India-bound new BMW 3 Series: Now in Pictures

BMW took the wraps off the seventh-generation 3 Series at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Dubbed the G20, it is bigger, lighter, and better looking than the model it replaces and it is coming to India sometime in the second half of 2019. So until it arrives, let us have a detailed look at the new 3 Series through a comprehensive picture gallery:

The new 3 moves to BMW’s CLAR platform which also underpins new 5 Series, 7 Series and current M Cars. This means that the new 3 is almost 55kilograms lighter.

Appearance wise, the bold new 3 Series gets a new set of headlamps with a kink in the bottom portion. The slightly larger headlamp units come with Adaptive LED DRLs.

The new iteration of the Kidney grille is characteristic of the new crop of BMWs. Meanwhile, the stylish bumper design differs, depending on the variant.

At the rear, the Lexus-like L-shaped tail lamps are stylish and look very sporty. The rear bumper is nicely sculpted and makes the new 3 quite a looker.

The profile remains more or less unchanged, but interestingly the sedan now looks as big as the older 5 Series. Newly designed alloy wheels are sporty yet understated.

It appears that the new standard 3 has borrowed a lot of sporty bits from the M3 already. The lowered ride height and flared wheel arches make it apparent.

The 3’s chassis is stiffened with a new structure and suspension mounts, wider tracks, minimised weight, a low centre of gravity and even 50:50 weight distribution.

On the inside, the driver-focused cabin is no fuss and functional in typical BMW fashion. The quality of materials and design makes it look minimalistic yet sporty.

The 10.25-inch screen comes with a new user interface integrated with BMW Assistant and BMW’s 7.0 Operating System which is an AI-based communication system.

Similar to the new 5, the instrument cluster is all-digital but does come with marked details for speedo and tachometer.

Apart from the standard driver assistance programmes, many autonomous features inside the new 3 have been inherited from its older siblings.

But, the increased dimension does not add more space on the inside and the cabin space remains the same. The 40:20:40 folding seats are new with 480 litres bootspace.

Under the hood of the new 3 Series are five engine options – two four-cylinder petrol, two four-cylinder diesel, and a six-cylinder diesel, apart from the top-spec M340i.

The entry-level 320i produces 180bhp while 330i puts out 255bhp. The four-pot turbodiesel gets 148bhp in 318d and 188bhp in 320d. The 330d produces 262bhp.

Transmission is an eight-speed automatic sending power to the xDrive system, but similar to the new 5, there is a choice between rear- and all-wheel-drive layouts.

The top-spec M340i comes with a 3.0-litre straight six producing 368bhp with a 0-100kmph time of just 4.4 seconds.

In India, we expect nearly all the powertrains to be available, but the top-spec M340i might not make it here. The 4 Series and Gran Coupe might also not reach our shores.

When launched in India later next year, the new 3 Series will rival the Audi A4 facelift, Jaguar XE, updated Mercedes-Benz C-Class apart from new-gen Volvo S60.