By Sheldon Trollope

CARBUYER has learnt that the all-new BMW 3 Series will be unveiled in Singapore almost at the same time as its worldwide debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005, making its launch here something of a special event. 

It is understood that a right-hand drive model will be air-flown to Singapore so that local distributer Performance Motors can facilitate advance bookings. Deliveries of the first units should commence a few weeks later.

For the last 30 years, the 3 Series has been acknowledged as the best car in a class it helped to create in the first place. So when an all-new, fifth-generation model, codenamed E90 is shown, expectations are understandably high.
 
After CarBuyer ran allegedly leaked photographs of the new 3 Series in Issue 11, the official pictures shown here confirm that BMW has refrained from taking a radical approach to the styling of its biggest-selling model. Absent are the ‘flame surfacing’ lines of the Z4 roadster, or the controversial protruding bootlid of the 7 Series, dubbed the ‘rabbit hutch’ boot by the German press.
 
Instead, the new 3 Series is more or less identical to the car we showed in Issue 11 – a neat, proportionate design with muscular creases and an appealingly aggressive snout.
 
What the pictures don’t show is that BMW’s entry-level sedan has grown in every dimension in order to provide more interior and luggage space.
 
With most other cars, a larger replacement model usually equates to an increase in kerb weight that blunts performance. BMW’s engineers, however, are addressing this in several ways.
 
Although larger than that of the last 3 Series, the new car’s bodyshell is both stiffer and lighter, thanks to new manufacturing techniques. In addition, the E90’s three new petrol engines make extensive use of magnesium which helps to reduce their weight significally.
 
The application of BMW’s Valvetronic system (a mechanism that allows valve lift to be varied infinitely) also makes each engine more powerful than its previous equivalent unit.
 
The 330i leads the range with an in-line six-cylinder 3.0-litre engine developing 258bhp – an increase of 27bhp over its predecessor. With 300Nm of torque between 2,500 and 4,000rpm, the 330i is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in 6.3 seconds before hitting an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h.

The other model with an in-line six-cylinder engine is the 325i. Its 2.5-litre engine produces 218bhp, enough for 0 to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds. It tops out at 245km/h.
 
The base model 320i will be a 2.0-litre. It features the most powerful four cylinder engine in BMW’s range, with 150bhp under the bonnet. It posts a century sprint timing of 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 220km/h.
 
All performance figures are presumed to be for the manual versions of the 3 Series, all of which will carry six-speed gearboxes.

Like the larger 5 Series, all the E90 models will be offered with six-speed automatics as well, while the six-cylinder models can be specified with BMW’s active steering technology.
 
As with the rest of the BMW range, the rear-wheel driven 3 Series features perfect 50:50 weight distribution for optimal handling balance.
 
Although specifications for the 3 Series models to be sold here have yet to be confirmed, several first-in-class options have been mentioned. One of them is Comfort Access, a feature that enables the driver to unlock the car and start the engine without even touching the key.
 
Instead, a transmitter known as the ID Sensor activates the car, and can also recall the driver’s personalised seat position, air-conditioning, mirrors and radio settings.
 
Prices haven’t been finalised, but assuming today’s COE prices, the entry-level 320i could be priced at around $150,000 with COE when it enters the market here, shortly
after six-cylinder models are launched.