Sexy, stylish, muscular . . . there’s a new BMW 3 Series in town, and motoring guru Peta Lee loves it.
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, and all that stuff. Truly a wonderful season, and a time to drop your top, blow your hair back, and put pedal to the metal. But to make it work, you’ve got to do it in big style. So slide into BMW’s updated new 3 Series convertible. Of course, if you hate that topless feeling, you could opt for the freshened up coupe, which has also been tweaked.
For me, though, swooping around the Midlands in the luxurious 335i convertible was a rather fabulous way to spend a working day. I know, it’s a lousy job but some poor sucker has to do it . . .
The revamp to the 3 Series is not mindblowingly obvious: subtlety is the name of BMW’s game, so here’s what you’ll notice on the 2010 models. For starters, the front bumper and headlights are new and different, and the engineers have also modified the kidney grille in the front. By the way, LED lights in bright white are an option for buyers. Beady eyed fans will also notice the car’s overhang is 22mm longer in the front than previously.
Bigger changes come under the bonnet, where BMW, taking notice of the dire state of the planet and grubby carbon footprints etc, has swopped the former hugely popular twin turbo units for one single unit feeding all six cylinders. Interestingly, say the engineers, this hasn’t affected the performance at all: the engine is still producing the same 225kW and 400Nm, but your torque will kick in far more quickly – and apart from the single turbo reducing your emissions, it also improves your fuel consumption to a frugal 9.1 litres per 100km.
Emissions have been reduced by 7%, if you want exact figures, and fuel consumption by 0.7%.
Boy racers will want to know there’s an optional M-Sport package available, along with beefy 19-inch wheels to give you a rock solid grip on Africa.
But back to the gloriously smooth and responsive convertible. It handles, naturally, like a dream, and one of the improvements to the new range is the paddle shifters on the steering column. Before, they had to be pulled or pushed for a gear change: now, more efficiently, you simple shift up or down. There’s everything you need in the car, every gadget, gizmo, safety feature you could dream of . . . and ample room for kiddies in the back seat.
If I had the bucks, I’d probably splurge on one of the 300 special edition Dynamic variants, based on the M4, with carbon-fibre front spoiler and side mirrors, and 18-inch anthracite rims. Special edition floor mats and door entry sill strips will spell it out, too, and the car will be available only in Alpine White, Blue Water and Space Grey.
But if there’s no stock available, then it’s the convertible for me: a steal at just R718 500 (for the 335i, and R610 500 for the 330i). If you want a less pricey outlay, opt for the Coupe, which starts from R391 500 for the 320i, up to R618 500 for the 335i.