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2001 BMW 3-Series Review

Adding words of praise to the volumes that BMW’s small series has already garnered is pointless. No question that the 3-Series defines the contemporary sports sedan, but the 4WD wagon variant does raise some interesting questions of identity.

For one thing, it’s small, even by the definitions allotted to “small wagons.” It gives you enough space to make airport runs more useful, and the rooftop cargo rails, without cross pieces, are a joke. You’d need to supplement the rails with pieces from Yakima or Thiele to get use out of them.

The cargo area has both a cover and a vertical net that supposedly allows you to stack cargo safely to the ceiling. It is, however, quite flexible, and our 68-pound standard poodle, Willy, had no problem wiggling through a side edge to escape the cargo area and join us up front.

So, as a wagon per se, the 325xi is only incrementally useful. As a 4WD vehicle, it does allow BMW thrills to be enjoyed year-round, particularly in snowy climates, if the consumer feedback you read in the press means anything.

You can’t really detect the full-time, 62-percent rear/38-percent front system under normal conditions from the driver’s seat, save that on dry pavement, the 325xi clings like the 20th Century Limited to New York Central track. We didn’t have the chance to test the system in inclement weather, but on gravel-and-dirt mountain roads, the car, with its dynamic brake control and DSC-X stability control systems working overtime, couldn’t really get out of its own way, particularly with loose gravel allowing lurid slides toward the trees. A Subaru WRX

Impreza it isn’t. Nor is it a Mazda Tribute, for that matter. We tested the Ford Escape clone at the same time we had the 325xi, and the Tribute’s 4WD-locked-axle system with 50/50 front/rear power distribution inspired a lot more confidence in the same conditions, even with 15 additional horsepower and added mass.

Engine performance numbers in the 325xi are, for the record, 184 hp at 6000 rpm and 175 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. The 2.5-liter six, with its variable valve system flying along, provides a fairly steady and broad powerband when pushed, and it’s a nice package with the five-speed Steptronic automatic gearbox working in manual mode. You lose a little low-end torque when you knock the gate back to the right and into its conventional automatic mode, but if you’re that lazy, or you’re stuck in commuter traffic, you’re not going to miss it too much.

Just one question: why not put the 3.0-liter six, perhaps the best passenger-car engine ever created, into the wagon? It’s available in the 330xi sedan, so what gives?

Still, there is enough power to make license retention an ongoing problem, particularly on windy side roads where the twin-wishbone front/multi-link trailing arm rear suspension system comes into play. The variable-assist steering has removed a bit of road feel from previous years’ 3-Series cars, but with 4WD it was difficult to quantify. BMW says it plans to reduce the degree of steering boost for ’02.

The interior feels a tad spartan for a car in this price range, although the seats are fabulous. The premium sound system is among the best I’ve ever heard, though it does compete with the road and exhaust sounds that are part of any BMW experience. The view through the center rear-view mirror is negligible, given the tapered hindquarters of the wagon and the three headrests in the rear seat.

So just what do we have? BMW implies that this, its second attempt to provide 4WD in passenger cars in the past 15 years, results from frustration its Alps-residing engineers experienced wanting to play in the snow in their own Bimmers. The 325xi is proving quite popular, and you may have to order direct from the factory to get your hands on one. It’s not a great wagon, nor is it a great 4WD vehicle, but it is a 3-Series BMW, and for many, that’s enough.

2001 BMW 325xi Sport Wagon
Price as tested: $37,445 (includes $645 destination charge)
Engine: 2.5-liter, DOHC, 24-valve inline six, 184 hp
Transmission: Five-speed Steptronic automatic transmission with adaptive transmission control, all-wheel drive
Length x width x height (inches): 176.3 x 68.5 x 56.3 in
Cargo volume (cubic feet): 27.3 (rear seats upright), 48.0 (seats folded)
Wheelbase: 107.3 in
Curb weight: 3384 lb
EPA City/Hwy: 19/26 mpg
Safety equipment: Two-stage “smart” front airbags; height-adjustable front seatbelts; interlocking door anchors; front-seat head protection system; front-seat side-impact airbags; integrated deployment logic for seatbelt tensioners, airbags and post-impact safety measures; halogen low-beam headlights; four-wheel ABS with electronic proportioning
Major standard equipment: Permanent all-wheel drive; dynamic stability control; dynamic brake control; power rack-and-pinion steering with engine-speed-sensitive variable assist; strut-type front suspension with anti-roll bar; multi-link rear suspension with anti-roll bar; twin-tube gas pressure shock absorbers; 16 x 7 alloy wheels; air conditioning; power windows, locks and mirrors; remote entry system
Warranty: Three years/ 36,000 miles (new car)