BMW’s yuppie chariot of choice returns with new powertrains and a mild facelift.

MUNICH, GERMANY – Not that you can easily tell, but the 3 Series has had a facelift. Love it or hate it, the ubiquitous and evergreen BMW has fired up the fancies of all upwardly-mobile executives (and their OL girlfriends (and it very likely could be the other way around in 2015 – Ed.)) for the better part of 40 years – coveted blue-white roundel, sporty rear-drive handling and a compact package, what’s not to like?

Compared to the pre-facelift F30 3 Series, the visual revisions to the LCI (Life Cycle Impulse, which is BMW-speak for facelift) are of the squint-and-miss-it variety – there are optional full-LED head- and tail-lights, as seen here, which are accentuated by the facelifted model’s sharper, more focused aesthetics.

But that’s almost by the way, because the important things are all happening under the skin.

A plug-in petrol-electric hybrid 330e is in the pipeline, and there’s also a new 1.5-litre, in-line three-cylinder engine found at the heart of the 318i – it generates 136bhp and 220Nm and is clocked in the scamper from standstill to 100km/h at 9.1 seconds. This ‘new-gen’ engine can also be found in the 218i AT and the MINI. The rest of the turbocharged petrol and diesel engines for the LCI 3 Series are also sourced from the newly-developed, modular BMW EfficientDynamics engine family.

For this session though, we’ll have just the one variant to sample – the range-topping 340i in Sport Line trim, which is animated by a silky-smooth 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder producing 326bhp and 450Nm – how far we’ve come, especially since the 340i’s 326bhp figure is just a tad more than the range-topping E36 M3 Evo of 1998, with its snarling, naturally-aspirated 3.2-litre.

Like every other brand in the market today, both quality and refinement have pervaded even the middle-class end of BMW’s portfolio, so cabin quality has improved enough to feel palpably taut and cohesive, including the classy gloss black trim that is so popular these days (see the VW Touran for an example of fingerprint heaven).

Of course, the brand is most fervent about its ConnectedDrive suite of vehicle services (check out CarBuyer.com.sg for more on this), which is capable of bombarding you with information on the go to keep you ‘connected’; for what it’s worth, we had a pretty good Indian food recommendation from the call-centre ‘Girl Friday’.

Ultimately, it’s how the 340i acquits itself dynamically that demonstrates the extensive (and impressive) work that BMW has expended to tweak the 3’s damping and rigidity – don’t forget, to many of us, a BMW is still associated with being an ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’, although in this politically-correct age, that tag-line has already been ditched for something more inoffensive, unconfrontational, holistic and honestly, rather boring.

These days, turbocharged engines have become the norm, rather than a sporty exception, but what’s heartening for the commuters is how low-down the rev-range manufacturers have managed to shift the power band, thus giving drivers more immediate access to the engine’s prodigious turbo torque.

A slight glitch in the sat-nav early-on meant we ended up doing what most owners in Singapore will likely spend the most time on – commuting, and in crawling traffic at that. This included a combination of highway and town driving as we were taken on the fastest and most direct route to our destination, as opposed to the winding roads that were on the agenda for us to test the car’s dynamics.

As we were constantly transitioning from country roads to the small towns, we took to engaging Eco Pro mode in towns to ‘recharge’ our mileage tally since the speeds were strictly kept to under 50km/h. This brings us to a niggle in the current BMW ergonomics that we’re surprised no one has bothered about: considering how frequently we were toggling between the drive programmes, why isn’t the rocker switch placed within easy reach of the driver, like on the steering wheel, for instance?

The low-speed ride and comfort are nothing short of exemplary, and we’re happy to report we even managed to hustle the car down some twisty bits with some cunning reprogramming of the navigation. It’s amazing how ‘un-turbo’ turbocharged cars feel these days – this author is from the era of turbo’d performance cars that would see up to 3000rpm or higher in turbo lag, so the engine’s response from under 1500rpm is still something of a novelty.

Couple the inline six’s creamy smooth rev-happy nature to a slick-shifting eight-speed auto and you have a brisk bruiser that will carry up to five in comfort. On the winding roads, there’s a decidedly mature disposition to the 340i, with sublime body control that reacts immediately to quick direction changes without unsettling the occupants. As with the earlier generations, the 340i is more keen knife than blunt instrument, but it’s grown up and mellowed somewhat; the turbo’d six-pot pumps out enough puff to excite avid drivers, but this is not to say we don’t miss the brutal punch of the E90’s 335i.

Naturally, both sedan and Touring (or stationwagon/estate) models are available, with also an option for xDrive all-wheel drive. There wasn’t a Touring demo available, but from the display car, it’s cool that BMW has retained the split-opening tailgate, a trait of all the 3 Series Tourings, which makes light work of lucky dip loading or just carrying long objects around. Alongside the 340i Sports Line sits a Luxury Line, while further sporty accoutrements can be added with the M Sport package.

Like with yoga, crossfit or what-have-you health crazes, you can have it just the way you like it, but if the 340i is anything to go by, any of the refreshed 3 Series range is likely to do the job. – DAVID KHOO / PHOTOS: BMW

BMW 340i
Engine 2,998cc, 24V, inline 6, turbocharged
Power 326bhp at 5500-6500rpm
Torque 450Nm at 1380-5000rpm
Gearbox 8-speed automatic
Top Speed 250km/h
0-100km/h 5.1 seconds
Fuel efficiency 6.6L/100km
CO2 175g/km
Price $TBA
Availability Q4 2015