What has a twin-scroll, two litre, four cylinder quad-cam engine that produces around 250bhp/190kw and also has the ability to transport a family for both short long distances in great comfort and also has the ability to give snappy responses to the driver’s verbal commands, all thanks to its excellent artificial intelligence? You probably guessed it; it is the new G20 generation BMW 330i and boy what a car it is.
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The BMW 3 Series is and always has been institution all around the world and South Africa is no exception. South Africans have loved the 3 Series ever since the E30 which is known as the ‘box-shape’ in Mzansi or by its even more iconic name, Gusheshe and every subsequent 3er since then has always been warmly received by South Africans. Every time a new generation is released by the company, it always has big shoes to fill, it always has a reputation to live up to and I’m happy to report that this one, the G20, like every generation before it, seems to live up to the reputation created by its predecessors. This, for me, is a relief because the 3 Series is the car that catapulted me into BMW fandom and ultimately into the world of motoring geekiness and will always have a special place in my heart and hopefully, one day, in my garage.
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I recently got the opportunity to drive the new BMW 330i and I was thoroughly impressed by its exceptional comfort at low and high speeds and I was also impressed by how good the car looks in the metal. I found the car to have more of a presence than its predecessors because it is bigger and feels roomier than the F30 at the driver’s seat and I appreciated that a whole lot because I am a bigger chap. This makes for a superbly comfortable ride even when the car is in ‘Sport Plus’ mode, which it was for the duration of my drive and I know you’re probably thinking that it doesn’t make for a comprehensive test of the vehicle, and you’re right but unfortunately I just don’t give a damn because the amount of fun I had with the car on ‘Sport Plus’ mode was so much better than the prospect of a boring drive for the sake of meticulous reporting. The 3 Series is, and always has been, about the fun of the drive or the joie de voyage as I like to call it and I was just enjoying the tradition of sheer driving pleasure therefore, I was in context.
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The new 3er has a whole load of fancy technological stuff that my old-school self couldn’t be bothered about and I found the cabin to have way too many buttons that really didn’t matter to me when I was stretching the car’s legs on the open road. This, however, doesn’t mean that the cabin is unpleasant, it is an extraordinarily lovely place to be in and it feels way more luxurious than the F30 and that is progress. One technological feature of the new Beemer did stand out to me, however, and that was the car’s Automated Intelligence. It is spunky and really has a personality of its own. The BMW dealer I had with me on the test drive told the car that he was bored and it said “I can’t imagine that, maybe you haven’t had the chance to try sport mode” and I was all like “Oh snap!” The AI in the car truly makes this car the most human machine BMW has ever made but unfortunately I think that on the AI front, as much as it pains me to say this, the Mercedes Benz system I tried on the latest A200 has the system on the BMW pipped. That isn’t to say, however, that the system is awful but it’s just not as quick and as comprehensive as the one found on the Mercedes. On the Mercedes system every feature can be controlled by voice commands but on the BMW some features still have to be activated manually.
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Now, on to one of the biggest, or rather, most noticeable changes to the driver experience in the new 3er, and that is the digital panel that is now placed where one would expect to find the traditional old-school rev meter and speedometer. I’m so, so, so sad to say that it doesn’t tickle my fancy. I especially dont it because former 3 Series models had an analogue cluster and that really gave me a fizz in an inexplicable way. There was some joy to be found in seeing the physical needles on the rev counter and speedometer rotating to the right as you plant your right foot on the accelerator and find out what the car is made of, especially on the faster models like the 335i, or the 340i and especially the M3. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. I should mention that the new display is easy to understand if you’re into that sort of thing but to me, at least, it just doesn’t feel right. Don’t take my word on this, I’m old fashioned.
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Now we move on to the things that matter most. Speed. I am happy to report that the car can generate quite a lot of it, in extraordinary comfort as well, and that is thanks to a 4 cylinder, 2 litre, twin-scroll turbo engine that just sounds absolutely gorgeous. Keep in mind it doesn’t have any of those synthetic pops and bangs, all you get is a beautiful engine note that gives you a great big smile on your face. The shove in the back you get when you punch it is the stuff dreams are made of, wet dreams mind you, and the sensation of 254bhp catapulting you is unrivalled. The sense of sheer power that the car gives you is absolutely intoxicating. The gear changes are so damn smooth, the flappy-paddle gear box is absolutely breath-taking when it comes to responsiveness and I didn’t feel any harsh jolts when I made some rather questionable downshifts, of which there were a few, and that just complements the car’s mechanical abilities perfectly. I also love the fact that the car made me feel confident enough to take on any other car, and that to me is what driving pleasure is. The car fells planted and it feels statelier and the overall sense of improvement is just unparalleled.
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The F30 was a superb car in every way and somehow, with this car, BMW managed to improve the overall driving experience. This is a 3 Series worthy of the name.
