New BMW 320i is yesterday, today and tomorrow

Remember these? About thirty years ago they were the bread and butter model for BMW and up until two years ago, the Rosslyn plant pumped out millions of them to right- and left hand drive markets. The final figure was 1,191 604 before the plant was entirely restructured at a cost well into 6 billion rand to build and assemble BMW’s X3. Just at the right time you might opine as BMW’s X models continue to rise in popularity at the expense of the 3 Series.

Despite this shrinking appetite for the paragon of premium sedans, BMW has poured a lot of time and money into developing this new model from the ground up – the baseline for which is the 320i we had on test. In South African culture the BMW 3 Series remains a highly revered nameplate among its peers and the quintessential upgrade to complement a blossoming professional career.

And let me just say how nice it is to have a car on test with no vices or marketing paradoxes to unpack; No expectations of a healthier change in lifestyle, no promises that it’ll set a new lap record or permit you to speak with accepted the vocabulary of a teenager. BMW has those colourful models, plus the entire MINI resource to do all that superfluous stuff. As a result the 3 Series’ essence and what it represents on BMW’s dynamic narrative has remained pure and true through the annals of time.

This 3 Series is also one of the last BMWs to have correctly proportioned grilles on the front. Bodywork is pulled so taut that it leads you to believe, rather correctly, that everything under it must also be all-new. It’s visually leaner even though it’s grown up a few sizes. BMW can approve a bigger car when the engineers are able to offset it with reduced mass, as they have done by 55 kilograms. And maybe it’s just me searching for added merit but a sedan just seems like the responsible size and shape in a society that’s hyper aware of where its resources come from and the damage left behind. The message packs more weight in entry-level 320i guise.

Which in a rare moment of automotive logic, accurately denotes the size of the engine. It’s the same architecture used up to the 330i but detuned to 135kW and 300Nm. Old 320is were horribly underpowered but a 0-100kph in 7.1 seconds and strong surges of power beyond that just about remind you that there’s still a brilliant rear-wheel drive layout waiting to be tested.

The 320i rides with a certain amount of conviction.  There’s a bit of a razor’s sharpness to its ride that’s always reacting to surface changes and communicating them verbatim up through the chassis. To me a C-Class or A4 are both smoother alternatives but the 3 Series correctly honours the brand’s driving dynamics through not compromising on decisions like the 50:50 weight distribution.

Last year we drove the new M135i xDrive and the interior here is almost identical. It’s still easy to use with one and a half eyes on the road thanks to iDrive and Head Up Display and the main systems tend to stay centralised and not get lost self proprietary and third-party connectivity. The menus literally never miss their designated mark no matter how clumsy you are with the controls. With the 3 Series BMW also introduced the new Professional Voice Assistant, much like normal voice recognition but on steroids. It’s still doesn’t interpret everything correctly but it’s exciting to see where the technology is headed.

I Still think the seats could do with extra padding and width, just something that would add warmth and softness to a cabin that can come across as clinical.

The BMW 320i is the anchor point of motoring, proving that our needs haven’t changed all that significantly, needing only an evolutionary refresh to efficiency, design, technology and safety for it to feel as just the perfect amount of car for any given occasion.

If the human species is ever wiped out, I hope that amongst the apocalyptic landscape the blueprints to the 3 Series are dusted off first. Andrew Leopold

Specification: BMW 320i M Sport

• R688,436
• 2.0 4cyl turbocharged petrol, RWD
• 135kW, 300Nm
• 0-100kph in 7.1 secs, 235kph
• 6.3l/100km, 144g/km