Mind & Heart

The BMW 3 GT gets an update and marks the return of the revered 330i badge. So, is it worthy?

- Ravi Ved

The M division aside, if an enthusiast were to pick a car that aptly fits BMW’s ‘ultimate driving experience’ tagline, chances are that most would go for the E90 3 Series – and rightly so. It packed a lot of tech for its time, handled like a dream and the 330i badged offering came with a creamy 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine. In fact, it did everything so well that it was hard to find any flaws. And even if it did have a few, once you jumped into the driver’s seat and thumbed the starter button all that was simply forgotten.

Well, BMW has brought the 330i badge back to life with the updated 2016 3 GT. However, unlike its ancestor, this one isn’t a six-pot unit but a 4-cylinder one, and, more importantly, it’s no longer a naturally aspirated engine but a turbocharged motor. Does the updated BMW 3 GT petrol live up to the legend of the 330i? Will the addition of a petrol motor add more value to the already practical 3 GT? Let’s try and get the answers.

The 2016 BMW 3 GT is the first car in their product portfolio that sports the 2.0-litre turbo mill and flaunts the 330i insignia. The erstwhile 328i sedan had the same motor, but it produced a little less power. The motor itself is incredibly refined, to the extent that while idling I had to look at the tachometer to remind myself that the engine was running.