‘More BMW than its predecessor’
With the 3-series, BMW takes a big bite out of the cake of the premium D-segment. Since the introduction of the current model, BMW has sold at least as many 3-series in our country as Mercedes-Benz the C-Class and Audi the A4 combined. What would be the reason? 37 owners of the new 3 Series share their experiences.
The current generation BMW 3 Series, known to enthusiasts as G30 (sedan) and G31 (Touring), has been on the market since 2019. The model was modernized in mid-2022, with the dashboard in particular being relatively radically adjusted.
Driving: more dynamic than predecessor
BMW prides itself on driving pleasure, which is noticed by the drivers. Although… owners of the new 3-series note that their car drives considerably more dynamically than the previous model, which turned out to be quite sluggish for a BMW. “Driving characteristics: great, steering very tight and precise. Big improvement over the previous type,” writes one reader. “You can tell from everything that BMW has done a lot to make this a real driver’s car again,” notes another. There is also a downside to that dynamic, which is due to the control. “It steers fairly directly, so that sometimes on the highway you just end up somewhere you don’t want to be.”
The ultimate compliment to BMW’s efforts is this 320i Touring driver’s review after 40,000 km: “Given the car is so sporty and challenging, I often drive around the block when I come home from work, for example. This car still gives me the real ‘Freude am Fahren’ feeling.”
New 3 Series is more spacious
Cars in the premium D segment do not excel in their space offerings. Nevertheless, G30 and especially G31 also perform considerably better than predecessors F30 and F31 on this point. “Compared to the F30 3 Series, the interior has been upgraded considerably, and the interior space has also increased again,” writes a satisfied owner. “You would hardly need a 5-series anymore. The same goes for the trunk.”
A 330e driver also praises interior space and finish. “The interior is more luxurious and spacious. With nicer materials and stitching in the black leather on the excellent sports seats.” With those chairs he touches on a tricky point. It seems like there is no middle ground between fan or opponent. The seat of the standard chairs does not tilt, which results in a lack of support for the upper legs. The more supportive sports seats are regularly found too narrow, especially by tall drivers.
The interior of the current BMW 3 Series before the facelift.
Infotainment and assistance systems
People are less divided about infotainment and digital instruments. The central screen really only knows enthusiasts, “although the menu structure has become less clear compared to the previous iDrive.” This is different for the digital counters. Opinions range from ‘remove immediately’ and ‘beautiful, but take a little more effort to read’ to ‘really cool! What a resolution and what a beautiful design.’
If we look at the assistance systems, the adaptive cruise control is particularly appreciated. This applies to a lesser extent to the lane assistant. “Turn on your cruise control with lane assist, then you have nothing more to say. You are so tense to keep the car between the lines that it hinders rather than helps, because an aggressive steering intervention is the result.” Another also experiences the assistance system as intrusive: “It steers really hard, you are fighting to get the car to do what you want.”
If you use the semi-autonomous driving mode, the assistants work exemplary, according to this driver. “A game changer on longer distances, that Driving Assistant Professional,” writes this owner about his 330e. “The BMW is capable of autonomous driving and it works very well.”
Another striking assistance system: the 3-series can independently retrace its route up to 30 meters before parking. “For me this is more than a party trick,” writes a 320e rider. “The car can drive completely independently from the driveway. This is especially useful if you have a narrow driveway, like me.”
Malfunctions
Our 37 owners do not stop with their BMW, but the electronics show themselves unruly. Particularly shortly after the launch of the new 3-series, the software regularly displayed undesirable behaviour. In particular, ‘forgetting’ personal settings is frequently mentioned. After a number of updates, the complaints decrease. One owner reports sporadic failure of the digital instrumentation, as a result of which the driven speed can no longer be read. “This happened about once every 2 months. After a software update, this has not happened for several months now.”
Engines and drive
The BMW 3 series comes with an extensive engine range, with only the 330d, M340i, M340d and M3 still having six-cylinder engines. All other engines are four-cylinder, the three-cylinder from the F30 and F31 318i is not supplied in the G models. It is striking how little attention reviewers pay to the engine. There are no complaints, but the four-cylinder is not overflowing with emotion. “The 330i is strong and smooth with 258 hp and 400 Nm. The sound of the four-cylinder is of course not as nice as that of a six-cylinder at a bit more revs: it is a somewhat monotonous hum.” The owner of an M3 Competition rubs that in. “BMW’s straight-six sounds great.”
The 316d also performs adequately. Contrary to what its model designation suggests, this engine really has two liters of capacity: “On the German autobahn I keep up with other traffic and I don’t actually miss more power. The 2.0 diesel pulls quickly to the top of about 215 km / h.”
Finally the 320e, next to the more famous 330e a lesser known offer. Unjustly, according to this lease driver: “In my opinion, the 320e offers a better balance than the 330e. If it had been my own money, I would have gone for the 320e. I would put the money I would save over the 330e on more and better options.”
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl