There's a girl at the BMW dealer that hooks me up with my choice of loaner when I go in for service. I like to tell myself it's because I'm tall, handsome and charming but it's probably because she wants to keep receiving a paycheck. Either way... I tell her what I want and she makes sure to set it aside for me. I'm basically a higher end Sools but she's totally cool with it and even offered to set me up with an extended test drive of a new 7 series if I wanted to drive that. Now that's service.
I've been wanting to drive the new 3, especially the 328 since they ditched the inline 6 in the 328 and now rely on a 2 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder for power. That and the car has changed pretty drastically from the outgoing E90.
Drivetrain - The outgoing inline 6 was buttery smooth. The turbocharged 4 cylinder is remarkable smooth though still not as refined as the 6 but with lots of torque on demand and a close ratio 8 speed automatic transmission you're never wanting for more power. Up 12 horsepower and a staggering 60 ft/lbs of torque from the outgoing 6 cylinder, it always feels capable and in manual mode the 8 speed transmission makes you feel like you're in the race scene from the original Fast and the Furious... You just shift and then shift and then shift and after that you still have 4 more gears to go.
Interior - Much improved over the previous generation E90. While the interior build quality has never been an issue with BMW, ergonomics and design have. Interiors are not BMW's strong point, at least they weren't. Round about 2009 they demonstrated that they actually could build a nice interior with the new 7 series. That carried over to the new 5 series and now the 3 as well. The interior is much improved and even on my basically equipped model feels luxurious, something that couldn't be said for the E90.
Handling - It's really amazing and I'm surprised by that because not only is it an all wheel drive model but the 2013's are supposed to handle worse than the outgoing model. And I imagine it does but the E90 3 series set the bar so high that even if it handles a little worse than that it still handles better than 90% of what's on the road. Another nice touch is that whereas my sport package 5 series sacrifices normal ride quality for it's handling prowess, the 3 series feels like it handles almost as well (if with a bit more body roll) but also provides a comfortable ride when you're not pushing it. If BMW's intent is to make the 3 appeal to a broader audience this is a good move. I can't imagine how much fun the sport package cars must be if the standard non-sport all wheel drive model is this much fun.
Tech - All 3 series come standard with a screen now which is great because the car is rather complicated and the radio in the older models had entirely too many functions and wasn't even good at being a radio, let alone taking on a bunch of additional tasks.
The car is available with most of the features that you can get in the 7 series, blind spot monitors, heads up display, night vision, 4 cameras that surround the car and give you a birdseye view, automatic parking, etc. My car is a bit spartan. I got the basic screen (no nav) and that's it for tech.
The good news is that it's probably enough for most people. Bluetooth is standard. What really baffles me though is BMW's continued lack of USB support and the confusing method in which they implement it. For starters, you get a USB jack and an auxiliary in port in the center console. Great, now all I have to do is plug in my phone or flash drive and I can control it through the screen, right? Wrong. The USB port works with a limited number of flash drives and almost no phones. Plug in your iPhone? You get a message that says "Not Supported". This is 2013. I can go out and buy a Sonatra with no options that will natively support my iPhone and if it doesn't it will at least let me stream music through Bluetooth.
BMW's do neither of these things unless you opt for the 6NL package which adds bluetooth streaming as well as native support for iPhones, iPods, etc through the USB port. In it's stock form though, you'll be getting into your $50,000 luxury car, plugging in your USB cable for power and then plugging in a 1/8th jack for audio. No bueno.
Other than that the stock system is pretty inexcusable. For a car that starts at $36,000 and jumps well into the 40's if you add ANY options you expect something that doesn't distort at 50% volume. The rental Fords I drive with stock systems blow this out of the water and that's pathetic.
Ergonomics - BMW seems to have missed the message. Say you have a car like this and you want it on it's sport settings and you want to drive it in manual mode. Maybe you hit a sport button and then you knock the shifter into manual mode, right? No. First you get in, start the engine, press the drive mode button from comfort to sport, hold the traction control button down for 5 seconds to disable that, push the shifter to the left to go into drive sport mode and then knock the shifter up or down once to engage manual mode. It's not necessarily a pain in the ass but it's monotonous and it seems like there are different ways to achieve similar results.
For instance, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that can tell you the difference between putting the car into sport mode by pressing the sport button and putting the transmission into Drive Sport mode by knocking the shifter over. If you do one or the other it doesn't feel any different than if you do both unless you have a car with the sports package which makes it all even more confusing. The car should know that if I press the sport button it stands to reason that I want the transmission to be in sport mode as well, especially considering that about 95% of either sport mode is transmission settings.
In-Efficient Dynamics - Most new BMWs come with obnoxious auto-start/ stop features and eco modes to optimize fuel fuel efficiency. As you can imagine, this represents everything that you don't want in a sport sedan. Putting the car into eco-mode results in very low RPM shifting, not downshifting unless you put the pedal to the floor, optimizing the climate control functions, limiting top speed, etc. But in standard and eco modes there's a peculiar start/ stop function that is always on and it's terrible.
Come to a stop at a light and the engine shuts off. Let your foot off the brake and it instantly springs back to life. This seems great except the benefits are dubious and the side affects obnoxious. The 4 cylinder engine starts roughly so the engine startup is abrupt and lurches the car forward, not to mention it's unsettling to have the car go completely silent every time you come to a stop. But don't worry, you can shut this off by pressing a single button but you have to press that button every time you start the car so add that to your list of button combinations to get your desired driving preferences and after a good 30 seconds on wearing out your finger tips you'll finally be on your way. Efficient Dynamics sucks.
The Good
The Great
The Bad
Overall - If you get past the trivial ergonomics issues you'll be hard pressed to find a comparable car that's as fun, well equipped and as smooth as the 328. If you add the tech package you eliminate just about all of the car's short comings so that's a must. Fuel economy, power, handling and comfort are all amazing for an entry level German sedan. You can't go wrong unless you don't get the tech package and you find yourself saddled with that horrible stock radio in which case you can go very wrong.
I've been wanting to drive the new 3, especially the 328 since they ditched the inline 6 in the 328 and now rely on a 2 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder for power. That and the car has changed pretty drastically from the outgoing E90.
Drivetrain - The outgoing inline 6 was buttery smooth. The turbocharged 4 cylinder is remarkable smooth though still not as refined as the 6 but with lots of torque on demand and a close ratio 8 speed automatic transmission you're never wanting for more power. Up 12 horsepower and a staggering 60 ft/lbs of torque from the outgoing 6 cylinder, it always feels capable and in manual mode the 8 speed transmission makes you feel like you're in the race scene from the original Fast and the Furious... You just shift and then shift and then shift and after that you still have 4 more gears to go.
Interior - Much improved over the previous generation E90. While the interior build quality has never been an issue with BMW, ergonomics and design have. Interiors are not BMW's strong point, at least they weren't. Round about 2009 they demonstrated that they actually could build a nice interior with the new 7 series. That carried over to the new 5 series and now the 3 as well. The interior is much improved and even on my basically equipped model feels luxurious, something that couldn't be said for the E90.
Handling - It's really amazing and I'm surprised by that because not only is it an all wheel drive model but the 2013's are supposed to handle worse than the outgoing model. And I imagine it does but the E90 3 series set the bar so high that even if it handles a little worse than that it still handles better than 90% of what's on the road. Another nice touch is that whereas my sport package 5 series sacrifices normal ride quality for it's handling prowess, the 3 series feels like it handles almost as well (if with a bit more body roll) but also provides a comfortable ride when you're not pushing it. If BMW's intent is to make the 3 appeal to a broader audience this is a good move. I can't imagine how much fun the sport package cars must be if the standard non-sport all wheel drive model is this much fun.
Tech - All 3 series come standard with a screen now which is great because the car is rather complicated and the radio in the older models had entirely too many functions and wasn't even good at being a radio, let alone taking on a bunch of additional tasks.
The car is available with most of the features that you can get in the 7 series, blind spot monitors, heads up display, night vision, 4 cameras that surround the car and give you a birdseye view, automatic parking, etc. My car is a bit spartan. I got the basic screen (no nav) and that's it for tech.
The good news is that it's probably enough for most people. Bluetooth is standard. What really baffles me though is BMW's continued lack of USB support and the confusing method in which they implement it. For starters, you get a USB jack and an auxiliary in port in the center console. Great, now all I have to do is plug in my phone or flash drive and I can control it through the screen, right? Wrong. The USB port works with a limited number of flash drives and almost no phones. Plug in your iPhone? You get a message that says "Not Supported". This is 2013. I can go out and buy a Sonatra with no options that will natively support my iPhone and if it doesn't it will at least let me stream music through Bluetooth.
BMW's do neither of these things unless you opt for the 6NL package which adds bluetooth streaming as well as native support for iPhones, iPods, etc through the USB port. In it's stock form though, you'll be getting into your $50,000 luxury car, plugging in your USB cable for power and then plugging in a 1/8th jack for audio. No bueno.
Other than that the stock system is pretty inexcusable. For a car that starts at $36,000 and jumps well into the 40's if you add ANY options you expect something that doesn't distort at 50% volume. The rental Fords I drive with stock systems blow this out of the water and that's pathetic.
Ergonomics - BMW seems to have missed the message. Say you have a car like this and you want it on it's sport settings and you want to drive it in manual mode. Maybe you hit a sport button and then you knock the shifter into manual mode, right? No. First you get in, start the engine, press the drive mode button from comfort to sport, hold the traction control button down for 5 seconds to disable that, push the shifter to the left to go into drive sport mode and then knock the shifter up or down once to engage manual mode. It's not necessarily a pain in the ass but it's monotonous and it seems like there are different ways to achieve similar results.
For instance, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that can tell you the difference between putting the car into sport mode by pressing the sport button and putting the transmission into Drive Sport mode by knocking the shifter over. If you do one or the other it doesn't feel any different than if you do both unless you have a car with the sports package which makes it all even more confusing. The car should know that if I press the sport button it stands to reason that I want the transmission to be in sport mode as well, especially considering that about 95% of either sport mode is transmission settings.
In-Efficient Dynamics - Most new BMWs come with obnoxious auto-start/ stop features and eco modes to optimize fuel fuel efficiency. As you can imagine, this represents everything that you don't want in a sport sedan. Putting the car into eco-mode results in very low RPM shifting, not downshifting unless you put the pedal to the floor, optimizing the climate control functions, limiting top speed, etc. But in standard and eco modes there's a peculiar start/ stop function that is always on and it's terrible.
Come to a stop at a light and the engine shuts off. Let your foot off the brake and it instantly springs back to life. This seems great except the benefits are dubious and the side affects obnoxious. The 4 cylinder engine starts roughly so the engine startup is abrupt and lurches the car forward, not to mention it's unsettling to have the car go completely silent every time you come to a stop. But don't worry, you can shut this off by pressing a single button but you have to press that button every time you start the car so add that to your list of button combinations to get your desired driving preferences and after a good 30 seconds on wearing out your finger tips you'll finally be on your way. Efficient Dynamics sucks.
The Good
- Improved interior, finally on par with offerings from Mercedes and Audi
- Standard features like Bluetooth, a fixed interface display and tilting mirrors are welcome additions, if not must haves for a car like this.
- Looks - This is subjective but I love the new front end. The entire car manages to be larger than the last 3 series without looking large. It looks like a natural progression of the last model
The Great
- Drivetrain - The 4 is buttery smooth and the 8 speed transmission shifts quickly and confident.
- The Ride - Great handling and a comfortable ride out of the standard sedan. With the sport package this car is probably a monster. This represents everything great about BMW, namely the ability to make an average driver feel like a great driver and implementing just enough drivetrain nannies to keep your ass out of the ditch without preventing you from getting said ass sideways.
The Bad
- The stock stereo system. A base Ford Focus is probably sporting better tunes.
- Lack of native iPhone/ iPod & A2DP bluetooth streaming. Inexcusable when even economy cars come with these functions standard.
- Automatic Start/ Stop "feature". Poorly implemented and arguably not necessary.
Overall - If you get past the trivial ergonomics issues you'll be hard pressed to find a comparable car that's as fun, well equipped and as smooth as the 328. If you add the tech package you eliminate just about all of the car's short comings so that's a must. Fuel economy, power, handling and comfort are all amazing for an entry level German sedan. You can't go wrong unless you don't get the tech package and you find yourself saddled with that horrible stock radio in which case you can go very wrong.
