The base-spec version of the new BMW 3 Series must be the best in class to drive if the model is to be hailed a success, declared product manager Stephan Horn ahead of its world debut at the Paris show this week.
Dynamic leadership was determined as the key goal for the new car – codenamed G20 and the successor to the F30 model generation – following appraisals taken from customers, media reviews and critical assessment of rivals, which began five years ago. “Our reputation is built on making the best car to drive, and while the current car is good, we knew we could do more and knew our rivals were pushing us hard,” said Horn.
Although Horn was reluctant to talk about competitors, two new rival car launches are believed to have prompted BMW’s decision: first, the Jaguar XE, which went on sale in 2015 and was widely regarded to have established a new dynamic benchmark in the class; and the Alfa Romeo Giulia, which was introduced in 2016 and drew praise from enthusiasts for its on-the-limit handling.
Despite the significant updates to the 3 Series, Horn stressed that the Giulia comparison was not entirely relevant. “A 3 Series must be both brilliant to drive when you want to push it and brilliantly relaxing when you want to go for a long drive,” he said. “We could never build a car that has your nerves on edge the whole time, or which only excites on the track. The bandwidth in which our car must operate must be wider than for any rival.”
First drive: BMW 3 Series 330i M Sport prototype
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LP in Brighton
Usual story
It's bigger, faster, smoother, more complicated... and inevitably more expensive and faster depreciating. I can see this is better for BMW as a more efficient money making machine, but is it what we buyers really want?
Like it or not, the BMW 3-series has become the Ford Cortina of our time, the default choice three-box saloon. Maybe we should just be grateful and celebrate the excellence of the average car? Or just wait a bit and buy a used one in a couple of years.
Roadster
LP in Brighton wrote:
The 3 Series is so common, and has been for 20 years now, it's become nondescript and no longer fits the bill as a special, premium car that people aspire to. It's simply an appliance that does a job. And as it's become so common, it no longer oozes quality, class or looks special and desirable, like the 3 Series used to in the 1980s and early 1990s. A time when BMWs (as well as Mercedes) were right up there with Jaguar for prestige and premiumness.
nozydog
Roadster wrote:
Symanski
Chris Bangle.
Looks like someone is trying to copy Chris Bangle's designs. Look at the side swipes - lifted right off the original Z4.
Thing about Bangle's designs is every line met with another and swept through the whole car. He really was a design genuis and few appreciated just how good his designs were.
As I said to a friend when we were sitting in demonstrators at a motorsport event recently they're all very nicely put together. The cabin is a brilliant place to be. They hide all the cheap parts very effectively. So in the end you have the legendary BMW unreliability.
robhardyuk
Symanski wrote:
Based on your injectors failing? Never had any issues with any I owned. Your sob story doesn't apply to everyone else.
Symanski
JD Power - BMW 24th & least reliable.
No, based up on the JS Power survey.
www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/478/most-reliable-cars-rated-by-jd-power-uk
Peter Cavellini
Reliable.......?
I’ve had four two 320i’s (10’plate, 17’plate) an M3 (04’) and a 530i (55’) ,nothing major on any of them.....
Peter Cavellini.
Symanski
Not always reliable.
I've got a friend who's a consistent BMW buyer. I couldn't count how many he's bought. When you ask if it's reliable he'll say they are.
But his Z3 had to have the ABS fixed.
Z4's alloy wheels kept corroding. Sensor issues too.
The X3 had to have the tailgate replaced because of rust (3.5 years old) and other parts resprayed. And all the injectors replaced too.
There was other incidents that he had to get fixed too - just forgive my memory on them please! They weren't my cars.
Thekrankis
Yawn
Fatso.
Sure this is not a 5 series?
Roadster
So dull and boring to look at....again!
What a surprise with the looks, not! And yet again Jaguar will be laughing at yet another poor styling effort from BMW. It's just a smaller version of the 5 Series which in turn is just a smaller 7 Series while all 3 cars are just a mild evolution of their predecessors. Either way this new 3 Series is so dull and boring. It lacks excitement, class, desirability and prestige which the XE, Giulia, Volvo S60 and Lexus IS exude. As for the interior, it's the same story but worse! BMW have used the same styling theme now their interiors for around 20 years and they all look so similar you'd be hard press to not only know which BMW you're in, but which generation too. And it all looks so dull and boring and cheap, while it'll probably be lagging miles behind the XE when it comes to interior quality. And as the XE is so far ahead of the current 3 Series, the gap will still be too big for the new model so it's unlikely the new 3 Series will come even close to the Jaguar, or even the Alfa.
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