In the test: BMW 3 Series Touring 330i
A BMW 330 was once the best number you could choose in the compact premium middle class. It stood for a longitudinally installed three-liter engine with six cylinders that sorted in rows and operated the rear wheels with silky, powerful performance. One would call that benchmark today. Only that the number 330 alone says nothing today, except that it is a BMW 3 Series. The model name only reveals what the engine is all about and only in principle. If there is a “d” behind the 330, the old three-liter model with six cylinders is still correct. If there is an “i” in the back, the old logic goes astray.
BMW 3 Series Touring 330i: Sound and performance harmonize
Our test car of the week, a BMW 330 i - internal Designation G21 - is a four-cylinder with two liters of displacement, the power of 258 HP remains 7 HP below what a 330d brings to the road. Almost the same performance with a third less displacement and two cylinders less - that sounds like a lot of engine tuning with turbocharging. Speaking of sound. It has it all. BMW has done a lot to acoustically lift its four-cylinder into another league. Which is okay, because the refurbished sound and the vehicle performance harmonize. The response is largely turbo-free, to say that the engine immediately accepts any power requirement and obediently revs up, the eight-speed automatic sorts the gears carefully and spotlessly. If desired, a maximum torque of 400 Nm can be achieved from a standing start of 100 km / h in 5,9 seconds and a top speed of 250 km / h.
BMW 3 Series Touring 330i: fuel consumption stays on line
Gliding and sprinting are not a question of either or for the 330i. The four-cylinder is therefore anything but a blender. In terms of consumption, the 330i even impresses. In the week we were allowed to drive the Touring, it consumed an average of 6,9 liters of Super, which was mostly driven on motorways. This is gratifyingly close to the 6,8 liters reported by BMW (according to WLTP) and underpins that the guideline speed, which served as a guideline during the test, also keeps consumption on line.
BMW 3 Series Touring 330i: direct steering without the hustle and bustle
To keep the vehicle completely on line, BMW chose a fairly tight set-up. We only found the comfort mode of the M sports suspension to be "normal" and the rest to be overly sporty, but that is a matter of taste and at BMW obviously within the (customer) expectations. The rear-wheel-drive station wagon can be steered like a sports car, even a minimal tapping is immediately recorded, without the result that it even starts to get hectic. All in all, just the sportiness that has been the core of the model for seven generations.
BMW 3 Series Touring 330i: The cockpit picks you up like a well-fitting glove
This also means that BMW is not developing the greatest ambition to outperform its main competitors from Stuttgart and Ingolstadt when it comes to space. The G21, the combi version, which was launched on the market in autumn 2019, remains the same. The overall length of the vehicle (4 meters) grew by 71 centimeters and the wheelbase of the G 8 (21 meters) exceeded the predecessor by 2,85 centimeters. Nevertheless, the feeling of opulence never arises in the passenger compartment called Greenhouse, rather the opposite. You go to a place in the cockpit that fits like a glove. The ensemble of digitized displays is still clearly oriented towards the driver and one glance is enough to familiarize yourself with the controls. The digital instrument cluster comes without round instruments, but with L-shaped displays for the speedometer and tachometer. A superb distribution and distribution, which is supplemented by operation by voice, as you should expect, if that's the solution Future should be.
BMW 3 Series Touring 330i: voice control without misunderstandings
"Hey BMW" and the threesome prick up your ears to change settings or navigate to navigation destinations "on demand" without further questions and misunderstandings that have not yet been eradicated elsewhere. Provided you opt for the Life Cockpit Professional integrated in our test car with the 12,3-inch instrument display and a central monitor with a 10,25-inch display. From the factory, you have to be satisfied with a 5,7-inch display, analog displays and an 8,8-inch touch monitor. The (optional) head-up display can be used to read razor-sharp, color-coded information projected into the windshield. In addition to conventional traffic signs, traffic sign recognition also registers right-of-way and stop signs as well as red traffic lights. Speaking of stop. The entry into the world of the BMW 330 i Touring starts with socially acceptable 46 950 euros (as of March 19.3.2020, 71). Prompt ticking of the optional extras can easily push the price up to more than 000 euros. But our test car left nothing to be desired.