NAIAS: BMW ActiveHybrid 3, 335i "Lines"
The new 3! All new! And it looks like it finally has some decent brakes. About three and a half inches longer, it’s also now finally available in Audi “Atmospheres” the Sportline / Luxuryline / Modernline trim levels that BMW has used, in one fashion or another, in Europe for Averylongtime.
Engine choices are what we expected, more or less: the two-liter four-cylinder turbo for the Increasingly Inaccurately Named Three Twenty eight Eye, a 306-horsepower revised turbo six for the 335i, and the ActiveHybrid. 335 horsepower was the number I heard during the press preview, along with 37mpg. It’s a tempting combo, for sure, and it underlines the previous BMW strategy undertaken with the X6 of making the hybrid a big power ride.
The new 3 is aggressive-looking and I’m pretty sure I saw (and photographed) some non-sliding-caliper brakes on the 335i. That’s a good sign for those of us who want to track these cars. Transmission choices are six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic for the non-hybrids, but the press conference was vague about the hybrid transmission.
Also at the show: the i8 from Mission:Impossible. As a concept car, it is certainly shiny.
More by Jack Baruth
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Correct my if I'm wrong: the F30 hybrid powertrain is similar to the F10's, audi a6, q5 & vw - ZF 8 speed auto, Li-ion, starter generator (= motor) instead of torque converter. Fits in FWD, RWD and AWD layouts.
Bring us the 1 series hatch. I was just in London and I'm in love with it. 1 series M Hatchback could be the return of the S54 M coupe....which about 5 people would buy.