Nick Hall Freelance motoring journalist in the UK
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3 is a Magic Number
The new 330i will be a rep’s car, but it’s so much more than that. Nick Hall does the driving. Most BMW 3 Series are destined for a life slaving industriously in the outside lane, carrying yet another middle manager to his next meeting and collecting the crumbs from yet more service station sustenance. That’sa shame, the new 330i in particular deserves so much more than that.
Now in its fourth decade of production the 3 Series BMW firmly established itself as the icon of mid-tier corporate greed in the 1980s and is now the middle manager and sales reps weapon of choice.
But the Roundel looming in the rear view mirror does not just mark the arrival of a Golf club member who shops at Ikea and is very. late for a big meeting. It also signifies the arrival of the finest handling car in the sector.
After a jaunt that started in Seville, stopping off near Marbella, and then through Spain’s substantial mountain ranges, on to Madrid, Pamplona and up through France, I can safely say BMW has once again lifted the dynamic bar in the compact executive sector. And if Audi and Mercedes were worried before, they could now be forgiven for weeping openly and rocking in the corner.
The engine is a groundbreaking unit with a number of tricks, including extensive use of magnesium, that makes this the lightest three-litre, six-cylinder production petrol engine in the world.
It not only provides 258 stampeding horses, it also pumps out 300lb-ft of torque, which is sportscar levels of propulsion. The figures say it goes from 0-62mph in 6.6s, 6.3s for the manual, and tops out at 155mph, but I know at least one of those is a lie.
It was late at night, on a deserted Autoroute when the needle disappeared off the 160mph clock. It wasn’t big and it wasn’t clever, but when the gearbox kicked down two gears when I put the boot down at 130mph and the car screamed away like a stabbed rat, I just couldn’t help it.
It might still change up uninvited if you hold it on the redline on an apex, but for the most part the BMW automatic has now evolved to provide manual control with auto convenience. It changes down on demand, faster than even the most skilful racer could dream of, making this a mighty potent weapon that fully exploits engine braking and other treats that escape the stereotype auto.
Generally I would demand the extra control of a manual box, especially on the near frightening switchbacks in Sierra Nevada precariously balanced atop 1000-foot drops. But even the most ardent manual fan should test this variant before dismissing it.
As for the ride quality, it’s not perfect but then it’s not meant to be. Mercedes are more luxurious, Audis sensible and Jaguars come with special compartments for carpet slippers and Wurthers Originals. BMW prizes the driving experience above all else and that comes with integral compromises on the comfort front.
It might be massive over-engineering considering the daily toil of the average 3 Series, but then that commitment to the apex means that the 330i is sharp as a razor in everyday life and should never be caught out in normal conditions.
In fact the only way to unstuck that finely honed rear is with gratuitous use of the right boot. It doesn’t react well to trail braking, which leaves it nervous and unbalanced, but get slowed down before the corner and the car will ride the edge with all four tyres gently squirming under the loads and drifting in unison.
Any saloon washes out into understeer if pushed beyond the limits, but it was barely detectable as we hurled the lithe 1540kg creation into bends. It floats through bends, refusing to step out, until you turn off the electronics, learn to push its limits and take the exit with any level of oversteer you care to dial in with the right boot. and open up a whole new playground of fun for the experienced pilot.
That’s why all BMWs come with a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution thanks to mixing up aluminium and steel in the chassis and suspension to finely balance the machine under the right pedal. Each wheel sits right in the corner, too, in a barely compromised design, and the new car has a four-piece rear axle as opposed to the three-piece in the outgoing car.
Many ‘sportscars’ don’t provide the feedback, feel or instinctive driving thrills on offer in the new 3. With the tricky gadgets turned all the way off, beyond the Dynamic Traction Control safety net setting that permits a little slip before the computers take over, the true capabilities of this all-new chassis shone through on the sweeping turns that make up an EU-funded road programme just South of Valencia.
The brakes are mighty potent, and boast a cunning computer-controlled trick. Should you lift off the loud pedal in a hurry then the calliper will move closer to the disc and reduce the braking distance by millimetres. It’s worth a small fraction of a second, but that fraction will undoubtedly save lives.
As for the looks, well it’s a muted surprise. Even though the 3 is angular, flame-surfaced and boasts all the characteristics that have polarised the motoring world, this car is relatively anonymous in the flesh. It’s like someone realised halfway through the design process that this just wasn’t as tough a car as the 3 Series and softened all the edges.
This is the volume seller, too, and BMW perhaps wanted a more conservative approach to ensure it goes down well the majority of the buying public. From the early signs, it definitely will.
Fully loaded with leather trim the 330i costs more than £28,000, but BMW never competed on price anyway. It aspires to put the finest handling junior executive car in the world on the road with each new incarnation of its iconic 3 Series and this time it has done it again. Greed is good, and it just got better.