2006 BMW 330i
ON SALE: May
BASE PRICE: $37,000 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 3.0-liter, 255-hp, 221-lb-ft I6; rwd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3362 pounds
0 TO 62 MPH: 6.3 seconds (mfr.)
MORE 3 SERIES: PHOTO GALLERY

BMW’s 3 Series has been enhanced using Porsche 911-like caution. As it enjoys a fanatical following and accounts for nearly half of worldwide BMW sales, this was a good move.

We’ll talk about the new straight-six engine and other tech wizardry in more detail soon. This week, we just get in and drive the new 3, codename E90.

Riding on the architecture developed for the 1 Series, the 3 is nearly two inches longer, three inches wider and a smidgen taller, with 1.14-inch-wider tracks and a wheelbase longer by 1.38 inches vs. the outgoing model. Overall rigidity is said to be 25 percent greater. Much of the improvement is a result of beefing up high-stress structural points in the body using aluminum and high-tensile steels. The result is newfound sturdiness over all road surfaces, lower NVH levels, and added courage at top speeds and while leaping between apexes.


The interior gets an upmarket massage and there is more head, shoulder and knee room. If you’re six-plus feet tall and long of torso, you should think a bit before you order that sunroof. At times we were rubbing skull to the outside; losing the sunroof fixed that.

BMW has upgraded the E90 technologically to fall in line with the 5, 6 and 7 Series. New-generation Dynamic Stability Control with Dynamic Traction Control comes standard. The front MacPherson struts now attach to an aluminum, double-joint tie-bar axle and subframe, while the steel multilink rear configuration has five links instead of four.

As you drive along in wet conditions with the windshield’s automatic rain sensor activated, the Brake Dry function applies light pressure of 1.0 bar (14.5 psi) to all discs for 1.5 seconds every 1.25 miles. A second braking aide, Brake Standby, involves the calipers being moved to within 1.0 millimeter of the discs when the car’s brain notices an abrupt lift from the accelerator pedal. Braking dynamics in our 330i testers on local roads and on the track at the Circuito Albacete near Valencia, Spain, were optimal at all times. Front and rear discs are 13 inches and 13.2 inches respectively, up from 12.8-inch and 12.6-inch units.

On a heavily polished concrete handling course, the differences between full DSC, DTC and finally no traction assistance at all were clear. DSC is an active function that uses sensors to monitor the car’s trajectory via decisive and complex brake modulation. Press the DSC button on the console and the binnacle display shows “DTC,” which raises the braking threshold to a slightly passive attitude and allows more throttle play and countersteer. Hold the button down for three more seconds and it’s just you and physics keeping things between the lines. DTC is sufficient for anyone under most conditions. With everything deactivated, the predictability of the 3 Series’ oversteer path made for a lot of throttle-to-steering-wheel fun. Just one benefit of 50:50 weight distribution and superior torque feed to the rear wheels.


The 330i (no 325i testers were available) has the sport suspension that lowers the car 0.6 inch, enhancing the 0.30 coefficient of drag. On the 11-turn, 2.2-mile track, this suspension variant, with stiffer struts and standard 225/45 Pirellis on 17-inch wheels, shines in its rock-solid stability. On lengthy top-speed runs on the open road at a registered 160 mph, the standard suspension is exemplary. It is appropriate BMW has left the all-leveling Dynamic Drive out of the mix; we like—no, crave—the 3 Series’ natural and slight body roll. And even with the equipment upgrades, the 3362-pound curb weight for the 330i with six-speed manual is reasonable.

Whether you choose the Getrag manual, the clutch pedal-free SMG version of same, or the ZF automatic with Step-tronic, you’re looking at six speeds. The Getrag box is the same as on the fourth-generation car, only the final drive ratio has changed. In the E46 it went as short as 3.07:1 with the performance package, the stock transaxle reading 2.93:1. The standard final ratio in the E90 330i with manual is 3.15:1. The optional five-speed automatic used in the E46 ranged from 3.45:1 in first to 0.76 in fifth, and had a final drive of 3.38:1. The new Steptronic six goes from 4.17:1 to 0.69:1 with a 3.64:1 final ratio.

Improvements using the new six-speed manual are therefore minimal in a straight line—6.3 seconds to 62 mph, one-tenth of a second faster—but noticeable on a curvy track when mated to the new straight-six good for 30 hp more than the old engine. We weren’t timed, but it’s easy to feel the progress exiting every turn with more torque on call at lower revs—221 lb-ft from 2500 to 4000 rpm vs. the former six at 214 lb-ft starting at 3500 rpm.


It is the new six-speed Step-tronic that blows the doors off the old five-speed. In the 330i it takes 0.4 second less, 6.6 seconds, to reach 62 mph, per BMW. This is a sure sign Munich intends to start selling more automatics. We tried the Step-tronic on a 320d, and at the very least we could feel the better gear selections having their desired effect, despite a diesel-tall 3.15:1 final drive ratio.

Besides iDrive, another new 3 Series option that throws us into office debates is Active Steering. Under most circumstances it is good technology. Particularly in the city, Active Steering pays for itself, with turns lock-to-lock coming down to just one and two-thirds from the standard three. But as we noticed on the 6 Series while apex-hunting on a two-lane and using second and third gears, the technology can get overactive as it tries to catch up with your moves. Slow down abruptly and tuck into a 180-degree left while notching down to second, and you’ll sometimes feel the steering ratio recalibrating itself precisely as you execute the curve. It is not a great feeling, and the solution is not that we need to get used to it. The technology needs to improve, or we need to be able to deactivate Active Steering in sportier moments.

As there are no 2 Series or 4 Series in BMW’s plans, this new 3 completes the updating of the car lineup, and the company can now roll out a raft of model variants. Most significantly for the 3, it is no longer the Baby Bimmer, since 1 Series production began last year. Also significant, the 3 Series has some truly heady competition now, particularly in the Infiniti G35, but continues to ask roughly $5,000 more MSRP for admission.


Sales start in Europe in March and begin Stateside in May. In 2004, even with the imminent launch of this new model, the 3 sold 449,670 units worldwide, 106,549 in the States, to record its second-best year. The goal for a full year by the time all 3 Series variants are introduced in 2007 is at least 600,000.