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Note that the 3-series is once again stuck with a naming discrepancy: "325i" no longer stands for a 2.5-liter engine. Recent pressure from Infiniti, then Audi, and now Lexus and Mercedes forced BMW to start with a full 3 liters - in this case an extensively reworked version of the outgoing 330i's engine, now composed from a mix of aluminum and magnesium (saving 22 pounds and taking up less space), fitted with hollow camshafts, and equipped with Double VANOS (valve timing) and Valvetronic (valve lift) working a concerto on the lungs. This engine is now common to both the 325i and 330i (sharing a bore/stroke, compression ratio, and a new 7,000 RPM redline), which in the former squeezes out a robust 215 horsepower and 185 pounds-feet of torque.
That's down by 40 and 35 from the 330i due to a single-stage intake manifold (vs. three-stage) and different software, but still makes for a quite quick car. 0-60 is yours in 6.1 seconds, as is an even-handed torque curve from floor to ceiling and a bonus power spike right in the middle. Being the only inline engine left in its class, those six cylinders make such smooth, salacious sounds that you often forget to upshift out of 4th gear (and there are two to go, now that all trannies are 6-speeders).
Supreme engine aside, you don't call yourself "The Ultimate Driving Machine" without having equal talent elsewhere. Incidentally, a 325i eats twisty roads for lunch.
It helped that our car had the Sport Package, now more serious than ever with V-rated tires of size 225/45R17 (front) and 255/40R17 (rear), making for high grip and low body lean. But there's more to it than that. For one thing, this chassis is still perfectly balanced after all these years, allowing either end of the car to be slid out at will. A supporting cast of binding brakes, perfect pedals, stiff shifter, and smart stability control let you take this party to whatever velocity you can handle.
Steering is what makes a 3-series a 3-series. Low-speed effort is firm, not wussed out like on other cars, and effort actually builds as steering angles increase. Why can't other cars be this realistic? HDTV-quality signals coming up through the wheel tell you everything you need to know - what the tires are doing, when to push harder, when to ease off - letting you use every inch of performance without crossing the fine line between fun and danger. I felt supremely confident attacking California's serpentine Route 243 at 50 MPH. At 10 P.M.
Some cars have more power, some have more lateral g. How many have a chassis capable of mental telepathy?
And are any this adept in managing contradictions? I'll admit I stuck to high-speed driving (it's a Bimmer; wouldn't you?), but any car that can knock off 26 miles per gallon even with all that speed at its side is doing something right. (Mixed driving drops it closer to 20.)
Another conflict lies in the ride-and-handling equation - the rise of one inevitably brings the fall of the other - but BMW always seemed to possess some kind of Laws of Physics cheat sheet, mixing A+ handling with A- comfort. This time, I'd downgrade the ride to a B because of the newfound aggression in that Sport Package combined with the somewhat rigid run-flat tires that now come on all 3-series. There's a little too much deflection and road noise, and on occasion a bump cuts right to the bone. But you can just as easily choose your own suspension and tires, with the overlying point being that you can sense the aluminum-intensive suspension - still struts in front (enhanced with new double-pivot lower arms from the 5/6/7-series) and multilink in back (now 5 links instead of 4) - expertly doing its job.
Appreciated around town was the Start-Off Assistant feature that holds you in place for two seconds when stopped on a hill to allow shifting into gear without falling onto the guy behind you. All 3-series cars without all-wheel-drive also get "Comfort Stop," which got rid of the abrupt braking action common to BMWs. There are other little tricks like Brake Fade Compensation, Brake Drying (for when it's raining), and Brake Standby (for quicker response). Is there anything they didn't think of?
Like humans, even the most talented cars have flaws, and this Bimmer's bummer concerns its low-speed operation. The transition to first gear is ruined by a slightly annoying, high-effort clutch that engages abruptly right in the middle, and the journey to second is a little lame since the long shifter makes you feel like you're throwing your hand from the dashboard to the trunk. In other words, this is only the unflappable, undisputed, master-of-all-trades sport sedan above 10 MPH.
Aw, shucks.
A lot of us are tiring of the unwritten law that every car must get bigger and heavier with every redesign, but there you have it: 178.2-inch length (up by 2.2), 71.5 width (+3), 55.9 height (+0.8), 108.7 wheelbase (+1.4), and 59.1/59.6 track (+1.2/+1.2). Weight is up about 50 pounds to 3,285 on a stickshifted 325i.
The benefits are pretty miniscule, with head, leg, and shoulder room never increasing by more than 1 inch and rear headroom actually slumping by 0.3. Back seat room for two adults is fine; the problem is with the seat itself, which is too low and unsupportive and leaves barely enough foot room under the front chairs. The ultimate back seat driving machine this ain't.
But the front seats should fit everyone: 6-way seats leave room for the tall, adjustable side bolsters adapt to different body types, and a cushion extender is a boon for the long-legged. Tiltable head restraints, too, and good contouring in general. Some may scoff at BMW's penny pinching in not making the 325i's front seats powered; a minority of us appreciate the weight savings, simplicity, and faster adjustments. Many will also cringe upon learning the standard "leatherette" upholstery has always been code for vinyl, even though everyone reports it feeling nice to the hands.
The 3-series' last redo brought attractive design to the interior and kicked the cheapness out; the new dash maintains the status quo. Most surfaces feel decently expensive and the burl walnut wood trim looks nice (poplar natural wood and aluminum are the no-extra-charge other choices). It's nice to see the clock, temperature, and trip computer all simultaneously present in the main displays.
Historians will note the window switches migrating over to the door, the cruise controls reborn on a lower-left steering column stalk, new temperature knobs on new dual-zone climate controls, the buttons for the locks and stability control now up high between the air vents (to turn off DSC, hold it for three seconds), and the four pods on the instrument cluster cluttering into two. The remote fob now serves as the key itself, and all 3-series now have that trendy engine Start button. Some of those are arguable steps backward.
An audible step forward is the stereo. All 3-series now have a 10-speaker (including two subwoofers under the front seats), single-disc, MP3-compatible system that includes an Aux input jack right in the center console. Hooray! Even this standard system actually sounds rich, in contrast to last time, when even the Harman-Kardon upgrade was garbage. The new step-up is a Logic7 surround sound piece with 13 speakers, which had better be phenomenal to top this.
The DVD-based navigation system continues as an option, with one long-winded string attached: BMW's universally-hated iDrive interface, which is surely ten times more frustrating than having to read a map. Maybe we should just be grateful that iDrive's an option, for once.
Gripes are minor: the rain-sensing wipers are cool, but give us a normal intermittent mode too, please. The turn signal is a dumb, counterintuitive device that bounces back to center whether it's on or off (often making you accidentally flip on the opposite signal to cancel it), and it always blinks a minimum of three times. Why do two flimsy cupholders spring out of the right-hand side of the dashboard, why does the third done hide within the center console like a reclusive gopher, and why are they all so small in diameter? Finally, the glovebox's skimpiness forces the owner's manual to sleep outside in the passenger's door compartment, usurping the whole place.
The trunk is up by 1.3 cubic feet to 12 (pretty average), and that doesn't count the new handy 1.8-foot underfloor bonus bin left by the nonexistent spare tire. The lid is a little hard to get a grip on, but weighted well. Consistent with this car's sporty theme, the back seat doesn't fold down to expand the trunk, unless one pays the $475 BMW is asking, pathetically.
Someone keeps rearranging the introduction order for this prolific car line. Back in 1992, the sedan and coupe came first, the convertible two years later, and the M3 a year after that. 1999 saw the sedan first, the coupe / convertible / wagon the next year, and the M3 and all-wheel-drive cars the third year. Here in 2006, the sedan and wagon bow together, with all-wheel-drive optional right away (and mandatory on the wagon); the coupe and convertible come next year and might drag the new 400-horsepower M3 with it. For the moment, that leaves five models:
- 325i (215 HP, rear-drive)
- 325xi (215 HP, AWD)
- 325xi wagon (215 HP, AWD)
- 330i (255 HP, rear-drive)
- 330xi (255 HP, AWD)
The 325i now kicks off at $32,070, a jump from last year's $29,995. Automatic transmissions run $1,275 everywhere, all-wheel-drive costs $1,900 above rear-drivers, and the wagon stands $1,800 above the sedan. The stiffie is the 330 models costing $5,700 above the 325 models, although the better seats, bigger wheels, xenon lights, and Logic7 stereo count for about half the total.
There exist three big option packages, starting with a Cold Weather Package that adds 3-stage heated front seats, folding rear seats (already on wagons), headlight washers (already on AWD models), and a ski bag on the wagon. $1,000 on 325i/330i, $850 on 325xi/330xi, $600 on wagon.
Next up is the Sport Package, adding a sport steering wheel, more seat adjustments, a sport suspension (only to the rear-drive 325/330i sedans), and - you'll want to re-read this - 17x8-inch wheels to the wagon and 325xi/330xi sedans, 17x8 (front) and 17x8.5 (rear) wheels to the 325i, and 18x8 (front) and 18x8.5 (rear) to the 330i. $1,600 on 325i/330i, $1,200 on 325xi sedan and wagon, $900 on 330xi.
Last is a Premium Package that adds leather, power seats (already on 330 models) with power lumbar support, garage door opener, power folding mirrors, and BMW Assist with Bluetooth wireless technology (it helps track down a stolen car, summons help in a crash, and puts a little "SOS" button on the ceiling so you can talk to a voice on the line and do so yourself). $2,900 on all 325 models, $2,200 on all 330 models.
Many of those can be bought as stand-alone options; other items include Active Steering on rear-drive models for $1,250 (the car turns quicker with less input at low speeds), Adaptive Cruise Control for $2,200 (follows the car ahead by a preset distance), the navigation+iDrive bundle for $2,000, Comfort Access keyless entry for $500, Park Distance Control for $350, Sirius satellite radio for $595, the Logic7 stereo for $1,200 (325 models), xenon headlights for $800 (325 models), power rear sunshade for $575 (330 models), and don't forget $475 to paint the car in 9 of its 12 available colors. Crossing 40 grand is not hard.
The majority will probably want - and get by just fine with - an automatic 325i sedan in a nice color, which runs $33,345. Things were simpler the last time the 3-series was new. All you had to do was shrug off the Audi A4, then laugh at the price Mercedes was asking for its inferior C-class, and drive home in your new Bimmer with no regrets. In the interim, Lexus, Volvo, Jaguar, Infiniti, Cadillac, Saab, and Acura (count em: seven!) have all taken stabs at overthrowing the 3-series, and the two Germans have gotten faster and better. With such an ample assortment, what's a small sports sedan shopper to do?
For those who don't know what they want in a car, that's quite a predicament. Some of those cars excel in ways the 3-series cannot, like space, speed, luxury, and reliability (Infiniti G35, I'm looking in your direction). But for those who buy BMWs for the reason they're built - driving - the elimination process is as easy as before. Who cares if everyone's been taking shots at the 3? Take a few test drives and you'll realize something: they all missed.
The new 3-series mostly looks the same, drives the same, feels the same. What changed: in terms of feel from the wheel, it went from best of three to best of ten.
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