BMW 3 Series 2019 revealed: all-wheel drive unlocks potent performance

BMW has at last unveiled the car it hopes will take the fight for premium mid-size supremacy to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, with the new 3 Series range revealed at the Paris Motor Show.

After a stuttered series of leaks and camouflaged prototypes, the finished product was revealed in all its gleaming glory today, with the all-new 3 Series gaining all-wheel drive for the first time in Australia, as well as a potent M Sport model fast enough to put the frighteners on full-blown performance sedans.

Internationally, the petrol range commences with the 320i, powered by 2.0-litre engine good for 135kW and 300Nm. That engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic, and will push the 320i to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds. The 330i occupies the next rung on the 3 Series ladder, with its outputs upped to 190kW and 400Nm, and it’s sprint to 100km/h reduced to 5.8 seconds.

The 318d will be the cheapest of the diesels, with its 2.0-litre engine producing 110kW and 320Nm. Internationally, it arrives with a six-speed manual gearbox, and will clip 100km/h in 8.5 seconds. The 320d bumps up the power to 140kW and 400Nm, reducing the sprint to 7.1 seconds (6.8s with the automatic gearbox). Power is fed to the rear tyres, or, should you opt for the 320d xDrive, all four wheels.

Finally, the 330d nabs a potent 3.0-litre, six-cylinder engine, lifting outputs to 195kW and a healthy 580Nm, and will accomplish the run to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds.

All of which is not overly exciting. But worry not, as BMW has a solution in the works. A fire-breathing M340i xDrive is on the way, pairing a potent six-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive and plenty of bonus performance kit.

The big daddy of the regular 3 Series range will score a new version of the brand’s six-cylinder petrol engine, firing 275kW and 500Nm toward the tyres, resulting in a sprint to 100km/h of just 4.4 seconds. That’s mighty quick. The Mercedes-AMG C43, for example, takes 4.7 seconds to knock-off the run to 100km/h, and even the monstrous (and now outgoing) M3 needs 4.1 seconds to get there.

BMW worked on the chassis of the M Sport car - giving it what it calls a “bespoke tune” - while a M Sport differential is standard fit to help it wrestle with all that power.

The 3 Series also debuts BMW's new "lift-related" dampers, designed to minimise body movement when cornering hard. Using hydraulic damping at the front axle and a compression-limiting system at the rear, the dampers constantly adjust their stiffness, depending on road and driver inputs.

While the Australian line-up is still being confirmed, expect the 330i and 320d to arrive first, with the 320i and 330d to follow, though the latter remains something of a question mark. The 318d is a highly unlikely starter for Oz.

Performance in your blood? Then patience will prove a virtue, with the M340i xDrive to be the very last to arrive. Finally, a plug-in hybrid version of the 330 will join the range later, too.

On the design front, while it might not look all that different, this is an all-new car, riding on the same modular platform that underpins the 5 Series and 7 Series. As a result, the new car is 76mm longer than the car it replaces (now 4709mm), and 16mm wider (now 1,827mm), and it rides on a 2,851mm wheelbase (41mm longer). Overall body rigidity is up by 25 per cent, too, and even by 50 per cent in some areas. It's lighter than the old car, (55kg) and more aerodynamically slippery.

The big news in the clean and uncluttered cabin, which is littered with digital screens, is the premiere of BMW's Intelligent Personal Assistant, an on-board assistant (like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa), that comes to life with voice prompt “hey BMW”. Watch CarsGuide for a deep-dive on that technology shortly.

At the front, the silver-framed kidney grille stretches to the full-LED headlights, which themselves are ringed by U-shaped DRLs. The bonnet is marked by four sharp creases that descend toward the grille, creating these semi power domes, which join the pin-sharp creases in the side of the body work that run the length of the new 3 Series.

Expect to see the the 3 Series range in Australia towards the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Has BMW done enough with its new 3 Series to claim the premium crown? Tell us in the comments below.