Facts and figures
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Slight Fantastic
03.09.2008 |
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It doesn’t look like it, but BMW reckons it has made 2500 changes to the 3-series. So does it show on the road? Greg Kable drove the 330d to find out
Nobody likes losing, but victory can bring its own unique drawbacks. Look no further than the BMW 3-series for proof of this. During the past 33 years and five generations it has ruled the compact executive car ranks with an unmatched combination of style, athleticism, comfort and quality.
In recent times, however, the 3-series appears to have become a victim of its own success. Competitors such as the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-class have been hogging a good deal of the limelight, and the Three is no longer the automatic choice.
A matter of familiarity breeding contempt? Probably, but there have even been suggestions from some quarters that cars like the impressive new Ford Mondeo and upcoming Vauxhall Insignia have altered the landscape in which the 3-series competes, placing a much greater emphasis on value for money than ever before.
To some extent, this may be true. But while it may not rule the roost in quite the same iron-fisted manner of some of its forebears, there can be no doubt the 3-series remains hugely desirable and as aspirational as ever. Despite the heady price tag attached to certain models in the 3-series line-up, it is still the best car in its class when the complete range is taken into consideration.
It is this continued success that has led BMW to ensure that the new, facelifted model doesn’t deviate too far from its traditional positioning. Indeed, the mid-life changes brought to the E90 are predictably evolutionary, all aimed at serving up more of the same but in a more contemporary form with added efficiency, improved comfort, increased quality and the sort of advanced features that make many higher-priced luxury cars appear old-fashioned.
BMW says the new car has received a staggering 2500 changes. But remember, this is a facelift, not an all-new model. It is the details that have been altered to once again enforce its superiority.
While each of the steel body panels apart from the newly contoured bonnet has been carried over unchanged, BMW’s designers have still done enough in altering the look of the fifth-generation 3-series to make sure the facelifted model is clearly recognisable, even at a quick first glance. Parked next to its predecessor, it appears far better developed; the added detailing softens some of the sheer surfaces to give it a more elegant air.
Up front, there is a new interpretation of the classic kidney grille, along with bold new headlamp graphics that include LED indicators and an edgy new bumper that incorporates three separate and newly shaped air ducts.
Further back, there are shapely new exterior mirror housings and a heavily restyled sill that helps to stretch the car visually by adding a prominent crease from the trailing edge of the front wheel arches though to trailing edge of the rear door. The rear has also been reworked; new LED-encrusted tail-lights combine with a reprofiled bumper to introduce a new look that has visual links to BMW’s recently revised 7-series.
Along with the saloon driven here, the exterior changes also extend to the Touring. For the time being the coupé and cabriolet keep the same looks as the existing models, but they will eventually benefit from the mid-life changes of their four-door cousins, as well as some exclusive touches such as the inclusion of BMW’s new seven-speed double-clutch gearbox, which for the time being is not set for the saloon or Touring.
Many of the standard changes are concentrated inside, where the basic design remains unchanged but there has been a concerted effort to lift perceived quality and user-friendliness. There’s a new driver’s armrest positioned higher up on the door and reworked switchgear in combination with BMW’s second-gen iDrive system.
Not that it is entirely successful, mind you. Hard black plastic continues to dominate the centre of the dashboard. And BMW has failed to heed customer complaints about a lack of storage space. The door bins are shallow and refuse to accept a standard 500ml plastic water bottle. The so-called drink holders that spring from above the tiny glovebox aren’t much cop, either; place a bottle in them and it flays around, threatening to drop out at any moment.
The 3-series has never majored on space, but hopping into the latest model reminded me just how much roomier the A4 and
C-class have become. It is not cramped by any means, but it feels a lot smaller inside than its external dimensions suggest. When the sixth generation arrives in 2012, expect it to offer a good deal more space; it will need to, simply to put it back on par with its premium brand rivals.
Although not all are offered here in the UK, the 3-series continues to be sold with the choice of five petrol and five diesel engines in most European markets.
On the petrol side they range from the 141bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the entry-level 318i through to a 302bhp twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder in the rapid 335i. Bookmarking the diesels are the 141bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the frugal 318d (now available with a six-speed automatic gearbox) and a 282bhp twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder in the 335d. Our attention falls on the 330d, with its all-new turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel motor.
This is one of BMW’s truly great
engines. Power is up by 14bhp to 241bhp
at 4000rpm, while torque has swelled by 15lb ft to 383lb ft, delivered at a band of revs between 1750rpm and 3000rpm.
Forget the numbers, though; the best thing about it is the tremendous flexibility and superbly linear delivery. You don’t quite get the silken smoothness and inherent balance of a modern-day petrol engine; there does remain some characteristic chatter at start-up and distant vibration. However, the new engine does manage to combine huge low-end thrust with a truly sporting top end in a way no comparable diesel engine comes close to matching.
Power arrives in one potent surge, providing the 330d with the sort of real-world performance to make the 330i appear tame by comparison. Revs build solidly from just 1000rpm and they keep coming in an unusually free nature until the limiter cuts in at 5400rpm (high by diesel standards), up by 400rpm on the old iron-block diesel. That unit, incidentally, will continue in the 335d for some time, according to BMW.
Channelling drive back to the rear wheels is the same Getrag-engineered six-speed manual ’box as used in the old 330d. With all that torque and such a broad spread of revs to call upon, the actions are almost exclusively sporting in nature.
BMW’s figures put the 0-62mph time at just 6.1sec; that is a full 0.6sec inside the time of the old 330d and just 0.2sec slower than the more overtly sporting 335d. In fact, the 330d now beats the 330i in the benchmark sprint by 0.1sec. It is not much, but it does reflect a change in BMW’s road car philosophy. From now on, it is the diesels that lead on performance.
With a combined cycle average of
50mpg, the 330d is also super-economical, beating its predecessor by 3.3mpg. The figure suffers with spirited driving, but we still managed to record 36mpg on a rapid run on the autobahn out of Munich.
Playing its part here is BMW’s Efficient Dynamics, which brings features such as an electrical water pump, a trick alternator and active aerodynamics (flaps adjust automatically behind the grille to smooth airflow at high speeds).
Dynamically the new 3-series is as engaging as ever, for the inherent balance of its chassis remains a key part of its overall appeal; it is still a car you would buy on entertainment value alone. And by that I don’t mean the multi-faceted appeal of its new Connected Drive system, which gives you in-car internet access. No, I’m talking about the agile and involving traits from behind the thick-rimmed steering wheel.
The standard steering (a hydraulically assisted, speed-sensitive system) and suspension (MacPherson struts up front and a trapezoidal multi-link arrangement at the rear) are fundamentally unchanged – a good thing, given that there was nothing inherently wrong with the outgoing model’s handling – although the rear track has been widened by 24mm on six-cylinder models. The inherently precise feel and engaging nature of the steering encourage enthusiastic driving, and an impressive resistance to body roll and strong levels of grip make it fun near the limits of adhesion. The 330d, then, is a car you can hustle along with unflinching confidence. BMW offers a four-wheel drive option on the Continent, but with the latest in stability and traction control on hand it seems rather superfluous.
There is a price to be paid for this dynamic excellence, though. Although the 3-series now runs fourth-generation run-flat tyres, it still can’t match the composure and subtlety of the C-class for overall ride comfort. At speed it feels settled, but around town it sometimes gets a little ragged due to its inherently firm spring and damper rates and the stiff sidewall characteristics of its tyres (225/45 R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE05As on our test car).
Still, it appears to be better controlled than the A4 over ridges and potholes. Oddly, BMW is not offering adjustable dampers, a feature now listed by both Mercedes-Benz and Audi as optional equipment on their compact executive-class models. Look for them on the next-generation 3-series.
The facelifted 3-series is a car of predictable evolutionary improvement. None of the changes that BMW has brought to it represent a giant step in design, conception or engineering. But taken as a whole they do make it a more rounded car than the one it replaces. Thanks to its new iDrive system, the car is also a lot more user-friendly from an everyday point of view.
They’re the sort of qualities that should ensure that the 3-series returns to its traditional spot at the top of the executive car ranks. In 330d guise it feels invincible. But with its old rivals, the C-class and A4, having undergone some major redesigns in recent months, it’s going to take a proper three-way comparison to find out which
one is best. Watch this space.
