[9] 2006 Bmw 3 Series Sedan Making Today Gossip

One of the keys to the sport of trapshooting is to know precisely how much to lead the clay pigeon by. Traveling at up to 100 mph out of the spring-loaded trap, the clay is a streaking speck, tough as hell to track.

BMW's 3 Series has been the automotive equivalent of the clay target, each edition a hard-to-nail meteor that's had its adversary's shotgun barrels blazing futilely for nearly its entire existence. Notice we said "nearly": Comparison-test statisticians out there likely remember our momentous August 2002 face-off wherein a previous-generation 330i was nicked by a blast from Cadillac's CTS and knocked out of the sky by Infiniti's then-new high-caliber G35. Lucky shot? No, the rest were genuinely catching up.

But that was then; this is now. Meet the all-new 330i (base price $36,995, rising to $47,390, with such added goodies as the $2200 premium package, $2000 nav system, $1600 sport package, $1275 automatic transmission, and $1250 active steering); an updated G35 ($31,460, $36,510 when upgraded by a $3350 premium package, $750 sport suspension package, $550 aero package, and $400 for the Sirius Satellite Radio); plus an itchy trigger-fingered Audi A4 taking the role of the now less au courant Cadillac ($36,120, $41,520 after accounting for the $2050 premium package, $1000 Bose/XM Satellite Radio system, $900 cold-weather package, $600 sport package, $450 pearl effect paint, and $400 wood trim).

Take aim, Tokyo and Ingolstadt--the latest from Munich has been slung from the trap.

Hardware Of the three, the small BMW gets the prize as most transformed, being so extensively redesigned that about all the last-generation 3 seems to have bequeathed to its successor is the numb concept of the car. In chassis dimensions, suspension configuration, and engine construction and specifics, the 330i is brand spanking new.

Underhood, the 330i's output climbs to 255 horsepower from 225, torque from 214 pound-feet to 220, and, if most of your higher- level thinking occurs between your right shoe's sole and laces, that should keep you chewing a while. Otherwise, try to keep that shoe's impatient tapping quiet as the rest of us savor such engine delicacies as the inclusion of BMW's throttleless, Valvetronic variable valve-lift technology. If you've never heard of it, Valvetronic describes a method of rocker-arm pivot-point adjustment allowing the valves to smoothly vary lift, anywhere from gaping, right down to zilch. In fact, there isn't even a traditional throttle, as Valvetronic renders it redundant. More tidbits? The camshafts themselves have been skinned by 2.5 pounds due to a remarkable hollow-core construction wherein the cam profiles are bulge-formed within a mold from straight steel tubing. The water pump is now driven by an electric motor to cool more precisely. The oil pump varies its output according to need, not rpm, and all of this is hung about a block that's itself revolutionary for being composed of aluminum caged by a pre-cast magnesium girdle, saving weight.

Despite the magnitude of the engine's reformulation, BMW's engineers evidently still had time on their hands before the bratwurst break. So, aft of the inline-six, is a six-speed Steptronic automatic replacing the previous five-speed unit, the new one shedding 10 percent of its weight (don't you wish we could add a gear and drop a tenth of our weight?). Even the front strut suspension's new, the 3 Series now adopting its larger Munich stablemate's double-pivot lower links, a technology that's also been integrated into an all-new five-link rear geometry (the whole shebang now nesting on a rear subframe to better isolate ride impacts--see sidebar).

By comparison, the G35 and Audi A4 are more modestly updated, but, trust us, they still have enough sudden muscle to keep this a plumb-level playing field. In the A4's case, the spotlight zeros in on its V-6, enlarged to 3.2 liters from 3.0. Coincidentally (maybe not coincidentally), the 3.2, already seen in the A6, nails its German rival's 255-horsepower tally, but the technical tricks used to wring out the extra ponies bear no resemblance to Munich's. Here, the engine's technical centerpiece is its direct fuel-injection system, which, in conjunction with a revised combustion chamber, permits a contemporary gasoline production-car record for compression ratios (at 12.5:1), giving a big goose to fuel economy. Like the 330i's, the camshaft timing is variable, and like the 325i's engine, dual-stage intake runners capture induction resonance effects (the 330i employs three).

Paralleling the 330i, the A4's suspension has been recooked, enlisting fat rubber shock absorber cushions to choke-off cabin boom, while stiffer track rods, snagged directly from the S4 parts bin, fine-focuses the steering feel. Also S4-sourced is the hollow-aluminum-tube rear suspension assemblage shaving weight and adding stiffness. And our test A4, a quattro, gets to play with an additional gear cog this year, the automatic transmission becoming a proper six-speeder.

The G35's mechanical trump card is simple and effective: a bigger engine carrying maybe a 15-percent power advantage over the 330i. No wonder, then, that as the Bimmer's punch now rises, the G's is climbing in lockstep, growing from 260 horsepower to 280 (when coupled to the automatic) and 298 when the manual box reduces crankshaft speed. However, unlike the extraordinary lengths their German counterparts have gone to, the magical Nissan/Infiniti 3.5-liter V-6 still seems to deliver new power almost just by asking for it. That is, if those sweet nothings include refining the variable exhaust cam timing, improving the radiator's airflow, and beefing things up here and there. More power means more powerful brakes, so the G35's front rotors grow 0.9 inch, the rears, 0.6.

Passion Enough hard-core technology is here to light your left brain like a Roman candle. But what happens to your pulse when eyes and hands settle on these three?

To editor-in-chief MacKenzie, the G35 looks too aware of its Bavaria-storming mission. As evidence, he points to the oversized kink in the C-pillar and the heavy-handed "tea-tray" rear spoiler. The stance is nice, he opines, with the front wheels pushed well forward, though from some angles, the car appears rather narrow-gutted.

Despite a mild material and design update to the G's interior, it's easy to imagine its wall of multi-tan, grained plastics having been sourced from a giant vat labeled "universal Japanese polycarbonate, just add tan pigment." The design is a pleasant assemblage of simple geometric forms, chief among them a barrel shape that spans the interior, though the orange instruments look as loud as bad golf trousers. The driver's seat electrically adjusts via nudge buttons questionably placed on the seat cushion's right-front surface (a few drivers felt them rubbing their thighs). However, the seat's grip during vigorous driving is C-clamp quality, and backseat drivers can be dissuaded from their mutterings to slow down by the rear seat's optional recline feature.

Compared with its predecessor, visually, the A4 is maybe more different than better. What's changed is the detailing: fussier head and taillights, the crease along the body side. It's almost as if Audi is reacting to (BMW master sketcher) Chris Bangle's edgy designs and the increasingly baroque sedans from Mercedes-Benz, rather than establishing a genuinely new design direction. As with BMW, both manufacturer's painstakingly honed legacy of brilliant-looking cars has become a curse, hard to shake or improve upon. Plying the air is the dreaded corporate horse-collar grille, though here it seems decently proportioned, more integrated, a more comfortable fit. To either side, the headlight enclosures draw comparison to the 330i's similarly stern stare--and since when have cars become so ticked-off looking? Both these sedans need to consider yoga, meditation--anything to get the blood pressure down (think happy face, happy face).

Inside, the A4 continues to write the book on interior design and fit and finish. It's an elegant parlor of rich textures and well-fitted details, though perhaps a bit early-2000 (the G35's is, maybe, late-1990s).

The cockpit of the 330i is more mid-2000. There's no getting around the checkbook-shrinking fact that the 330i carries a stiff premium in base price--with every last penny of it accounted for with one glance around the interior. The twisted forms of the door-pulls are Frank Gerhry all the way. The materials, brushed-aluminum against black leather, are rich and daring, like those in the cockpit of a private Italian jet.

Outside, the 330i's is the first new-wave BMW shape we've driven that's triggered universal praise. Where the previous 3 Series was pleated and starched with greased-down hair, the new 3 looks wind-blown, perhaps eroded out of soft-stone cliffs. Gone are the criss-cross confusion and inexplicable rump of the original 7 Series. Now the lines harmonize and resolve into the taillights (amen).

Performance On paper, there's good reason to suspect these machines can see off 95 percent of the road's sedans, but it's always reassuring to have our test gear's confirmation--and, boy, did we get it. Slalom: 67.8 mph (BMW, a rear-drive-sedan record); acceleration to 60 mph: 6.5 seconds (G35); braking from 60 mph: 112 feet (BMW and Infiniti tie). Serious numbers for cars that, combined, sold over 200,000 units last year. Yet it's in the subjective, one-on-one interview portion of our exam, where the Audi, BMW, and Infiniti characters most profoundly diverged.

Despite a respectable 0.80g lateral acceleration pace, the quattro-equipped Audi's high bulk and heavy nose numbs the A4's driving personality into leaden sluggishness. Although the steering effort is pinkie light and the nose redirects promptly--it's like a one-way conversation, and you're doing all the talking. Increase the pace, and you'll better understand high school Newtonian physics. It's best to be patient in the corners, get the car settled, and nail the throttle only when the apex has been cleared.

The A4's ride (see sidebar) comes across as brittle and stiff on its knees. It skips and skitters on imperfect roads and almost everywhere feels more agitated than the other two. Stab the throttle, and the Audi seems caught leaning back on its heels instead of forward on its toes, as if weighted by a suit of woven steel thread. The A4 is a seductive, tasteful sedan, and undoubtedly in its element in adverse conditions--but on bone-dry tarmac, the other two outshine it. Which, the almanac tells us, is most of the time.

The G35 has one of the most fluid and coherent chassis among Japanese sedans. It's firm but not harsh, though there seems to be more weight transfer than in the 330i. In contrast to the weighty feeling Audi, the Infiniti is a lively apparatus--and perhaps too extroverted in its exhaust bellow, which intrudes with the least throttle tickle.

Normal, city-style maneuvers form a crisp and aquarium-clear picture of the 35's steering feedback. Spank up the speed, though, and a startling artificiality to the dial's feel becomes apparent, as if a giant clock spring is being wound behind the firewall. At the limit, where the 330i's effort softens and firms to communicate instantaneous tire grip, the G35 delivers a steady, predictable tug, bleached of road texture. That said, delivering BMW-competitive performance and handsome looks for about 85 percent of a 330i's base price makes the G35 a remarkable standout--if only a second-place-winning standout.

Which means 330i, we're returning to you your crown. More than anything, what the 330i holds above the A4 and G35 (and anything else that might dip a toe in its waters) is the intense integration of the car. Underline that word: integration. Every nut and bolt of the 330i seems purpose-made for a 3 Series and nothing else. That goes for the matching of the controls, too. Steering, pedal actions, and throttle all perfectly complement one another--such cars are intuitive to drive.

Which brings us to our test 330i's optional active steering and through it, a bigger point about the 330i itself. Active steer (consisting of an electric motor and a tiny planetary gear set nested with the steering column) conspires to give kart-quick steering at low speeds for maneuverability (here, 1.8 turns lock-to-lock at rest), but progressively more languid ratios as velocity rises. A nice idea that's been received with hostility in the 5 and 6 Series for its unpredictable behavior and maddening numbness relative to BMW's standard tiller.

Applied to the 330i, however, active steering is vastly improved. Senior road-test editor Chris Walton pronounced it a lot less finicky than in the 5 Series, not requiring to be unwound for arcing into a corner as the velocity drops and the active steering's ratio automatically quickens. While neophyte BMW drivers will undoubtedly love the system, now maybe even the aficionados will get over their hang-ups and embrace it, too.

The 330i is a cutting reply to naysayers who've fretted over active steering and wailed about Bangle's styling. Everybody else: our suggestion is to start aiming farther ahead of the target.

Can you feel the noise?

2005 Audi A4 3.2 quattro2006 BMW 330i2005 Infiniti G35Powertrain/ChassisDrivetrain layoutFront engine, AWDFront engine, RWDFront engine, RWDEngine typeV-6, alum block/headsI-6, alloy block/alum headsV-6, alum block/heads ValvetrainDOHC, 4 valves/cylDOHC, 4 valves/cylDOHC, 4 valves/cylDisplacement190.5 cu in / 3123cc182.8 cu in / 2996cc213.5 cu in / 3498ccCompression ratio12.5:110.7:110.3:1Power (SAE net)255 hp @ 6500 rpm255 hp @ 6600 rpm280 hp @ 6200 rpmTorque (SAE net)243 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm220 lb-ft @ 2750 rpm270 lb-ft @ 4800 rpmSpecific output81.7 hp/liter85.1 hp/liter80.0 hp/literRedline6800 rpm7000 rpm6600 rpmWeight to power15.0 lb/hp13.8 lb/hp12.6 lb/hpTransmission6-speed automatic6-speed automatic5-speed automaticAxle/final-drive ratios3.54:1 / 2.45:13.64:1 / 2.51:13.36:1 / 2.80:1Suspension, front; rearMultilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll barStruts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll barMultilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll barSteering ratio16.3:110.8:1-18.0:115.9:1Turns lock-to-lock2.8 1.8-3.0 2.7Brakes, f;r12.6-in vented disc; 11.3-in disc, ABS13.0-in vented disc; 13.2-in vented disc, ABS12.6-in vented disc; 12.1-in vented disc, ABSWheels, f;r17 x 7.5, cast alum18 x 8.0; 18 x 8.5, cast alum18 x 7.5, cast alumTires, f;r235/45R17 94V M+S Pirelli P6 Four Seasons225/40R18 88W; 255/35R18 90W Bridgestone Potenza235/45R18 94W Goodyear Eagle NCT 5Dimensions Wheelbase104.3 in108.7 in112.2 inTrack, f/r59.9 / 59.9 in59.1 / 59.6 in59.1 / 59.3 inLength x width x height180.6 x 69.8 x 56.2 in178.2 x 71.5 x 55.9 in186.5 x 69.0 x 57.7 inTurning circle36.4 ft36.1 ft36.0 ftCurb weight3815 lb3512 lb3541 lbWeight dist, f/r59 / 41 %51 / 49 %53 / 47 %Seating capacity5 passengers5 passengers5 passengersHeadroom, f/r37.9 / 37.1 in37.4 / 37.1 in38.7 / 37.4 inLegroom, f/r41.3 / 34.3 in41.5 / 34.6 in43.6 / 33.6 inShoulder room, f/r55.1 / 53.4 in55.4 / 55.1 in56.4 / 55.5 inCargo volume13.4 cu ft12.0 cu ft14.8 cu ftTest DataAcceleration to mph0-302.3 sec2.1 sec2.4 sec0-403.83.53.50-505.34.84.90-607.16.66.50-709.38.78.50-8011.711.010.90-9014.613.813.40-10018.317.417.5Passing 45-65 mph3.7 sec3.4 sec3.2 sec1/4 mile15.1 sec @ 93.4 mph14.7 sec @ 95.1 mph14.7 sec @ 95.9 mphBraking, 60-0 mph126 ft112 ft112 ft600-ft slalom62.2 mph (avg)67.8 mph (avg)65.3 mph (avg)Lateral acceleration0.80 g (avg)0.88 g (avg)0.88 g (avg)MT Figure Eight27.5 sec @ 0.61 g (avg)26.5 sec @ 0.66 g (avg)26.6 sec @ 0.66 g (avg)Top-gear revs @ 60 mph2050 rpm2000 rpm2400 rpmConsumer InfoBase price$36,120$36,995$31,460Price as tested$41,520$47,390$36,510Stability/traction controlYes/yesYes/yesYes/yesAirbagsDual front, front side, f/r curtainDual front, front side, f/r curtainDual front, front side, f/r curtainBasic warranty4 yrs / 50,000 miles4 yrs / 50,000 miles4 yrs / 60,000 milesPowertrain warranty4 yrs / 50,000 miles4 yrs / 50,000 miles6 yrs / 70,000 milesRoadside assistance4 yrs / unlimited miles4 yrs / 50,000 miles4 yrs / 60,000 milesFuel capacity16.6 gal15.9 gal20.0 galEPA city/hwy econ19 / 26 mpg 21 / 29 mpg18 / 25 mpgRecommended fuelUnleaded premiumUnleaded premiumUnleaded premium

1st place: BMW 330iTechno styling and high-tech engineering catapults it to the head of the pack--again."

2nd place: Infiniti G35Blockbuster performance without a budget-busting window sticker.

3rd place: Audi A4 3.2 quattroThe tasteful Teuton might be a winter winner--sadly, it's only August.