BMW 3 Tweaking from experience

It's the updated BMW 3 Series, which has broken cover in Europe with a much more aggressive look and some techno tweaking.

The obvious changes are a bolder look to the nose, with a scalloped bonnet, while the iDrive system has been updated with extra controls and an 80-gigabyte hard drive.

The range and price is likely to stay much as it is today for BMW's down under bestseller, although there is potential for a new diesel in the family.

“This is a typcial mid-life refresh, with a bit of a tweak to keep the car fresh for the next few years,” says the managing director of BMW Australia, Guenther Seemann.

“Our designers want to give it a more sporty and dynamic look. The M Sport package is quite a popular option on the 3 Series, which shows customers want more aggression in the style. And the entry-level car will reflect that.

“A typical BMW generation lasts for seven to eight years, so it was time to freshen the design a little, but without making the existing car look out of date.”

The makeover will include both the 3 Series sedan and Touring, or the E90 and E91 in BMW-speak.

The arrival of the new 3 could come earlier than January, but BMW Australia wants to make a new year statement and pivot it around the introduction of the four-door M3 sedan.

It is also working on the addition of a 330d as a new diesel pace-

setter.

“In Europe they have also announced the introduction of a new 330d. It is cleaner and more efficient, with 520 Newton-metres and 180 kiloWatts,” Seemann says.

“That is a car we are somewhat interested in. We think it would work in Australia, but it is obviously still early days.

“It is probably something we would see six to nine months down the track. We've identified it as a car that would sell well in Australia, but we need to put a buginess case together.”

The technical details for the updated 3 Series _ which will arrive a little over four years since the new-shape car was introduced _ include a completely new front end, new bonnet, new tail lamps and wheels.

Six-cylinder cars also get a wider-track suspension and engines have been tweaked a little to improve emissions.

Inside, apart from some minor fiddling there are extra buttons to make the iDrive system more user-friendly and a massive hard drive.

“There is also some new technology in the car. That includes the 80-

gig hard drive to store music and phone information, as well as making the mapping in the satellite navigation work better,” Seemann says.

“For safety, active head restraints are now also standard.”