BMW FINDS ITS VOICE
HAVING spent a fair while behind the wheel of BMW’s new seventhgeneration 3- series saloon, I can confirm that, as well as being bigger, sharper and more expensive than its predecessors, it’s a belter.
It even has a clever voice control system run via a mobile phone app called BMW Connected.
And you can personalise your digital assistant by giving it a name of your own choosing, rather than prefacing every question or command with the generic phrase ‘Hey, BMW’.
BMW Connected can check vehicle information such as the battery or fuel levels and control the car remotely from home, ie unlock the doors. The system also lets the user check driving routes and departure times.
However, it’s not fault free — the German software didn’t clock every command; was it a matter of accents?
By contrast, the hardware creates a serious bit of driving kit in what is arguably the Bavarian firm’s most important car because it appeals to so many middle-class drivers.
The new 3- series will be available initially in three engines — two diesel, one petrol, with a plug-in hybrid and motor sportinspired version to follow in July.
With order books open now, I had a chance to get behind the wheel of three versions of the four- door five- seater ahead of deliveries from March.
Best seller in the UK will be the silkily smooth, but powerful, 320d diesel, accounting for about half of all series sales. Priced from £33,610, its 2-litre four-cylinder engine develops a lively 190hp linked to an eightspeed automatic gearbox that propels it from rest to 62mph in 6.8 seconds up to 149mph. Good for the family budget, too, at 67.3 mpg with CO2 emissions at 110g/km. It’s a feisty performer, too. I also tried the petrol 330i M sport — in gorgeous metallic blue — from £37,660. Powered by a 2-litre four-cylinder 258 hp engine, it reaches 62 mph in a swifter 5.8 seconds up to a top speed limited to 155mph, at the cost of economy (48.7 mpg) and CO2 emissions of 132g/km. But my real burn-up was in a M340i with a 3-litre 6- cylinder twin-turbo petrol engine able to accelerate from rest to 62 mph in 4.4 seconds. It took the tightest turns and will be the flagship when it arrives in July, from about £50,000.