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By Jonathan Crouch

The BMW 3 Series is at its most competitive in 320d guise. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the improved version of this seventh generation model.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 88

The BMW 3 Series is still the definitive mid-sized sports saloon and it sells most strongly in this 320d four cylinder diesel form. This improved version of the seventh generation design is smarter and gets a much more sophisticated cabin. Plus the diesel powerplant now features 48V mild hybrid tech and there's a big step forward in media connectivity. All the things you'd expect from a facelift really. Something else you'd expect from this model is rear wheel drive handling purity. It doesn't disappoint in that regard either.

Backgroundword count: 156

Think of a really sharp handling relatively compact sports saloon and it's probable that you're thinking of this car, BMW's 3 Series. Over more than four decades, it's dominated the segment it first invented and upwards of 15 million of them have been sold. So of course the company's hopes are high for this seventh generation version. The Munich maker certainly needs this contender to be good. The Bavarian marque used to advertise every car it made as being 'the ultimate driving machine', but that hasn't been a slogan appropriate to many of the SUV-inspired or electrified models the company's brought us in more recent times. And it's also been a difficult mantra to meet as the 3 Series has become larger and heavier over the last few years. It was time for a re-set. The question is whether this 'G20'-series design is good enough to provide it. I tried a 320d variant to find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 173

The 2.0-litre 190hp diesel engine used here has gained clever 48V mild hybrid tech that generates energy to run the stop/start system and to give a mid-range accelerative boost. As with all 3 Series models, eight-speed Steptronic auto transmission is standard on the 320d as before but is now upgraded to 'Sport' status which means that there's a gearshiftpaddle-activated 'Sprint' function for quick overtraking. Rest to 62mph takes 6.9s. Otherwise, much is familiar here: the front engine, rear wheel drive formula with near perfect 50:50 weight distribution that has defined the 3 Series to date: this improved seventh generation model doesn't deviate too far from that script. Still notable are the standard 'lift-related' dampers. These clever shock absorbers incorporate structures that provide extra damping at the extremes of wheel travel, allowing quite a firm sporting set-up to be adopted, but also one able to deliver a fluent ride over tarmac imperfections. Thanks to that, this car's able to combine a set-up for Silverstone with something that works equally well on the North Circular.

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