2006 BMW 3-Series - Page 1 Review

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Shopping for a 2006 BMW 3-Series? MSRP: $30,900 - $56,600

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2006 BMW 3-Series

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2006 BMW 3-Series

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The fifth generation of the hot-selling compact follows the same pattern of each successive generation of any BMW, with more technology, more performance, and more power than its predecessor.

The base U.S. 3-Series, the six-cylinder 325, will have a 218-hp six-cylinder engine giving 184 lb-ft of torque, but this will not be available in the range when the car first goes on sale in Europe. The more powerful 330, which is in the European launch range, gets a new 3.0-liter engine that is the first six to feature BMW's patented Valvetronic induction system, first seen on the company's V-8 power units. Valvetronic infinitely varies the inlet valve opening times and, says BMW, when combined with Bi-Vanos variable camshaft timing, delivers optimal fuel efficiency and engine response. The engine is claimed to be the most powerful yet lightest in its class, and is used in the new BMW 630i Coupe. In European tune it delivers 258 hp and 221 lb-ft between 2500 and 4000 rpm, good enough to give 0-62 mph acceleration of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. Combined fuel consumption is just under 28 mpg.

Drive for all models is through a six-speed transmission, whether manual or automatic, and the cars have all the usual electronic driver aids, including a more sophisticated traction-control system that is integrated with the car's brakes. It pre-tenses the brakes when the driver quickly removes pressure from the accelerator, modulates brake pressure at low speed to prevent the front end of the car from diving when traveling slowly, and has a link to the clutch that prevents rolling back on a hill start. The active steering system already featured on the 5- and 6-Series models will also be offered.

Following the company's current practice, the car will use aluminum extensively in its suspension components for lightness. The body is also lighter, but is 25-percent stiffer than that of the current car. In Europe, the 3-Series will come as standard with run-flat tires. It's claimed that the car can run 150 miles at up to 50 mph with four flats, but road testers of other BMW's fitted with these tires have questioned the effects they have on BMW's famous ride and handling characteristics.

The car is bigger than the current 3-Series, being just under two inches longer, with an extra 1.37 inches in the wheelbase. The biggest increase is in width, which is up by three inches. Height is up a modest 0.35 inches. BMW's controversial iDrive will be available for the first time on a 3-Series, and the car will also have keyless access, in which the car "senses" the key carried by the owner and opens up without the key having to be actually used.

Styling follows the now familiar BMW family look, with a heavy front air-dam and sculptured body sides. The trunk, however, is not as heavy as in the 7- and 5-Series cars that introduced the new image defined by designer Chris Bangle.

Since the introduction of the 1-Series, the 3-Series is no longer BMW's smallest car and it looks like the new rear-drive subcompact is going to join the BMW range in the U.S.  The small Bimmer went on sale in Europe and other markets this fall, and industry gossip says that it will now be exported to BMW's major market. It was felt that the under-2.0-liter 1-Series would not be accepted in the U.S. (2.0-liter versions of the 3-Series are the biggest sellers in Europe but are not even offered in the U.S.). In 2007, however, the 1-Series will get the same six-cylinder unit as the 325, which will make it into a performance car rather than the upmarket subcompact family sedan it currently is in Europe. The U.S. version is also likely to have a trunk, which has greater appeal to American buyers than the five-door hatchback form in which it is currently sold. With a coupe version and the possibility of all-wheel drive also being spoken of, it sounds as though when the 1-Series gets to the U.S., it will do so as a performance car aimed at the 'pocket rocket' buyer. — Ian Norris