BMW 330i
What most sedans want to be when they grow up |
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By Richard J. Newman
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NITS:The front cup holders were clearly an engineering afterthought, since they are placed right between the armrest and the shifter, so that a coffee mug or soda bottle grates on your forearm every time you shift gears. One can just imagine the fanatical German purists who designed the 3 Series fuming when told they had to install cup holders. They seem to have gotten their revenge.
G-FORCES: The 225-horsepower, inline 6-cylinder engine and the smooth 5-speed transmission produce immediate throttle response and walloping acceleration. Zero-to-60 time with the manual transmission is 6.4 seconds, making this the hot rod of sedans. The 330i takes tight curves adroitly. Keep both hands on the wheel–one way or another, you will be seduced into spirited driving.
GIZMOLOGY: The analog instrumentation is elegant and straightforward, with no gimmicky displays. The portion of the dashboard that contains radio and climate controls is turned toward the driver, a nice touch that makes it less distracting to tinker with the dials. Controls and displays have a subdued, European feel, though they are not particularly stylish. One plus is the steering-wheel mounted audio controls, standard on the 330i.
KID MARKS: There are a few frustrations here. The exterior door handles need to be pulled up, making it hard for the waist-high set to open the doors. The doors are also tightly hinged, making them hard for kids to close from the inside as well. And there are no rear cup holders. You might tend to forget about the rest of the family when driving this car, but a few nods to the youngins would hardly kill BMW's image. This is a sedan, after all.
HOT OR NOT? Hot. Curvy and stylish, the 330i is a trend-setter for other sport sedans.
ENVIROMETER: Rates from 7 to 8 stars, out of 10, on the epa's "green vehicle" ratings scale. Mileage ranges from 20 mpg city to 30 mpg highway, depending on the transmission. Details:
http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/
E-BMW-330i-03.htm
CRASH COURSE: The government has not crash-tested the 3 Series. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a private testing group, gives the 3 Series a "good" rating, its highest, and calls it a "best pick" for safety. Details:
http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/
ce/html/00006.htm
PRICE POINTS: Base prices range from $35,495 to $43,595. Price as tested: $41,795. (All prices include delivery fees.)
MORE INFO: http://www.bmwusa.com
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Model year tested: 2003
There are so many good cars these days in the "entry luxury" category–where base prices range from $28,000 to $35,000–that I thought it would be useful to revisit one of the original standard-setters. BMW was building its 3 Series coupes and sedans long before there ever was an Audi A4 or an Infiniti G35 or a Cadillac CTS. Those are fine vehicles, but to varying degrees each is a BMW wannabe. So it was time to check in with the original to see how the imitators are measuring up.
The current 3 Series design dates to 2000, but the look is still fresh and exhilarating. In fact, the 330i that I commandeered for a week was a ready-made speeding ticket: It was hooker-lipstick red with double-spoke alloy wheels and fat, high-performance tires, exactly the vehicle I'd pull over if I were a cop looking for some self-important punk to teach a lesson to. It was worse: The 330i turned out to have a voracious appetite for pavement, tempting me over and over to forget about the rules of the road and the silly police who try to enforce them. It took all the self-discipline I could muster to stay near the speed limit and remember that there were other cars on the road.
BMWs have become the status symbols they are largely because they rarely compromise on performance; even at the entry level, they are vehicles for connoisseurs. The 3 Series comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission, for instance, something you'll find on only about half of the cars in this segment. On the G35 and the Lincoln LS sedans, for instance, you can get only an automatic. And the 330i's transmission is refined and tolerant, almost as notable as the car's exuberant engine. There's ample power across the whole range of gears–even in fifth, when you need to pass–and little strain even when revving it in second or third. The 225-horsepower inline six-cylinder engine propels the car like a rocket engine–and is tuned to sound like one too. Handling is supreme, with stiffness on curves you might expect from a low-sitting roadster, but not a sedan. Overall, driving the 330i was so fun it took all the ennui out of an hour-long commute. I blasted past every vehicle that loafed below the speed limit and attacked every cloverleaf with the joy of a kid jumping in puddles, using the occasional traffic jam to catch my breath.
That is not to say the 330i is flawless. The aggressively sporty ride produces some bites and bumps that might distress drivers looking to be pampered. And the heavy focus on engineering leaves some gaps in comfort and functionality. The back seat is relatively small, for one thing–the sleek, tapered roofline robs some interior headroom, and legroom is scarce too. The trunk is puny. The sharply contoured dashboard creates kind of a cockpit feel inside, which is cool, but there's no true luxury feel, even with the optional $1,450 leather package. Some consumers plunking down 35 grand for a car may feel entitled to suede accents or a bit of wood trim in the basic package. Other vehicles in the class will certainly accommodate them, and competing manufacturers are eager to exploit shortfalls in the 3 Series. They may win over a few customers, but BMW's refusal to baby the driver is part of its appeal. As long as it continues to put driving first, drivers will put BMW first.
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