Company releases pictures, details of the new 3 Series
Introduced In 1975, the 3 SerIes is German car-maker BMW’s most popular family of cars, accounting for almost one-fifth of their global sales.
Come 2012 and the company will usher in the sixth generation of the 3 Series in an even bigger and better package in terms of size and technology.
Pictures of the new 3 Series sedan released by BMW suggest a strong influence of the 5 and 7 Series sedans on its design and interior. While the wheelbase is 50 mm longer than the current model’s, the overall length of the car has been increased by 93 mm. Similarly, the front and rear tracks are wider by 37 and 47 mm respectively.
According to BMW, the new car will have 17-inch alloy wheels with run-flat tyres and a new puncture warning system as standard, except on the 320d EfficientDynamics variant, which will have 16-inch alloys and no run-flats. However, it is hard to digest the fact, since BMW have a global no-spare-wheel policy.
For the first time, BMW will be offering no less than eight new engine options for the 3 Series, of which four will be offered initially. The petrol options include a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, twin-turbo charged engine producing 245 PS of power and 350 Nm of torque in the ‘328i’ while the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder engine powering the ‘335i’ will boast of power and torque figures of 306 PS and 400 Nm respectively. The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine produces 184 PS of power and 380 Nm of torque in the ‘320d’ while the same engine in the ‘320d EfficientDynamics’ has a lesser power output of 163 PS.
A month after the launch of the car, BMW will introduce three more engines: a 2.0-litre, twin-turbo charged, 184 PS ‘320i’ petrol engine along with 2.0-litre 116 PS ‘316d’ and 143 PS ‘318d’ diesels. BMW will also introduce a hybrid version of the 335i by the end of next year. The six-cylinder petrol engine in this will be mated to a 40 KW electric motor and it will be offered as the Active Hybrid 3.
All the engines will have a six-speed manual transmission as standard with an optional eight-speed automatic box.
The new 3 Series will be packed with many futuristic technologies derived from the higher classes of the brand. To start with, the car has a head-up display that improves driver focus. Its ‘Driver Performance Control’ system offers four driving modes – the frugal ‘ECO PRO’ mode that adds a gear shift indicator on the information panel along with ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’ modes. It also has the engine start-stop feature that saves fuel by killing the engine when the car comes to a standstill in neutral gear. The ‘Brake Energy Regeneration’ system recharges the battery when the brakes are applied.
BMW will launch the new car at the North American International Auto Show in January 2012. The new model will be priced higher than the outgoing one, but it will still be one of the cheapest German luxury cars in India. Expect the car to be launched here in the first half of 2012.
