The three series of powered elegance

BMW 3 Series sedan is 100% as much as a South African icon as it is interwoven into the hearts of the people of our country.

There just isn’t a car person that doesn’t have a favourite BMW. From the E30 that spawned the legendary 325iS models and many of the spinning cars today to the E36 dolphin shape that gave us our first official M3 car in South Africa.

The still sought-after E46 and the M3 Coupe followed with the twin-pipe game, to the grumpy V8 M3 of the E90 era, which also brought us the first 335i giant killing models.

The F30 came next and ushered in all turbocharged models into 3 Series and gave us mental M3s and M4s. Now in 2019, some 40 years and six model generations later, the world’s biggest-selling premium car is here in the form of the G20 320d and 330i sedan.

I really enjoyed what these two cars had to offer when I drove them overseas at the world media launch last year and I was looking forward to a slightly extended drive on local soil. Make no mistake though, the sedan segment around the world, and over here, is under huge sales pressure from buyers’ new found love for all things SUV. There isn’t a manufacturer that isn’t playing in the SUV market and for every size sedan, you can find a similarly sized SUV that does almost exactly the same thing.

But this said, there is still sufficient demand for premium midsize sedans like BMW 3 Series, and with some clever model rationalisation you still can find a derivative that suits your driving style and budget. I was lucky enough to have both the 320d and 330i on test back-to-back, so I decided to run them both for some road test data and review them together.

In the third quarter of this year, these two models will be joined by a 320i and a 330d offering. The styling of the new BMW 3 Series speaks pretty much for itself. Sharper, crisper lines hide a slightly longer, wider and higher car. And as is always the case these days, you have a wide choice of individual styling and M Sport options to make your new 3 Series look special.

Inside is all new too and offers a very modern and light look. The newly designed instrument cluster and control display form a large-surfaced screen grouping, while the controls not included in these units are clustered into clearly structured function panels. Once again, this works in terms of style and feel. In short, I like what they have done with the car.

On the road you get a low centre of gravity, 50:50 axle load distribution, an increase in the front and rear track, revised suspension settings riding on a stiffer body structure and suspension mounting system, plus an adaptive option to finetune the handling the way you want. Much is always expected from a new BMW 3 Series, and this pioneer of high-performance powertrains and chassis technology has a job to do.

Although in saying this, much of what a driver experiences these days is padded over by very intelligent chassis and driver assistant systems. Finding the raw edge of grip of a modern-day car is not that easy, but I feel that most buyers shopping in the non-M car league like this, will be more than happy with what is on offer in the new 3 Series. All model variants of the new BMW 3 Series are equipped with the now well-known eight-speed Steptronic transmission as standard.

As fitted to my test units, there is also an optional eightspeed Steptronic Sport transmission that delivers shorter shift times and a Launch Control function for traction-optimised acceleration off the line with shift paddles on the steering wheel for manual gear changes. The ever popular 2.0 litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel 320d now runs a two-turbocharger setup.

One small high-pressure unit and one large low-pressure unit that produces a maximum power output of 140kW at 4 000rpm and peak torque of 400Nm between 1 750rpm and 2 500rpm. With almost no lag to speak of, the 320d ran a zero to 100km/h time of 7.86 seconds, a 1km speed of 178km/h and a 237km/h top speed.

Fuel consumption on this model came in at a respectable, real world, every day number of 6.6 litres per 100km. A figure of below 5.0 litres per 100km will be possible on a nice open road trip. The 330i turbo petrol that is also a 2.0 litre and four-cylinder produces a punchy 190kW of power between 5 000rpm and 6 500rpm, while a peak torque of 400Nm is available from 1 550rpm to 4 400rpm.

This was good enough to see the petrol model hit 100km/h in a brisk 5.94 seconds, cross the 1km mark at 200km/h and only stop on the electronic limiter at 256km/h. Obviously, the fuel consumption of the more powerful 330i is not quite at the same level of the 320d, but it still comes in at very wallet friendly 7.6-litres per 100km.

Please don’t ask me to choice one or the other. They are both excellent in what they do and they start at the same base price of R649 000. The 320d gives you that fuel consumption edge and the 330i gives you the performance edge.

If I was pushed into getting off the fence, I would probably opt for the 330i, for that extra performance and still excellent fuel consumption.

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