Given that the BMW 3 Series variants offered since 2019 have been the most successful in history, with 1.1 million sold, you can forgive BMW for not making many changes for the refreshed models.
Even so, the 2022 cars incorporate useful improvements – which seem to work especially well in arguably the most versatile and economical variant, the 330e Touring xDrive. It has the short-haul economy of a PHEV, the versatility of a wagon and great all-weather traction via a mostly unobtrusive electronically managed four-wheel drive system.
The visual changes aren’t dramatic: some alterations to the twin kidney grille, thinner headlights and new air vents low down on the front of the body, where the foglights were.
In the cabin, it’s the fascia that gets the biggest changes, a gigantic central touchscreen and a slightly smaller digital display ahead of the driver for essential instruments. Thankfully, the 3 Series keeps its iDrive controller and the stereo still has the classic on/off/volume knob.
This M Sport edition is extremely well equipped, but there’s still a blizzard of available options. Our test car’s base price ran to £49,055, but its extras (including red brake calipers, adaptive headlights, a heated steering wheel, adaptive suspension and a Harman Kardon hi-fi) pushed that up to £57,410.
The engine is the same 182bhp 2.0-litre petrol four used in various lesser models, but it’s accompanied by a 108bhp electric motor in the gearbox (fed by a 12kWh battery), putting up to 288bhp under your foot, including a 10-second overboost worth 10-15%. That has the potential to deliver 0-62mph in 5.9sec and a 139mph top speed.
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I hope they've made better sense of the driver's instrument panel. For the 2019 model BMW placed the blue high-beam warning light to the far left of the display, hidden behind my left hand for most of the time.
I would like to extend my sincere apologies to those drivers fortunate enough to have survived after being forced off a country road by my high beam. My thoughts also go out to the family and friends of those who were less fortunate.
For personal reasons, I'm not willing to provide my registration, name, address or driver's licence number. Please direct your claim(s) to "The Idiot who thought it was more important to put widgets in a driver's view" c/o BMW's Munich HQ. Germany
The same address can also be used to claim the inevitable damages sustained while scrabbling under the wheel trying to find a fog light switch within a bank of very similar switches, or for any fines acquired while fiddling with the unnecessary block of tiny buttons that govern the settings of the car world's most frustrating speed limiter (Hint for BMW : Put it back on a stick.
You're welcome
ps. Why does our government fine drivers for looking at their phone when a moden BMW dashboard is a far greater distraction?
Stunning car. Just hard to get my head around that my last new BMW 3 series 10 years ago with a similar number of options was 23k cheaper, and cost 10k to buy out the contact... BMW's prices are astronomical these days.
The black plastic gril needs to go. It's ghastly.
BMW can't do grills or bonnet/hood catches that don't break.
You're paying for an army of programmers to create a bunch of useless widgets, offering unwanted services which you can subscribe to (for a fee)
Otherwise it's a lovely car