New BMW 3-series review, test drive

The new 3 has gone through a mini-revolution as far as the styling is concerned. This car makes a bold statement. The headlights and kidney grille are stretched, spread out and pasted across the nose, the bonnet is considerably more muscular and sinewy and, with two bold swage lines running across the flanks, the new car looks much more athletic. There are more radical bits up front too. The lower half of the chin mimics an aerofoil, vertical air intakes in the bumper allow a curtain of air to flow around the front wheels, and where the grille and headlight meet there is a solid band of chrome. The rear is typically BMW, but the wider bootlid makes it easy to confuse this car with a 5-series from the rear.   

Compared to the old car, the new 3-series has grown in length by 93mm, the wheelbase is 50mm longer and the front and rear tracks are wider too. The use of more exotic raw materials means that the new car is both 40kg lighter and 10 percent more rigid. The electric steering and double-wishbone front suspension are taken from the 5-series, the rear suspension is carried over from the earlier 3-series and bits like sub-frames and the prop shaft are reworked as well. BMW’s obsession with weight distribution has been carried over too — this car boasts a 50:50 front-rear balance.