BMW Engages in Four Play
-
- 
- It may only have a four-cylinder engine but the entry-level 3 Series still delivers plenty of driving thrills
By Colin Yong
LET’S GET ONE thing straight from the outset – despite what you might have heard about the 320i’s four-cylinder engine being as silky as a six-cylinder unit, it’s just not true. At least not when compared to one of BMW’s other-worldly new straight-sixes. By all other standards though, the 320i’s Valvetronic 2.0-litre powerplant is an amazing piece of work, surpassing many a V6 in terms of smoothness.
The fact also remains that in the Singapore market, it has always been the smaller-engined models that are the volume sellers putting the bread on BMW’s table, so how the entry-level 320i performs is of far greater interest. Expecting it to deliver the same on-road thrills as its bigger-engined brother would be unrealistic, but it proves a surprisingly entertaining drive even with ‘just’ 150bhp (compared to the 330i’s 258bhp) on tap.
With plenty of low-end torque to call upon, the car is just about brisk enough to keep up with fast-moving traffic. The six-speed automatic transmission gearbox also performs faultlessly – it shifts smoothly and decisively, and willingly drops a gear or two for extra acceleration whenever you need it. BMW says the 320i will go from 0-100km/h in 9.7 seconds and hit a 215km/h top speed, but these raw figures only reflect the quantity of the car’s performance, not its sheer quality.
If there are any lingering doubts that BMW’s chassis engineers are a mutant breed who live in the bushes lining race tracks, have coil springs for legs and ingest shock absorber oil for their meals, driving the 320i hard through some bends should clear them up once and for all. This car’s dynamic ability is so far ahead of its rivals’ that it’s not funny, at least not to anyone outside of BMW.
Again, it’s the quality rather than the quantity that counts. It isn’t that it has so much more grip or can be driven twice as fast through a given corner than anything else – it’s how the various controls feel like they were designed to perfectly complement one another to meet a single goal, which is to maximise the width of the grin on the driver’s face.
With a smaller and lighter engine in front, the 320i’s weight distribution is closer to the ideal 50:50 ratio than the 330i’s and this shows up on more challenging roads. The suspension doesn’t need to work as hard to control the body’s movements.
Experiencing the car flow almost impossibly smoothly from apex to apex is like being at a live magic show, except that in this case you are both conducting the tricks and enjoying the performance. And despite all this, the 320i is amazingly refined when you just want to cruise. The latest-generation run-flat tyres serve up a quiet and calming ride, while wind noise is eerily absent right up to the expressway speed limit.
It’s a pity the excellent Active Steering system is available as an option only on six-cylinder 3 Series models, though. Without it, the 320i’s steering feels slightly less communicative and less willing to
self-centre after making a turn.
This aside, there’s precious little wrong with the car and so much that’s right. The 320i is a superbly engineered and amazingly complete compact executive sedan that looks set to remain the class benchmark for many years to come.
NEED TO KNOW
BMW 320i
ENGINE TYPE 1,995cc, 16V in-line 4
MAX POWER 150bhp at 6,200rpm
MAX TORQUE 200Nm at 3,600rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed automatic
TOP SPEED 215km/h
0-100 KM/H 9.7 seconds
PRICE $155,800 with COE
WARRANTY 3 years/100,000km
CONTACT Performance Motors
TELEPHONE 6319-0100
