Reviews

The torch is passed, and it burns even brighter

Talk about a hard act to follow. The engineers responsible for creating BMW's new 3 Series must have felt like local talent-night comedians discovering they'd be taking the stage immediately after Jerry Seinfeld. "Good evening, ladies and germs...(thump, thump, thump)...Is this thing on?"

After all, the current 3 Series, known internally as E36, has been wildly successful for BMW, and beloved by enthusiasts. A descendant of the 2002 that all but invented the sports-sedan genre, the E36 was (and is) a tightly packaged, cleanly sculpted form, with delicately balanced rear-drive handling, sublime steering, a solid structure and one of the sweetest twincam inline-6 engines ever to light off hydrocarbons. You can almost hear the deep breaths taken before light pen touched CAD screen, and the first sketchings of the new 3 Series, code-named E46, flickered into being.

It's okay to exhale now because the new E46 is everything the old 3 Series was and more - in part because large chunks of the old car carry over in refined form. The dohc 24-valve inline-6 still displaces 2793 cc, but now both camshafts employ Variable Nockenwellen Steuerung (or VANOS for our non-German-speaking readers) that steplessly varies valve timing for a more pronounced bulge in the torque curve at low to medium revs (peak torque of 206 lb.-ft. at 3500 rpm is unchanged; horsepower climbs slightly to 193 at 5500). The block is now of aluminum, with cast-iron cylinder liners, for a saving of 51 lb. And there is now a dual-resonance intake system that actually incorporates a third path: small openings into the ports designed to achieve turbulence at very small throttle openings.

Suspension, too, was an area of careful evolution rather than total re-think, so MacPherson-strut front and multilink rear layouts remain, bolted to significantly more rigid subframes. What's missing is unsprung weight - through measures such as forged and cast aluminum arms and hollow front strut rods, BMW has managed to pare 26 lb. from the suspensions. Brakes are revised too, with larger pads, more rigid calipers and electronic proportioning that, by using the ABS's wheel-speed sensors, measures slip at each wheel and doles out brake pressure accordingly.

And there's the structure itself, significantly more rigid and cloaked in sheet metal whose similarity to the 5 Series is recognizable and intentional, especially when gazing at the tapered tail with its clear-lens taillights. It's a powerful, wheels-at-the-corners look with the 3 Series' trademark tiny front overhang, headlights-under-glass and an overall shape that's just the right blend of taut contours and sharply etched character lines, seemingly vacuum-formed around the mechanicals. Our car's 17-in. wheel/tire package (part of the $1350 Sport Package that also includes firmer suspension, sports seats and a three-spoke steering wheel) adds a fine touch of menace. Critics at the car wash and on the sidewalk love it, going out of their way to offer compliments.

Grab the door handle (a sturdy device that's no longer flush with the body) and enter an interior that is again influenced by the 5. It's more spacious than the old 3 Series owing to the E46's slightly greater wheelbase, length, width and tracks (up 1.0, 1.5, 1.6 and 2.6 in., respectively), especially in the rear seat where the extra room bumps the comfort rating from cramped to tolerable for 6-footers. Up front, there are excellent sports seats whose thigh cushions adjust fore and aft, and that wonderfully grippy steering wheel whose center section looks far too trim to house an airbag (it does). The interior's big changes are to the dash, which still houses a familiar-looking gauge cluster, but the center section is smoothed out, with larger panels for audio and climate controls that don't angle quite as severely toward the driver. Moreover, those panels contain larger, more widely spaced buttons that can be operated more intuitively than the previous 3 Series'. Separating the dash's upper and lower portions is a full-width aluminum-finish strip that continues artfully into the shapely door panels, complemented by a like-finished panel around the shifter that also houses new lift-up, push-down switches for the power windows. Overall, the ambiance is more luxurious and airy, but predictably loses some of the E36's harder-edged, get-down-to-business feel in the process.

Twist the key, let out the clutch (which now grabs a bit more softly), row the ZF 5-speed gearbox for all it's worth and 60 mph rushes up in a fleet 6.9 seconds, an exact match for the last 328i we tested despite an overall weight increase of approximately 90 lb. Despite a vastly quieter interior, hints of the inline-6's stirring mechanical hum still penetrate the cabin, a bit like driving the old version with cotton earplugs in place. Shifting remains a pure joy - with the traditional slight notchiness going into gear and the slightly springy feel coming out - and we've yet to find better pedal spacing for heel-and-toeing.

At a Glance

Engine
Type: aluminum block, & head, inline-6
Valvetrain: dohc 4 valve/cyl
Displacement: 170 cu in./2793 cc
Bore x stroke: 3.31 x 3.31 in./84.0 x 84.0 mm
Compression ratio: 10.2:1
Horsepower (SAE): 193 bhp @ 5500 rpm
Bhp/liter: 69.1
Torque: 206 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
Maximum engine speed: 6000 rpm
Fuel injection: elect. sequential port
Fuel: prem unleaded, 91 pump oct

Warranty
Basic warranty: 4 years/50,000 mi
Powertrain: 4 years/50,000 mi
Rust-through: 6 years/unlimited mi

Chassis & Body
Layout: front engine/rear drive
Body/frame: unit steel
Brakes, Front: 11.8-in. vented discs
Brakes, Rear: 11.6-in. vented discs
Assist type: vacuum; ABS
Total swept area: 430 sq in.
Swept area/ton: 257 sq in.
Wheels: cast alloy, 17 x 8 in.
Tires: Dunlop SP Sport 2000 E, 225/45ZR-17
Steering: rack & pinion, variable assist
Overall ratio: 15.5:1
Turns, lock to lock: 3.2
Turning circle: 34.4 ft
Suspension, Front: MacPherson struts, L-shaped lower arms, coil springs, tube shocks, anti-roll bar
Suspension, Rear: multilink, coil springs, tube shocks, anti-roll bar

General Data
Curb weight: 3170 lb
Test weight: 3350 lb
Weight dist (with driver), f/r, %: 50/50
Wheelbase: 107.3 in.
Track, f/r: 58.0 in./58.3 in.
Length: 176.0 in.
Width: 68.5 in.
Height: 55.7 in.
Ground clearance: 3.8 in.
Trunk space: 16.0 cu ft

Accommodations
Seating capacity: 5
Head room f/r: 39.0 in./35.5 in.
Seat width f/r: 2 x 20.0 in./54.5 in.
Front-seat leg room: 43.0 in.
Rear-seat knee room: 23.5 in.
Seatback adjustment: 62 deg
Seat travel: 9.2 in.

Instrumentation
155-mph speedometer, 7000-rpm tach, fuel level, coolant temp, fuel economy

Safety
dual front & side airbags, head protection system, anti-lock braking, traction control, stability control (all standard equip.)

Acceleration
Time to speed: Seconds
0-30 mph: 2.3
0-40 mph: 3.8
0-50 mph: 5.2
0-60 mph: 6.9
0-70 mph: 9.4
0-80 mph: 11.8
0-90 mph: 14.7
0-100 mph: 18.6
Time to distance: Seconds
0-100 ft: 3.1
0-500 ft: 8.3
0-1320 ft (¼ mile): 15.3 @ 92.0 mph

Braking
Minimum stopping distance
From 60 mph: 129 ft
From 80 mph: 226 ft
Control: excellent
Brake feel: excellent
Overall brake rating: excellent

Fuel Economy
Normal driving: 20.0 mpg
EPA city/highway: est 20/29 mpg
Cruise range: est 310 miles
Fuel capacity: 16.6 gal.

Handling
Lateral acceleration (200-ft skidpad): 0.82g
Balance: mild understeer
Speed through 700-ft slalom: 61.2 mph
Balance: mild understeer
Lateral seat support: excellent

Interior Noise
Idle in neutral: 43 dBA
Maximum in 1st gear: 77 dBA
Constant 50 mph: 66 dBA
Constant 70 mph: 73 dBA

Test Conditions
Temperature: 82° F
Humidity: 32%
Elevation: 1010 ft
Wind: calm

Test Notes
If you're not tidy through the slalom, the 328i's tail can step through the last few cones; it's this razor-edge balance that makes it so enjoyable on the street.

Too many revs from a standing start result in wheel hop. The BMW launches best at a tach reading of 2500.

Stops are impressively short, accomplished with little drama from quick-pulsing ABS.

By Douglas Kott