The new BMW 3 Series will launch in Australia later this year, but is merely a slight update of styling, technology, and equipment. and enhanced levels of equipment.

The 3 Series began life in 1975 and for many years was the German carmaker’s biggest seller.

Along with collecting a bunch of awards, 3 Series has sold 16 million units over the 4 decades. It currently accounts for 14 per cent of BMW’s sales, with 1.1 million of the current 3 Series finding homes since since 2019 alone.

For the 2021 calendar year, the 3 Series accounted for 16 per cent of BMW Australia’s total sales volume, and 10,642 examples of the current generation 3 Series have sold since launch in 2019.

BMW has recorded 137,301 BMW 3 Series sales in Australia since VFACTS sales data reporting commenced in 1991, a further underlining of the model’s impact and the strong impression it has made on local customers.

New headlights and grille

New BMW 3 Series has the headlights and grille reshaped, but has avoided the gape of the M cars.

The lower apron is full of lines and large sculptured air intakes. LED headlights are much slimmer, with daytime running lights in an inverted L shape.

Adaptive LED Headlights are standard on the BMW M340i xDrive Sedan, and as per the rest of the BMW range, has blue accents inside their covers. Adaptive LED headlights’ range vary the light to keep the road lit, while dimming the light in the sector containing oncoming vehicles. Other BMW 3 Series have full LED Headlights with High-Beam Assistant.

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ABOVE: 2023 BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring (inside and out)

New rear apron

There is more body colour at the back, with the apron neatened up, especially notable on the touring.

Slimmer lights and flared rear wheel arches make the looks chunkier than before, and exhausts are  90 or 100 millimetres in diameter depending on the engine variant.

M Sport package

M Sport package is standard on all Australian BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring models.

These include the new front and rear aprons, 18- or 19-inch M light-alloy wheels, and mixed-size tyres.

BMW M highlights extend to a presence in the grille mesh design, trapezoidal tailpipe extensions,  and M exterior mirror caps in Black high-gloss.

There is a new option of the M Sport Package Pro to extend the M Sport package. This package has extended M High-gloss Shadowline trim, M lights Shadowline and an M Sport braking system with red callipers.

The colour range includes: the new offerings of Skyscraper Grey metallic, M Brooklyn Grey metallic, BMW Individual Frozen Pure Grey metallic, BMW Individual Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic. It buyers want to wait for factory orders, a selection of around 150 additional BMW Individual special paint finishes can be ordered.

Newly BMW Curved Display

BMW 3 Series cabins have come in for a major update.

The view foreward is dominated by BMW’s Curved Display, with a 12.3-inch driver’s display and a large 14.9” screen that seem to merge into a single curved surface. There are fewer buttons and knobss, and more touch and voice control.

The new eight-speed Steptronic selector on the centre console sits beside the Start/Stop button, iDrive Controller, Driving Experience Control buttons, parking brake and other sundry controls.

There is standard three-zone climate control with voice command or touch control.

Drive systems

BMW 3 Series comes with TwinPower Turbo in: 320i, 330i, 330e plug-in hybrid and M340i xDrive variants. The 3 Series Touring comes only as a 330i.

BMW 3 Series has an eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission, and BMW xDrive on the M340i xDrive.

Driver assistance

Standard equipment includes:

Driving Assistant including: departure warning, lane change warning, front collision warning with brake intervention, rear crossing traffic warning and rear collision prevention.

Other functions include the Parking Assistant with: Reversing Assist Camera, Reversing Assistant, Parking Assistant Plus with Park View, Panorama View and Remote 3D View functions, and BMW Drive Recorder are also available as options.

BMW iDrive 8

BMW iDrive 8 integrates connectivity, data processing and intuitive interaction between the driver and vehicle. The system uses the BMW Curved Display, voice and gesture control, and the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

Capability extends to the “My BMW” App can be used with most models, but is handiest with the charging process for the 330e plug-in hybrid model.

There is improved Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and over-the-air updates to keep the car’s operating system up to date.

Sustainability

 

BMW 3 Series adopts holistic view to sustainability. It starts at the procurement of raw materials and production, through its ownership phase, and on to subsequent recycling at the end of its life. The validity is certified by independent external experts.

It is worth noting there is high proportion of recycled materials used. Secondary raw materials account for around 50 per cent of the material used in the aluminium castings for the BMW 3 Series. Approximately 16 per cent of all thermoplastics are recycled.

On sale from

 

The new BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring arrive in the fourth quarter with pricing and specification detail to be announced closer to the launch date.

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