New BMW 3 Series: Can it be the segment benchmark again?
Cars
Welcome to the BMW Standard of 2018 Paris Road Show.
And this might be the biggest news from the entire show.
It is the new BMW 3-Series.
Now the 3-Series if often massively important for the BMW.
One in five of every BMW sold over the years has been a 3-Series Saloon.
So, yeah, it's very important.
This is the first time that we've seen the new precision and poetry design language.
Make of that what you will, but it's kind of what you'd expect, really.
There's nothing too dramatic, but equally, it doesn't have wishing for a paper bag either.
I actually quite like the way these lights flow into the bigger kidney grill.
Now the car is obviously bigger.
So that would define limited of longer.
It's also a few millimeters wider.
You get a 51 millimeter longer wheel base.
Which means you've got an 11 millimeter more leg room in the rear.
Which as you see is very good.
You've also got 36 millimeters more boot space.
However, the good news is there's 55 kilos lighter overall.
From launch, there's gonna be one petrol, which would be the 330i and one diesel, which would be the 320d.
The petrol version not 6 but about 5.8 seconds, 254, 55 brake force power I think.
And, yeah, this will fairly stand the stuff.
You'll be able to get adapted suspension as an option, and also the xDrive, their four wheel drive system Will be an auction too perhaps the biggest news though is what's going on in the interior.
So let's go and have a look in there.
So here we are in the interior of the new BMW this is a white one not the blue one we had earlier.
And people are gonna be saying this is the big leap forward.
I'm not quite so sure the big thing is we're missing, there's no hand break.
An electric hand brake now for the first time in a Three Series.
I've got a 12.3 inch touch screen up here, and some things that I've forgot outside.
So the reduction in weight is the big thing, the bonnet and front wings are now made of aluminum.
Elsewhere in here, yes it's not a hugely bond, I'd say Mercedes still feels like a sort of A more, certainly [UNKNOWN] interior perhaps overall but it's very nice.
It feels very well built indeed.
Like Mercedes which you can now say, hello Mercedes and then [UNKNOWN] this also has a Siri-like command where you hey BMW, and it will do whatever you ask apparently.
It also learns your various driving habits I suppose.
So it knows you are on a journey you regularly take and there is a toll on it.
It will actually disable the stop start and lower the driver side window as you approach it.
Rather spooky.
Also if you're saying hello BMW I'm tired.
It will turn the music up and lower the temperature to try and keep you awake.
All very clever stuff.
The car should be starting at about, I think it's 33,600 pounds in the UK, and no doubt you'll see plenty of them out on the roads.
So let us know what you think in the comments below You have this, or a four, or a Mercedes C Class.
What do you think?
It is taking a big leap or not.
And remember to keep an eye out on Carfection for all the other news from the Paris Motor Show.
