2023 BMW 3 Series review: international first drive

No car better sums up ‘BMW’ than the 3 Series. Whatever the proliferation of SUVs and EVs – two things the Munich manufacturer majors in – the humble yet handsome sedan remains the very core of what its maker is about. It remains a best-seller, and over 16 million of them have found homes since its inception in 1975. So, BMW would be pretty foolish to mess up the formula for this seventh-generation, ‘G20’ 3 Series facelift, right?

Luckily it hasn’t. Perhaps crucially, the kidney grilles have changed in design but without growing an inch, keeping the braying mob of aesthetes from knocking up some placards to protest.

In fact, the facelift has broadly cleaned the design up, removing a few creases and curves and generally giving the 3 the vibe of a shrunken 5 Series. No bad thing, in our eyes. Under the skin, meanwhile, changes are limited to an influx in digitisation rather than an overhaul of its already incisive dynamic character.

Jump ahead

• How much is it, and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• Interior comfort, space and storage
• What’s it like to drive?
• How is it on fuel?
• How safe is it?
• VERDICT

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How much is it, and what do you get?

The updated 3 Series launches simultaneously as a sedan and Touring (wagon); in Europe, it launches with petrol and diesel powertrains but the latter is not destined for Australia. Prices start at $78,900 for a 320i, which utilises a 2.0-litre engine familiar from plenty of other BMW and Mini products – producing 135kW – while the $93,400 330i packs a 180kW version of the same unit. Both prices are before on-road costs.

Both get a heap of standard equipment, including BMW’s vast new curved touchscreen that grabs the headlines as the biggest change for this G20 update. Electrically adjusted sports seats, adaptive cruise control and park assist are fitted to both, with the 330i getting inch-bigger 19in alloys and leather M Sport seats as well as adaptive suspension.

The 330e plug-in hybrid costs $97,400 while upping peak power to 215kW, with its equipment in line with the 330i. Topping the range is the $104,900 M340i xDrive, the only all-wheel drive 3 Series to make it to Australia. Again, both prices are before on-road costs.

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Its engine is the truly wonderful 3.0-litre straight-six turbo seen in the Z4 and Toyota Supra, here producing 275kW and good for 0-100km/h in just 4.4 seconds. It also gets a fancy Harman Kardon stereo, heated seats, adaptive LED lights and a sunroof.

BMW has aimed to slimline trims and options to make configuring your 3 Series easier, so key options are bunched into simple packs, though they can vary in price depending on which car you’re applying them to.

Among them are the Comfort Pack, which brings heated seats and the nicer stereo to lower-rung models, and the M Sport Pro pack, which brings M Sport brakes with red or blue calipers as well as lots of smart exterior design flourishes, most of them replacing chrome trim with black for a meaner look.

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How do rivals compare on value?

A comparable Mercedes C-Class will cost almost exactly the same, the 320i and 330i taking on their respective C200 and C300 rivals with near-identical power and price figures. It’s almost like the two car-makers are locked in battle… The Merc arguably has a touch more showroom cachet owing to its design being all-new, but the BMW is a sharper handler.

An Alfa Romeo Giulia will be a decent slice cheaper – a 147kW Sport starts at $63,950 while a 206kW Veloce is $71,450 (both before on-road costs). It’s a sweet car to drive but won’t feel as plush or technologically on-the-button as the updated 3 Series.

Going for an Audi A4 would be cheaper, too, prices for a 183kW 45 TFSI S Line starting at $73,500 before on-road costs, but it simply can’t hold a candle to the BMW when it comes to driving appeal.

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Interior comfort, space and storage

The 3 Series may not look too different on the outside, but inside it’s made a big stride. All models get a vast curved display as standard, running BMW’s latest operating system.

Ahead of you is a 12.3-inch digital dial display that looks cool, but frustratingly it doesn’t really adjust much. It feels like a missed opportunity to do something wild, but at least it’s clean and legible.

More likely to drop your jaw is the 14.9-inch widescreen in the middle of the car, which can run BMW’s native maps and media or hook straight up to Apple or Android phones. It looks fabulous and its sheer size has convinced BMW to ditch its odd gesture control system. Some pretty responsive voice control should help ease the pain of anyone dead set on not prodding the screen…

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Space is unchanged from before, so the 3 Series remains a roomy, practical car. The Touring is vast in the back and offers up to 1510 litres of luggage capacity, accessed via the electric tailgate or nifty, separately opening rear screen.

All models get an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard and it now operates through a neat little toggle rather than a stick, tidying up the centre console and adding an extra sense of space to the front quarters.

However, it does make locking the transmission in ‘manual’ less of an immediate process than before.

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BMW 3-Series Touring boot

What’s it like to drive?

Ah, the traditional 3 Series calling card. To sighs of relief all around, absolutely nothing has changed here. The dynamics team relegated themselves to tea duties on this project, knowing they already had the class benchmark for handling and that any fiddling might just ruin the 3’s sweet balance of comfort and fun.

This remains a car that steers sharply and grips strongly, but not without a sense of humour if you feel like loosening its electronic shackles and driving a bit harder. The xDrive system of the M340i is very rear-biased, so there’s plenty of fun to be had even outside of purely rear-drive versions.

The pick of the engines – if money is no object – is the scintillating six-cylinder in the M340i. It sounds fantastic, rips right to its 7000rpm redline keenly and delivers the appropriate punch for an M-badged sports sedan, stopping just shy of the guts and glory of the full-fat M3.

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It’ll be a nicer, less aggressive thing to live with every day while also offering similar performance to M3s of old – at a similar price too, mind.

Standard adaptive suspension and a smart electronic differential ensure its 1800 kilos are kept very keenly in check, while it comes with 48V mild-hybrid tech these days, so it’s also cultured and polite when you’re driving through town. It’s a truly consummate all-rounder and demonstrates BMW’s core values beautifully.

Of the other engine options, the 330i is perhaps sweetest but the 330e most intriguing. It’s notably heavier than the pure petrol models but manages its mass just as well, and the novelty of 50 (or more) kilometres of swish, silent running is hard not to love. If you can affordably charge up at home or work, it feels a bit of a no-brainer, and its 0-100km/h time is basically on par with the 330i model.

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How is it on fuel?

The BMW 3 Series consumes 95 RON fuel at all levels below the headline M3 (which asks for 98 RON). Fuel consumption varies throughout the engines.

Naturally, the 330e hybrid claims the thriftiest figures from official testing procedures at just 2.2L/100km, though this will vary wildly if you can’t always guarantee a free socket to get the batteries charged back up to shoulder some of your mileage.

The 320i and 330i quote similar economy – respectively 6.3 and 6.4L/100km – while the higher-performance M340i xDrive claims 7.7L/100km. Given it adds an extra pair of cylinders and driven wheels, that’s an impressively modest climb in fuel consumption and our experience of this engine in daily life suggests it’ll actually better its official figure in mixed use.

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How safe is it?

The G20-generation BMW 3 Series was evaluated by ANCAP in 2019, achieving a five-star safety rating. So the same ought to stand here given nothing vital has changed about the car’s design or structure. There’s plenty of active safety tech as standard, too, with lane-keep assist, a wealth of cameras and park assist fitted to all models.

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VERDICT

Few cars at any price nail their brief with such satisfying precision as a BMW 3 Series. It’s fair to call this one of the true pillars of the automotive world, but luckily BMW knows the level of heritage behind the badge and has updated the seventh-gen 3 in a sympathetic manner, blending in new technology without disrupting the purity – and pleasure – of the driving experience beneath.

Find the cash for a 330e or M340i and you’ll possess one of the most gratifying all-rounders on sale at any level.

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