Yes the big day arrived! Your dad's wet dream came true! A Middle Manager best wish after months of hard work with associated bonus and some visit to a local bank...You are driving the new 3 series! It is the real deal, the bestseller of the most successful premium car manufacturer (yes they are selling now more cars than the Audi (overpriced VWs) and the Merc (your grandfather's dreamy car)). Really? Let's see...
Pros
- Nice attractive design, especially when comparing with the "old" an chunky E90
- Grown car with the capability of transporting 4 persons and additional luggage
- Quiet interior with "premium" feeling
- Low driving position associated with comfy seats
- Mature suspension setting (deals very well the bumps in the road, speed-bumps and eventually the potholes)
- Full of gadgets (8 speed automatic gear box with joy-stick, flappy paddles , automatic xenon lights, various driving modes(Eco Pro, Sport,etc), Idrive etc)
- Sport line is very attractive with red trims on the dashboard, red stitches on the leather seats
- Cool diesel engine, likes to be reved up(for a diesel), quiet (inside), very economical ( on board consumption for the test car was 6,8 l/100km, so we expect around 7 litres of average consumption in real life), powerful enough, not brutal but with a constant pull from 1400 to 5000 rpms
Cons
- Semi synthetic steering wheel feeling, in is not as good as the old "trusty" hydraulic system
- The plastic parts of the interior are a little bit flimsy (doors and rear cabin)
- When accelerating, there is a little lag (around 1 sec) due to automatic transmission and turbo diesel engine
- Start stop system is annoying, when you stop to a small junction letting 1 car to pass, then brrr.... engine stopped
- Speed sensation is very low, this could be dangerous with speeding tickets
Test drive
Your previous car was build in the 90s? You are in trouble now Mister! Key less entry - you don't have a key to insert in the car, ZF automatic transmission - you must play with the joystick from P to D, car settings like ECO Pro, Sport, Sport Plus...Ok it will take you some seconds to start driving for the first time. First impression: it is a nice and soft car...it is not an M3 (just kidding)...for me it was a little disappointing for the first seconds, very low noise from the suspension, not rigid at all. The engine is very quiet and no vibrations are transmitted in the cabin at all, nor in the pedals. Ok... this is a soft beemer, ex owners of Audis/Mercs you could come and get one...you will be familiar with this car excepting the super duper WV interior which is missing. I would not say that the interior is not showing quality, but it is not a reference one, for me the word would be ....decent for a 40k Euro car. Ok... so...., if you go in kick-down mode, the engine will starting to mumble and the speed will growing fast enough, 120 km/h will be easily reached, the engine is not shouting: I am a diesel one, do not push me! It is not at all brutal like old VW diesels, it enough linear and is developing the power gradually till 5000 rpm. The overall feeling is very nice/premium we could say and the cars give you the hovering sensation....cool! Ok next will be the steering feeling...not so good boys and girls. I know that today's ecologist trend will say that an electric steering will absorb less energy from the engine that the old trusty hydraulic thus improving with 0,1% the overall fuel economy, but the real sensation is like using a condom...yes it is ok, but you feel like missing something...in this case the connection with the road. I was heading toward a junction with relatively high speed with a car going in the same direction in my right side, so the road got a little bit narrow and a medium curve to the right "suprised" me suddenly, at that time the steering gave me a little bit of insecure sensation and I touched the brakes... the old beemers were appreciated especially in these types of situations when the rear traction combined with a direct steering was always a winning situation (not on snowy roads though).
So the car gave a little bit of "sportivness" in change for comfort, is this OK or not for the average beemer aficionados? Who cares when they are selling hundreds of thousands of these middle sized sedans...For the front seats, the cars surrounds you and the space comfort is not acknowledged easily by the passengers The big change is made by the rear seats where the space sensation is dramatically improved (not a Ford Mondeo size though), two persons could easily travel for long distances whiteout effort.
Some mixed feelings about the gearbox (8 speed ZF automatic) at this time, on "normal" mode it is a little bit annoying because is changing gears all the time and will try to maintain a low rpm in order to produce low consumption figures. In "sport" mode using the paddles behind the steering wheel, you could try to rev the engine till 5000 rpm in order to overtake more agresively. The feeling is sporty and the engine will not disappoint but keep in mind the feeling of unhappiness of the 2 litres to be reved, he is like a trusty soldier which will try to accomplish the missions, but he is not a killing machine. This car is to be driven on highways with high speeds at low rpm and low consumption, not to be reved at 6000 rpm.
Ok, in order to conclude... does the new beemer got softer? Yes it does... it is not as nimble as the E36, and not giving the "tank" sensation of the e46 with his "direct" unbiased steering sensation. It is a better car? Probably yes! It is more fun to drive than his predecessors? Probably not! It is more luxurious? Yes a little bit, considering the space inside the cabin.
Competition
Reading the above review you could have a disappointing feel, but when considering the existing competitors, the 3 series star will shine on the medium-sized sedans market. The Merc has an outdated version of the C-class, Audi A4 is only FWD or 4WD, the second one is boring to drive especially on dry roads. There could be some other contenders like Mazda 6 (lower build quality but superior habitability), Honda Accord (outdated interior design and fewer engines and equipment choices), but for the moment my humble opinion is: this is the king of medium size sedans!
