It’s BMW’s biggest-selling model...ever. Full stop. No caveats. The most important car it has ever built. Whether it continues to be largely depends on the reception this new version gets. We’ve seen the all-electric BMW 3-Series in the shapely form of the new i3.
Now it’s the gasoline car’s turn. Meet the all...gasoline BMW 3-Series, in the shapely form of...the new i3. BMW consciously made both cars look identical, fully deploying its neue Neue Klasse design language.
So like the i3, it looks rather brilliant, that 2.5-box design carrying whispers of BMW 3-Series past, while gently nudging it toward the all-electric horizon. Good stance, this: short overhangs, great kidney grille/headlight treatment, flared arches, and a blocky rear end.
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And this being a modern BMW means even the gasoline cars get some kind of electricity. At launch you’ve the choice of a 320 (classic badge), that does actually use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Praise be! Badges that make sense!
It gets a single turbocharger, 48V mild-hybrid tech, 208hp, and 329Nm. The 0-100kph sprint is taken care of in 7.4sec, and the top speed is around 240kph. Very respectable.
But if you’d rather not be respectable, there’s the straight-six M350 xDrive, too. No, it’s not a 3.5-liter, unfortunately, but instead uses BMW’s 3.0-liter gasoline engine that also gets 48V mild-hybrid tech to provide rather more horses and torque.
So you get a very healthy 437hp and 580Nm, translated as 0-100kph in a terrifying 4.1sec, though the top speed is pegged at 249kph. Still faster than an old M3.
There are new passive dampers fitted to both cars as standard, stiffer mounts, 50/50 weight distribution, and the option of adaptive suspension. The M350 also comes with a ‘Drift Moment’ gimmick, which “sends power exclusively to the rear wheels” for “controlled oversteer.” Should be fun—to watch or to experience—on a track.
The 320 gets 18-inch wheels as standard, while the M350 gets 19-inchers. Twenty-inch rims will be an option. And while the interiors mirror the electric version, both 320 and M350 get a slightly bigger trunk: 450 liters for the ICE versions against 420 for the i3. But it’s the electric one that offers more—an entire liter more—thanks to a 31-liter frunk.
They also get the i3’s tech gimmicks, too, including BMW’s OS X, Panoramic Vision display, the option of a 3D HUD, 17.9-inch central touchscreen, and multifunction steering wheel. Naturally, there’s an unnatural level of AI on board in the form of Amazon’s Alexa+. Because AI has been so respectable of late, why not shoehorn it in everywhere?
Anyway. We’ve more news on the electric 3-Series’ drivetrains as wel—we now know BMW will launch the i3 in 40 xDrive and 50 xDrive variants. The 40 xDrive gets 369hp, 520Nm, a 0-100kph time of 5.4sec, an 82.8kWh battery, 710km of claimed range, and up to 300kW DC charging.
The 50 xDrive ups the ante quite considerably. The numbers run 463hp, 645Nm, 0-100kph in 4.7sec, a 108.7kWh battery, 911km of claimed range, and thanks to its 800V bones, it can charge at up to 400kW. Very soon we’ll be treated to an even more vigorous i3 in the shape of the M60 xDrive. No doubt that’ll be rapid.
Prices for the i3 kick off at £47,925 (over P3.96 million) for the 40, and £53,425 (almost P4.42 million) for the 50. The gasoline cars are a bit cheaper, kicking off at £44,975 (over P3.72 million) for the BMW 320, and £66,785 (almost P5.53 million) for the M350.
Like we said up top, it’s a big, important car, this: since its 1975 launch, BMW has sold more than 18 million 3-Series versions across the world, “making it the most successful model in the history of the BMW brand.” A great oak of the automotive woodland, as TG’s Paul Horrell once described it.
Will this Neue Klasse version help it to grow even more? Let us know below.
More photos of the BMW 320 and BMW M350 xDrive:
