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| Road Test: BMW 3-Series (2005-) |
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| Compact Executive |
by: Gavin Conway |
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On the road, the Three is still the compact exec to beat
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| DRIVING RATING: |
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Good news for the faithful - the 3-Series remains the best car to drive in the class. The combination of rear-wheel drive and just about ideal weight distribution front to rear invests the 3-Series with superb balance. Driven quickly over twisting roads, the BMW exhibits a neutral manner, giving the driver confidence that the front or rear of the car won't suddenly step out of line. And when grip does finally begin to let go - as we discovered on a private race track - it does so gently and progressively and is very easy to correct.
For the first time, BMW's Active Steering is now available on six-cylinder 3-Series models. The system changes the steering ratio depending on the speed of the car, the idea being to make the steering quicker and more agile at lower speeds while delivering more stability at high speed. We'd recommend that you give it a miss, though. It doesn't feel any more stable at high speed than the standard set up, and at lower speeds over challenging roads, it can be difficult to judge exactly how the steering is going to respond to any given input. The standard steering set up delivers excellent feedback with perfectly adequate assistance at lower speeds.
All 3-Series now use 'run-flat' tyres, which allow the car to be driven for up to 150 miles at 50mph, even with all four tyres punctured. Our previous experience with 5-Series models so equipped suggested that the ride quality suffered as a result. This is less so with the 3-Series, which does manage to ride well in spite of the run-flats.
As an aside, we asked BMW whether the run-flat tyres would render the 3-Series impervious to the Stinger tyre-puncture device used by some police forces to stop fleeing drivers. No official comment was offered...
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