I find out what makes the 3 a great car
Written: Nov 16 '03 (Updated Jun 20 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Power, poise, ride quality, interior materials
Cons: Marginal trunk, could be more exciting to look at, could be more fun to drive
The Bottom Line: Some alternatives are much less expensive and more entertaining to drive on normal roads, but the 3 even in its sixth model year remains the best all-around car.
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| mkaresh's Full Review: 2004 BMW 330 |
The 3-Series finally made sense to me recently. Since the current generation car appeared in 1999 I’ve had trouble getting excited about it despite many opportunities to drive the car. Even after the engine and suspension tweaks a couple years ago, it always seemed smoother and less visceral than I felt a BMW should be. I wanted to have fun, but the car was pursuing technical excellence. Fun and technical excellence are not the same thing.
I’ve written quite a bit about my mixed emotions towards the 3-Series before. For this review I’ll concentrate on my recent impressions driving a 330 at a BMW-sponsored driving course. I drove an automatic 325 wagon at the same event, and a manual 325 coupe at another BMW event. I comment on those in a review of the 2004 325 here. In its sixth model year, this is now the oldest car in the class. How’s it holding up?
BMW 330i Reliability
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Styling and Accommodations
I’ve never found the current 3-Series sedan and wagon strikingly attractive. (The coupe and convertible benefit from more rakish proportions.) They’re certainly well-proportioned and handsome in a very conventional manner, but rely on large wheels to convey the “driving machine” message. A bit more edge would be nice. Just don’t do anything crazy, Mr. Bangle. If the improvement of the 2004 5-Series over the 2002 7-Series is any indication, BMW’s chief designer will manage to produce a design that is both striking and attractive for the next 3, due in two years. Whether the result will age as well as the current car is more dubious.
Inside the 3 is also very conventional. With the center stack canted much less towards the driver than earlier BMWs, very little about the interior says “driver’s car” to me. Luxury receives much more emphasis than sport. This is clearly an interior conceived before all of the recent trends towards novel textures and shapes. Again, if the improvement of the new 5’s interior over those in the old one and the 7 is any indication, the next 3 will do just fine here. At present, however, the Audi A4 offers a higher class interior while those in the Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G35, Lexus IS 300, and even the Saab 9-3 have more character, if decidedly inferior materials. The new Acura TL’s interior is styled somewhat like the BMW’s, but manages to feel more up-to-date and sportier. When I think about it, none of the cars in this segment offers a striking, high-quality, interior designed expressly for the enthusiast. So the path is wide open for the next 3.
I remain less than happy with the 3’s driving position. The instrument panel and steering column are simply too high. The new 5 does much better in this area. Again hopefully the new 3 will follow. For now I prefer the airier cockpits of the Japanese competition.
I have always felt that the 3-Series’ back seat is roomier than most people seem to realize. The old 5 actually provided a fraction of an inch less rear leg room. The new 5 has a roomier rear seat, making the more expensive car easier to justify. That said, the 3 in sedan and wagon forms provides adequate room and comfort for a pair of adults in back. The coupe and convertible contain more marginal rear seats, but I still wouldn’t mind spending an hour or two in either.
The trunk is the 3 is a bit tight but usefully shaped. Folding rear seats remain an option on sedans and coupes.
On the Road
Make that “on the track.” At a recent BMW-sponsored two-hour driving course I drove an automatic 330 sedan hard around a track set up in the Pontiac Silverdome parking lot. Sadly the course was just long enough for me to learn how little I know about driving a car well on a track. (I found it especially difficult to use the whole width of the track—in my head I wanted to keep to my side of the “road.”) On a more positive note, two hours was long enough for me to realize what makes the 3-series a great car.
The instruction session prior to track time included a lot of talk about easy transitions between throttle and brake so as not to upset the balance of the chassis and to maintain even loads on the tires. Yet that all went out the window on the track, where the instructor commanded me to do things my common sense (and the prior classroom session) told me were crazy—hard on the throttle, go deep into the turn, hard on the brakes, back hard on the throttle. With the instructor rapidly barking commands I was thoroughly frazzled.
Thankfully, the car was not. Aside from taking out a few cones on my first fast instructional lap (the instructor said he waited too long to tell me to hit the brakes, allowing the car to enter the turn going too fast), the 330 did everything it was told to do without any untoward motions or complaints. (The Continental tires were another matter—they complained almost the whole way around the track.)
Even paired with the automatic the extremely smooth, wonderful-sounding inline six 3.0-liter engine felt very powerful. Many shoppers will note that Infiniti and Acura offer cars with significantly more powerful engines, but somehow in the real world their advantage largely disappears. Quite likely they must use taller gearing to earn acceptable fuel economy.
My attitude towards serious horsepower depends on the transmission. With an automatic I love it. With a manual I often enjoy a less powerful engine, as I can still charge hard through the gears without ending up in seriously illegal territory. Consequently, with the manual I see a strong case for the 325 over the 330. Especially since the cost difference is over $5000. You do at least get a little more for the additional cash for 2004: this year the 330 manual gains an extra gear, while the 325 continues to make do with five.
Because the sedan was fitted with an automatic, I never felt as connected to the car as I would have liked. I’m so used to controlling a car through a clutch and shifter as much as through the other controls that I felt like a fish out of water the whole way around the course. (Keep both hands on the wheel at all times?! Just steer?!) Given the instructor’s insistence on keeping both hands on the wheel (something else I’m not used to) I didn’t much try to manually shift the automatic. That said, although things happened too quickly to pay much attention, the automatic seemed to always find the appropriate gear on its own. I certainly never felt the engine go soft as it awaited a downshift.
On the track the 3’s chassis felt exquisitely balanced until very near its limit, where understeer took me into the aforementioned cones. The stability control was on, which no doubt helped maintain control, but I never felt it operate—this seamlessness a good thing in itself. Feedback from the pedals and seat of the pants was excellent. On the track the steering’s weighting and precision were confidence-inspiring. (I’d still like a quicker ratio—I suspect the next 3 will offer the new 5’s “Active Steering” to resolve this issue.) I felt thoroughly in control of the car. I’ve mentioned before that the 3 feels better the harder it was driven, and on the track it was driven very hard. The tires were screaming most of the way around the track, with much skittering at the rear end through fast turn exits. This skittering normally would have been my cue to back off—except the instructor said, “Don’t back off!” So, aside from the chassis faithful communication of said skittering, the car felt very, very good.
Since the track was set up on a fairly smooth parking lot ride quality was not much of an issue. But from my other experiences in this car I can state that BMW is well ahead of the competition is maintaining ride quality even with its sport suspensions. (Jaguar and Audi are both decidedly inferior in this regard.) Noise levels are very low, befitting a luxury car but not necessarily conducive to driving fun. Thankfully the inline six makes wonderful noises—it begs to be driven hard.
My main issue with this car remains, however. To whit, how much time will you spend at the track? In typical suburban driving the 3-Series offers fewer thrills than many competitors. Its like Clark Kent and Superman. When there’s no serious road work to be done, the 3 puts on the coat, tie, and glasses and relaxes. Unless you regularly drive challenging roads you might have more fun elsewhere. Of course, if you simply want to relax most of the time and save the thrills for sporadic trips to out-of-the-way roads and racetracks, then sign right up.
New Performance-oriented Options for 2004
For 2004 BMW offers a couple of new performance-oriented options. I have yet to sample either, but hope to in the near future. The first is a clutchless manual—a true clutchless manual, not a manually-shiftable automatic. While this transmission also has a fully automatic mode, its reason for being is lightning quick shifts in manual mode. These can be actuated using either steering wheel paddles or a manual-like shifter. This transmission continues to be offered in the ultra-high-performance M3 for $2,400, but will be available in the regular 3 (and new 5) for $1,500. As this is only $225 more than the automatic, it seems a no-brainer for the driving enthusiast who doesn’t like to use his or her left foot. I suspect the SMG transmission must have disadvantages compared to an automatic, likely shift smoothness, or there would be no point in offering a regular automatic. I plan to test drive one as soon as possible to find out. (The transmission becomes available in the 5 next March. I’m not sure when it will be available in the 3.)
Of more questionable value is the “Performance Package”, which was actually introduced last spring for the six-speed 330 sedan and for 2004 is available with the automatic as well. (For some reason it appears this package will not be available with the SMG. But appearances can be deceiving...) The M-tuned sport suspension included in this package might well respond to my major issues with the 3. But lumped in with a modest ten-horse boost to the engine, 18-inch wheels, a body kit, and unique seats the price is $3,900, $2,700 more than the Sport Package. Assuming the revised suspension significantly sharpens up the car’s handling, I wish it was available with only the usual Sport Package content. This would bring the price down considerably.
Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
The 3-Series ranks with the Mercedes C-Class as the most expensive car in its class. (The baby Jag is priced about as high, but heavy discounting and incentives take it out of the running for this “prize.”) If you want technical excellence, you have to pay for it—in the low 40s for a decently-equipped 330. An Audi A4 is a bit less expensive, but I found it an even more antiseptic driving experience under normal conditions. Maybe it also comes alive on the track? I wouldn’t count so much on it. The Audi has a nicer interior but is slower and, with sport suspension, rides more harshly while still not handling as well. To save some significant bucks check out the Infiniti G35, in some ways a more entertaining if less technically excellent car. The G35’s interior is significantly lower in quality. The new Acura TL, priced like the G35 in the low 30s, has a better driving position and design (to my eye), and a sweet V6, but cannot touch the above cars in handling. The all-but-forgotten Lexus IS 300 is the opposite: it pairs agile handling with a tight, cheap-looking, even tacky interior. A Saab 9-3 Aero is priced like the Japanese (after rebates), but offers more precise handling together with good ride quality. Its interior quality is below the Germans, a touch below the Acura, and above the G35. A Cadillac CTS is priced nearly as high as the BMW 3, but offers nearly as much interior space as the 5. Some don’t care for its level of interior quality, but I don’t find it too objectionable. If anything the 2004 CTS comes too close to replicating the 3’s chassis feel, as I’d like more entertainment from it as well.
Last Words
In the end there are no perfect cars in this class. The best car depends on your priorities in performance, handling, ride, refinement, interior room, interior quality, and styling. The BMW comes closer than any of the others to excelling on all fronts, but I cannot help wishing it were fitted with a more driver-oriented, more interesting interior, quicker steering, and a more entertaining suspension. Maybe the next 3 with an unbundled M-tuned suspension and Active Steering?
I must admit that the 330 truly came alive on a track. The problem is I don’t spend much of my time driving a car that hard. If you do, then my issues do not apply.
I neglected to mention how well I did in the final, timed lap. Heading into it, fresh from doing everything wrong on the instructional laps, I feared ending up dead last. Well, out of twelve drivers I placed totally mid-pack, sixth. If only I’d had a few more laps to unlearn a few more of my bad habits…
To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, visit www.truedelta.com.
My reviews of related vehicles:
Acura TL
Audi A4 3.0
BMW 325 (2002)
BMW 325 [2004]
BMW 330 (2002)
BMW 5-Series (2004)
Cadillac CTS
Infiniti G35
Jaguar X-Type
Lexus IS 300
Mercedes C-Class
Saab 9-3
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 43,445
Model and Options: Automatic sedan; premium, sport, and cold weather packages, xenon lamp
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