Given that my wife & I have owned her A4 Black Edition for just under two years now, I thought it would be useful to give a quick write-up of of first impressions for the brand new BMW 3 Series...after all both models are in the same market for volume premium mid-size saloons/estates (new 3 Series Touring to follow later this year)
All new platform and tech for the 3, being based on the CLAR platform that now underpins everything from 3 Series all the way up to 7 Series, X3 to X7 etc, ...comparable to MLB Evo in Audi world.
Spent a few days in the latest 330i M Sport as shown here - a demo car full of spec. 258hp turbo 4 cylinder petrol with 8 speed ZF auto & sport-differential. Undiscounted OTR is £49k, but likely closer to £43k after discounts & incentives. Black Sapphire metallic with M Sport Plus spec and darkened grilles
320i and 320d are also available (both circa 190hp) and a M340i to follow this year (six cylinder turbo with around 340hp and 4wd for an S4 competitor)
Petrol engine is smooth & quiet, and much like the A4, most external noise is muted by acoustic glazing. Sport mode gives more rasp and the sport-diff gives just enough slip for controlled oversteer on public roads to be fun without being a hooligan/idiot. Nimble handling and felt very controlled/composed
This car had the Driving Assistant Professional, combining active cruise control, lane keeping assist, steering assist, etc - very simple to use the functions with just a single press of the cruise button (you can manually disable the various functions if required). I've been able to drive 35 miles using the system with just a minimal grip on the steering wheel whilst it regulated speed and steering on a dual carriageway totally under average speed camera surveillance. Traffic jam assist where it could accelerate and brake itself to keep up with stationary traffic was quite a novelty.
To really make the most of that assisted driving tech in future, it's clear that road authorities are going to have to make sure that road markings and signs are in much better condition - worn out road markings can confuse the land keeping assistant, but this is much the same on other marques with the same type of tech that I have driven.
Very comfortable cabin which is a BIG step up from the previous 3 which while always solidly built, just didn't have the style or flair to match Audi - there's little to separate the A4 and 3 Series now.
BMW has updated iDrive to become Operating System 7, controllable via dial-wheel, voice-activation (simply by saying 'Hey BMW') and touchscreen, as well as their Live Cockpit (fully digital). Main controls are grouped together round the gearshift, the main infotainment screens are straightforward and easy to operate, but the new dash display just isn't as intuitive as Virtual Cockpit. Speedometer and rev counter are set to the sides of the display and rotate in a counter-direction to each other. I've tried this in several new model BMW lately and it is getting easier to read, but Virtual Cockpit has a less steep learning curve.
Even the gesture control on the infotainment worked and OS7 firmware can also be updated remotely using the app or the inbuilt SIM so the usability of the dash could improve over time
View attachment 179763
Tech on the optional extras is top notch, such as:
* Head-up display - I've always been a bit sceptical of the worth of a HUD, but this is simple, easy to use and gives you just the right amount of info about speed, revs, infotainment and nav directions - a big plus.
* Laser-lights (fully adaptive LED headlights: at speeds over 40 mph laser-generated light is fired through a series of mirrors located in the light assembly, which reflects and focuses the light into a powerful high-beam - these are a step ahead of Matrix LED in the right conditions)
* Full 3D parking system accessible in the dash display, as well as the car & surrounding area being remotely viewable from the BMW app when parked up
Interesting note about the keyless/comfort access and security. The key stops communicating with the car after a period of inactivity such as being laid on a desk/table and 'wakes up' again when lifted - ideal precaution against signal booster attacks if leaving keys near doors overnight as the key is inaccessible to signals until it is physically picked up once more.
Overall, unless you are a complete Audi fanboy, well worth checking out the latest 3 Series as there isn't much to pick between them now
All new platform and tech for the 3, being based on the CLAR platform that now underpins everything from 3 Series all the way up to 7 Series, X3 to X7 etc, ...comparable to MLB Evo in Audi world.
Spent a few days in the latest 330i M Sport as shown here - a demo car full of spec. 258hp turbo 4 cylinder petrol with 8 speed ZF auto & sport-differential. Undiscounted OTR is £49k, but likely closer to £43k after discounts & incentives. Black Sapphire metallic with M Sport Plus spec and darkened grilles
320i and 320d are also available (both circa 190hp) and a M340i to follow this year (six cylinder turbo with around 340hp and 4wd for an S4 competitor)
Petrol engine is smooth & quiet, and much like the A4, most external noise is muted by acoustic glazing. Sport mode gives more rasp and the sport-diff gives just enough slip for controlled oversteer on public roads to be fun without being a hooligan/idiot. Nimble handling and felt very controlled/composed
This car had the Driving Assistant Professional, combining active cruise control, lane keeping assist, steering assist, etc - very simple to use the functions with just a single press of the cruise button (you can manually disable the various functions if required). I've been able to drive 35 miles using the system with just a minimal grip on the steering wheel whilst it regulated speed and steering on a dual carriageway totally under average speed camera surveillance. Traffic jam assist where it could accelerate and brake itself to keep up with stationary traffic was quite a novelty.
To really make the most of that assisted driving tech in future, it's clear that road authorities are going to have to make sure that road markings and signs are in much better condition - worn out road markings can confuse the land keeping assistant, but this is much the same on other marques with the same type of tech that I have driven.
Very comfortable cabin which is a BIG step up from the previous 3 which while always solidly built, just didn't have the style or flair to match Audi - there's little to separate the A4 and 3 Series now.
BMW has updated iDrive to become Operating System 7, controllable via dial-wheel, voice-activation (simply by saying 'Hey BMW') and touchscreen, as well as their Live Cockpit (fully digital). Main controls are grouped together round the gearshift, the main infotainment screens are straightforward and easy to operate, but the new dash display just isn't as intuitive as Virtual Cockpit. Speedometer and rev counter are set to the sides of the display and rotate in a counter-direction to each other. I've tried this in several new model BMW lately and it is getting easier to read, but Virtual Cockpit has a less steep learning curve.
Even the gesture control on the infotainment worked and OS7 firmware can also be updated remotely using the app or the inbuilt SIM so the usability of the dash could improve over time
View attachment 179763
Tech on the optional extras is top notch, such as:
* Head-up display - I've always been a bit sceptical of the worth of a HUD, but this is simple, easy to use and gives you just the right amount of info about speed, revs, infotainment and nav directions - a big plus.
* Laser-lights (fully adaptive LED headlights: at speeds over 40 mph laser-generated light is fired through a series of mirrors located in the light assembly, which reflects and focuses the light into a powerful high-beam - these are a step ahead of Matrix LED in the right conditions)
* Full 3D parking system accessible in the dash display, as well as the car & surrounding area being remotely viewable from the BMW app when parked up
Interesting note about the keyless/comfort access and security. The key stops communicating with the car after a period of inactivity such as being laid on a desk/table and 'wakes up' again when lifted - ideal precaution against signal booster attacks if leaving keys near doors overnight as the key is inaccessible to signals until it is physically picked up once more.
Overall, unless you are a complete Audi fanboy, well worth checking out the latest 3 Series as there isn't much to pick between them now
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