BMW 318i review: Still a sturdy 3?
As the definitive compact car for executives receives its mid-life facelift, the market around it is shifting
JUDGING from the latest 3 Series, someone in BMW’s design department is obsessed with hexagons.
On the new 318i, you find them everywhere: the lower grille, the mesh pattern within the grille itself, hints of them on the bumpers, the headlights … even the brand’s signature double-kidney grille has had its corners chamfered to take on a hexagonal aspect.
Who knows what gives, but after being on sale for three years the 3 Series has had its customary mid-life facelift. These things are meant to keep interest in a given car high, but one gets the feeling that the world has begun to move on from BMW’s iconic compact executive sedan.
Everyone seems to save their excitement for anything fast and electric now (witness Tesla’s wild success with its Model 3), while practical-minded folk have jumped aboard the sport utility vehicle (SUV) train, so much so that BMW’s X3 has displaced the 3 Series as the brand’s top-selling model.
Nevertheless, after its facelift the 3 Series is rocking a revamped interior, to go with its hexagon-heavy exterior. It now has the wide freestanding touchscreen that adorns all the new BMWs, powered by the company’s new OS8 operating system, which looks mighty slick but is more confusing to use than the previous user interface. Hooking up your phone is a wireless affair.
Wherever you look inside there are, you guessed it, hexagons. Even the main driver instruments have taken on the shape, although BMW is nothing if not consistent, since the other cars in its range have the same wacky displays.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
Another noticeable change is that the gearlever is gone, in favour of a stubby selector that looks more high-tech, but most likely lowers the cost of building each 3 Series. No matter, because the plucky four-door is still excellent where it counts. It retains its spacious rear seating, its on-the-move serenity, and its fluidity through corners, with meaty steering to match.
Mind you, if you want your 3 Series as a sedan you can now only have it as a 318i (not counting the supercar-chasing M3). It’s just as well that it has a brilliant engine, then. The 2.0-litre turbo packs a punch but is well-mannered about it, and is also ridiculously fuel efficient.
I tested it with the M Sport trim, a S$9,000 package of frippery that includes a sporty steering wheel, different wheels, black body trimming and firmer, lower suspension. That last one is the deal breaker, since it adds unnecessary discomfort to what is otherwise a highly refined car.
In fact, I might go so far as to say that the 318i as a product approaches perfection, doing no one thing extremely well, but satisfying just about every need you would want from a car, and in a deeply satisfying way. The gentle facelift only serves to bring an old adage to mind: If it ain’t broke, just add hexagons.
BMW 318i M Sport Engine 1998cc, in-line four, turbocharged Power 156 hp from 4,500 to 6,500 rpm Torque 250 Nm from 1,300 to 4,300 rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100 km/h 8.6 seconds Top speed 223 km/h Fuel efficiency 6.5 L / 100 km Agent Eurokars Auto or Performance Motors Price S$292,888 with COE Available Now
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
