Test drive BMW 3 Episode F30 since 2012 sedan

330i

How great is that a completely new BMW treshka remained the same! After the controversial seven and five, one could expect a completely different 3rd series. But this time the car in its desire to preserve its own face was stronger than a person.
About ten years ago, when the 3rd episode, then still in the E36 body, only began to appear in the vastness of the former union, from one BMW fan came to hear a very capacious description of this machine. When asked, why he likes Treshka so much, he blurted out with enthusiasm: she is so incurred! And the car carries this healthy impudence from generation to generation.
So much new ...
Even before the tests, a 80-page press release came, after reading which it thought that in order to describe everything that is new in this machine, it would be necessary to release a separate magazine. In fact, only the concept of the car remained the previous one: the classic layout with the rear -wheel drive and the longitudinally located in a row engine. Everything else has changed. A completely new body has become tougher and a little more. True, the treshka still remains a car mainly for the driver and the front passenger from behind, although there was more space, it is still cramped.
The suspensions are also new. Ahead, instead of a traditional McPherson that seemed to be a two -legged pendant, as in the older series, and the back is completely five -leafed. The front suspension is made of aluminum in order to reduce the unspoken masses, the back steel is so better for the correct hanging along the axes.
The treshka starts with four new engines, the most powerful of which, of course, is a loser six with a volume of 3 liters, issuing 268 hp. And the list of modern systems finally convinces that the 3rd episode 3 differs from high school cars only in size. It has almost everything that is in the seven and five, starting with Idrive and ending with active steering. The brake system is now able to work miracles. The anti -lock and anti -boom systems, the system of distribution of brake force, the subsurient system, the stabilization system, the electronic imitation of differential blocking is far from all that the brakes participate in. They are still able to independently dry during the rain, when, at the signal of the rain sensor on the windshield, the pads are periodically slightly pressed to the disks and thereby dried the friction surface. In addition, when touched on the rise, now you do not need to tighten the hand brake or press with two legs on three pedals immediately the electronics understands the situation and, until the start of the start, holds the machine with brakes. Literally all the car systems are also carefully worked out. For example, a climatic installation is capable of completely updating the composition of the air in the cabin three times in a minute, without creating drafts and almost silently. All the most modern multimedia systems are now also available to the owner of a modest 3rd series.
... but the habits are old
But all these innovations were far from the main ones, it was only worth it to be driving the most powerful threek with a 3-liter engine. The launch using the button essentially no different from the ignition key, the key must still be inserted into the lock, and then, squeezing the clutch (or the brake pedal, if the machine is with the automatic transmission), press the button. The motor starts up and you can go. It turned out that the button is a workpiece for the Keyless Go system, when the key can just lie in your pocket.
But as soon as the car touches the place, you understand that the main movement is for him. This is the same 3rd episode, reminiscent of a bullet that dissecting the space, is only better. It is easy to ride on it both in the city and outside. The seeming small mirrors, nevertheless, thanks to a very curved form, provide normal visibility, the ergonomics of the driver’s place can serve as a model, and the level of comfort is almost the same as that of the older brothers in the concern.
A mechanical 6-speed gearbox paired with an amazingly elastic 3-liter engine makes you reconsider your driver's habits. The motor is so good that you sometimes forget to switch, because it pulls equally well at 2000 and 6000 rpm, and the noise level in the cabin does not particularly change with an increase in revolutions. But it is not at all necessary to switch the programs one after another. In a relatively calm mode, you can accelerate, using only odd transmissions, or, for example, by overtaking on the 3rd program, immediately turn on the VI and go to yourself calmly, saving fuel. Moreover, it can calmly be 180 and 200 km/h depends only on the load of the road. Even on the imperfect Spanish highway, the treshka is amazingly stable, and two hundred are perceived without any tension. Here, in addition to pendants, active steering also plays a role, which makes the steering wheel less sensitive at high speed. In the mountains, everything is just as great on serpentines, the car is obedient, a powerful motor is enough for overtaking even in constrained conditions, the brakes inspire confidence that everything will do without surprises. The driver feels the car as himself, and can go, in accordance with only his abilities, without looking at whether this can be a car.
All in your hands
And what was happening on the racing track in the Albaset, where the high -speed part of the tests took place! The fact is that on BMW the stabilization system is completely turned off. To do this, hold the appropriate button pressed for 5 with, and you can demonstrate everything you can. The people unscrewed according to all the rules, so that the tires melted, with indispensable sorties into gravel, waist -ons at 180, 360 and 720, who had enough talent. But no one, trying to save the honor of the uniform, put it on the car, they say, is poorly controlled, incomprehensible, there is no balance. They would just laugh, because the car is exemplary. A rare case when electronic stabilization systems serve precisely for safety, and not in order to correct the behavior of an imperfect chassis. I’m not 100%confident in yourself, leave the electronics on, and if you think that you can, the steering wheel is in your hands, enjoy it.
Elixir of life
Perhaps the appearance of the new 3rd series will call someone controversial, not everyone may like the new section of the eyes, but this is undoubtedly the same aggravating treshka. She has something to behave so confidently, because you rarely meet a car in which everything is brought to some manic perfection. No wonder at a press conference BMW experts talked so much about harmony. Everything from ideology to appearance and technical filling in the 3rd series corresponds to the slogan with pleasure at the wheel. Even the photography of the threek turned out to be a simple and enjoyable lesson: no matter how you put it, no matter what point you look, it’s always beautiful. It is always clear that this is a quick maneuverable car, and even a car standing in place is perceived as a flying bullet. Yes, it will be expensive and therefore will not become a sales leader in his class. But it should not be approached with the standards of a car, on which you just need to go to work every day. There are many other good cars for this. Treshka she is for life, for joy, for pleasure. You can get, even if you just go to work every day.
Some technical characteristics BMW 3 Series 3.0i
(manufacturer data)
Dimensions, mm 4520x1817x1421
Base, mm 2760
Front/back, mm 1500/1513
Equipped mass, kg 1525 (1540)*
Type of engine gasoline
6-cylinder
Working volume, cubic meter. cm 2996
Max. Power, L.S./rpm 258/6600
Max. moment, nm/rpm 450/3600
Mechanical transmission 6-speed
(automatic 6-band)
Tires 225/45 R17
Max. Speed, km/h 250
Acceleration time 0-100 km, with 6.3 (6.6)*
Fuel consumption (EU), l/100 km 12.7/6.4/8.7 (12.9/6.8/9.0)*
Tank volume, l 60
* Data for a car with automatic transmission.
 
Leonid Klimanovich
Photo by the author and the manufacturer
 
 
 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine