HI guys... i dont know when the official debut of the new 3 series is there... It arrived on Guam 3 weeks ago and I was able to take it for a test spin this weekend! my girlfriend and I were invited to the exclusive launching this saturday.

Anyway.. the review... I've always been a Bimmer fanatic. This car does not disappoint. Through the pix I've been seeing on the web and here on CL, i really hated the design of the car. But up close and personal, it really is a nice car. The rear taillights were not as Kia-ish as I thought they would be. One thing I just wish they would do was get rid of that orange part in the middle for the turn signal...(they already have kits for that though... but i wish it came stock like that)... the front fascia is a love it/hate it kinda thing... some people will be turned off... It definitely is a bimmer though. It shows its legacy as the baby brother bimmer. The twin kidney grille is very apparrent... and the headlights are definitely an evolution of the former 3 series. The strongest feature of the car, however... I thought was its side profile. It looked sleek and mean. The car looked somewhat lowered... there was barely any wheelwell gap and the 19" stock rims complimented the car with its aggressive stance. One thing that bothered me though was the "out of place" orange eyeliner on the headlights... just like on the other bim's this one has orange eyeliner. However, on the 3, it is very very prominent and takes up a lot of the headlight. Again, they explained that there are optional clear headlights... but I wish it came stock...

Inside... ok... here's where i didn't feel comfortable... Because I was already used to all the space I have in my LS430, I felt a little cramped in the 3. It was however larger than the previous gen 3... The one I drove did not have navi... since there were no actual online maps of Guam. There are hardly even any written maps of guam. True to form, the 3 was filled with gadgets and buttons. The speedo didnt seem to have changed much from the last 3 that I had been in. The climate controls were easy to get to and were actually user friendly. The climate control was a bit slow in cooling the hot car... it gets really hot on guam and i wanted it cold right away just like in my LS... the radio took a little getting used to. There were so many buttons and most of them were unlabled...but I was able to figure it out. The aluminum trim matched well with the black leather. although the car didnt have that much space compared to the LS, I did still find it comfy. The seats supported my back, neck and butt pretty well... I just wanted to spread my legs a little though...

Performance... I only tried the 330... 255 horsepower... yep.. i can definitely feel that. It definitely was faster than the previous 3 i had driven (325i). Maybe the new 6 speed tranny plays a role in that. By the way, the shifts were magnificently smooth... I want a manual though.... The engine noise is not overpowering...Accelerating brings out this really cool exhaust note that can only be Bimmer. Sort of a "from the diaphragm hmmmmmmmmmm" where all the pistons are singing in perfect unison.
The car definitely felt safely planted to the asphalt. My girlfriend busted a Uey to pick up one of her girlfriends while on the testdrive... The car had a very impressive turning circle... it also didnt seem like we were being thrown around too much in the turns. Road noise was not as apparrent in this 3 as in the older 99 I had driven. The road feel from the steering wheel was somewhat different.. maybe because this 3 was equipped with adaptive steering. I could actually tell it was assisted... unlike with the previous 3.
This 3 was more comfortable than the last 3 i drove back in 99. Something different with the suspension... more taut.. less body roll... but it muted small deformities in the road well. This 3 handles more like a big sturdy car... compared to the last 3... it is very nimble... but probably because of its increase in size, it feels more like a midsize... you feel safer...

anyway... I'll write up more on this as I test drive it on Saturday.... cya!!!

 

Hmmm, good review. So you could feel the adaptive steering working huh? What did it feel like. That might be a downer for me since I loved the older BMW steering feel. My boss has a new E60 330i with sports package and it does look good. I'm holding out to see what the coupe version looks like though. I'm a coupe guy in general, so between 4 doors I'm still leaning toward the IS350, but if the 330iC is hot I'm going to try and make that my car. Still a tough choice as there are so many cars out there right now to choose from.

 

the steering wheel just had a different feel to it as compared to the old 3. I like the old 3 steering better. I'm just used to a steering wheel that does not compensate for my actions.... so I tended to drive the car as though it did not have the adaptive steering. yes, it lessened the amount of turns i needed when slower and did the opposite when faster... i noticed it even before the saleswoman noted the feature to me. fine and dandy feature... but I'd rather not have it. call me old school... but that's just how I feel.


ps.. oh and one thing i forgot... both engines are 3.0 liters for the 325 and 330... just diff hp and tq... i guess it is detuned? i wonder if there is a way to tune up the 25 to 30 spec??? hehe

 

Great review!!

The 3 is my favorite out of the entire lineup, but I still can't get into the bangled exterior. It's not as bad as the 5, but I don't think I want one in my driveway.

 

ya... i'm actually waiting for the new IS... I think or at least i hope it will be worth the wait.

The new Bim engines dont even come with an oil dipstick... info about oil / engine is given thru the computer... dunno if that is a good thing... cuz us DIY'ers are going to have a cow with this sort of system

 

one of the things I like about the new 3 is the iDrive is OPTIONAL !

 

OH YEA... i forgot about that too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didnt like that idrive **** thing in the 5. It wasnt there in the 3!!!!

 

I learn something new everyday........that would drive me insane. So they have to go to the dealership to check oil levels?

 

You don't have to go to the dealership to check the oil. You can do that yourself just by looking at the information computer. What he means is that there is no physical dipstick and it is all measured by sensors. You can still change your own oil if you wanted to. In factm many hard core BMW enthusiasts and just car guys in general who still like to change their oil every 3-5K miles do it themselves because BMW under the free maintenence wll not do it until the computer sensors say the oil is dirty and needs to be changed, This can be as high as 10K miles.

Also, on the BMW forums they did say that while possible, it isn't worth it to buy all what is needed to turn a 325 into 330 engine spec wise. Maybe one day later when there are enough wreched ones in the junk yard and parts are cheap, but there are a lot of things that need changing and in the end you probably should just buy a 330.

As for Adaptive steering good to head your first hand review. I haven't been able to get out and drive one yet so I was always wondering just how it felt. It sounds for the most part like a variable rack ratio rack system, only electronically controlled and could vary at anytime? Anyway, one day I'll go check it out for myself.

 

I'm still keeping my opinion that a car which drives like an E36 and looks like an E46 is the one for me.

 

Good review, baby GS3.

I'm going to do something I rarely do on CAR CHAT.........stay on the sidelines and not get into a new car too deeply with my own opinions ( yet ).....and for a reason. An all-new 3-series is not just ANY car. We're talking about an INSTITUTION here, not just another new car.....the car that, along with the Porsche 911, is perhaps the very definition of the enthusiast driving machine. Even here at CL, 3-series BMW's.......M3's as well as regular models....are perhaps the most universally loved vehicles outside of your own Lexus products ( though lately the Infiniti G35 seems to be way up there too ). In addition, this is BMW's bread-and-butter car.....the one product that accounts for some 60% of its sales......and pretty much keeps the company in buisness.
Most of you know my contempt for Chris Bangle and his designs...that doesn't need repeating here. But, because THIS car.....the new 3-series...is so crucially important to so many people, I don't want to start spouting off about it without seeing a lot more feedback. And BMW, by their own admission, has stated that they are NOT treating this redesign like other Chris Bangle designs...they CANNOT afford a mistake with THIS car like with the 5 and 7-series. So.....I want to see what more of YOU guys have to say about it (babyGS3 did a good job) and what YOU think. I'm sure MANY are going to get their 2 cents in.....then I'll get mine.

 

I agree.
And great review baby
and I saw my first pearl white one, on the 18s and MY GOD, it is a FABULOUS looking car. Well to me.

 

I do realize the heritage of the 3. This IS the car that all other luxo sports sedans are measured against. This 3, I can see the evolution from the last 3. I think this redesign was a moderate one as compared to the 5 and 7 series. The interior redesign was very conservative. I actually thought they didnt redesign anything at first glance... but little nitpicky details were apparrent such as the slope of the new door handles and the different placement of stuff on the center console... The interior is still pleasing to the eye...I really want to see it at night though because that's what I liked most about the prev gen 3. the interior night ambience was second to none. some dont like the red... but IMO.. it's very appealing. If only they could have applied the same interior to the 5... then i would say the 5 is perfect.

When I test drove the 5 the year it was redesigned, I knew I wanted that car. I would say that I still prefer the 5 over the 3. just waiting for the price to go down to get myself into one of them.

 

There's one across the street from me. Oh sexy. Ohhhh sexy. (Settle down, Rupp, take it easy...)