low-slung, six-cylinder diesel performance wagon is a niche thing these days. Another word for that would be “special”.