Filed under: Sedan, Performance, BMW, First Drives, Design/Style, Luxury
A New Generation Of Accolades Begins Right Here
You have to know you're a bit of an icon when your reputation and sales dominance are essentially intact after six generations. We can debate that statement from all sorts of angles in regards to the BMW 3 Series, but the bottom line is that this sedan is still the one to beat. So, after our long-awaited first drive in BMW's new F30, we ask: Does it still deliver the winning recipe for the entry-level luxury buyer?
The Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS, Infiniti G, Acura TL and upcoming Cadillac ATS will not be denied, and the 3 Series doesn't enjoy the commanding lead it once did. On the other hand, over 12.5 million total sales for The Almighty Three since 1975 is nothing to be sniffed at.
When talking about the sort of high performance testing that we crave, initial drives like this can only go so far in satisfying. That's because we only got the chance to drive two meat-of-the-sales-figures trims at this Barcelona, Spain launch: the new 320d Efficient Dynamics turbo diesel and the 328i with new TwinPower Turbo in-line four-cylinder.
We chose to focus hard on the 328i since it's confirmed that we'll get this 241-horsepower model along with the 302-hp 335i this February. The only other model slated for the U.S. is the 335-hp ActiveHybrid 3, arriving sometime during summer 2012. As to the future of turbo diesel power in the States, BMW North America has said it is quite keen to bring over both the 320d and a future 330/335d, though no firm decisions have been made.
Continue reading 2012 BMW 3 Series [w/video]
2012 BMW 3 Series [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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