The 3-Series Reinvented

The 3-series moves back to its roots with a sporty modern avatar that we tried around varied terrain in the south of Portugal and also took it for a spin on the racetrack.

- Yogendra Pratap

Over the last three generations BMW’s most sporty sedan has undergone a change strengthening its position in BMW’s sedan range. From an ultra sporty, on-the-edge, razor-sharp handling car with a stiff suspension and no consideration to the ride comfort of those at the back, the 3-series had moved to a car that tried to incorporate the best of both worlds, trying to enhance rear seat comfort while trying to retain the sporty characteristics of the car, which undoubtedly suffered. With the 7th generation, BMW has moved back to keeping sportiness at the forefront of vehicle design and development, while retaining ride comfort, especially at the rear.

The 7th generation 3-series is now a bigger car and it looks it. With a 44mm increase in wheelbase leading to a 76mm increase in length the 3 has been given a total makeover. The car now looks modern with nice sculpted lines. The kidney grille is a take from the one on the new 5-series and the full LED headlights, though still twins, have totally abandoned the corona ring DRLs and now have a small kink. The T-shaped air-intakes on the bumper are a sporty addition and also incorporate the fog lamps on some of the trim lines while on the M-Sport, they are much larger giving the car a sports car look. The bonnet is nicely sculpted and three prominent lines run along the sides – starting from the shoulder line on the top which starts at the top of the wheel arch and ends with the tail-lights, which itself is now slimmer and futuristic with a 3D effect. The famous Hofmiester kink has also been tampered with to give the profile a sportier look. Overall the car does looks sporty as it sits lower and has an aggressive front, sculpted surfaces and twin pipe exhausts.