BMW has officially revealed its facelifted version of the 3 Series, ahead of an Australian launch later in 2022.
At this stage customer deliveries are scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2022, with pricing and specification to be announced in the lead up to the launch.
BMW Australia has confirmed the updated 3 Series will continue to be available locally in both sedan and Touring (wagon) forms.
It’ll still offer the 3 Series sedan in 320i, 330i, 330e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and M340i xDrive variants, and the 3 Series Touring will only be available in the 330i variant.
BMW has confirmed the updated 3 Series range will continue to be offered with a range of turbocharged engines, but it hasn’t said if the outputs are changing from the outgoing model.
Using the existing model as a guide, the BMW 320i is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 135kW of power and 300Nm of torque.
The 330i also uses a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, albeit with 190kW and 400Nm.
The 330e uses a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder mated to an electric motor for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) system with total system outputs of 215kW and 420Nm.
The M340i xDrive uses a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six that produces 285kW and 500Nm. It’s all-wheel drive, unlike the rest of the range which is rear-wheel drive.
An eight-speed ZF-sourced torque converter automatic transmission is confirmed to still be standard across the range.
Compared to the existing 3 Series, this updated model has a redesigned front fascia with a larger air intake and high-gloss black kidney grilles, along with slimmer headlights with an inverted L-shape daytime running light signature.
BMW Australia has confirmed the 3 Series range will receive full LED headlights with automatic high-beam, whereas the top-of-the-range M340i xDrive will receive adaptive LED headlights.
At the rear is a redesigned bumper that’s painted in more body-colour than the outgoing 3 Series. There are also slim tail lights and flared wheel arches like the existing model.
BMW Australia has confirmed the updated 3 Series range in both sedan and wagon forms will receive the M Sport package as standard.
This package includes sportier front and rear bumpers and M light-alloy wheels ranging in size from 18- to 19-inches.
The M340i xDrive still receives a distinctive look with a mesh grille insert, trapezoidal exhaust tips, and black high-gloss exterior side mirrors.
There’s a new M Sport Package Pro available across the range which adds M high-gloss black trim, tinted M lights and an M Sport braking system with red-painted calipers.
New colours available on the 3 Series include Skyscraper Grey metallic and M Brooklyn Grey metallic, as well as BMW Individual Frozen Pure Grey metallic and Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic.
Customers can also choose from a range of around 150 additional BMW Individual special paint finishes.
The inside of the new 3 Series has also received a significant update with all models receiving the BMW Curved Display, which originated in the BMW iX and is now populating more of the range.
In the updated 3 Series, the curved dash houses a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
This curved dash runs the latest BMW Operating System 8 that allows for software updates and has an intelligent personal assistant. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, too.
Underneath this curved dash there’s also a redesigned gear selector with a repositioned control panel that houses the start/stop button, iDrive controller, drive mode selection buttons, parking brake and other vehicle functions.
As standard, all updated BMW 3 Series models come with a tri-zone climate control system that can be operated either through voice commands or touch via the control display.
There’s also an app allowing BMW 330e PHEV owners to remotely control the charging process of their high-voltage battery.
On the safety front, as standard the updated 3 Series receives front and rear autonomous emergency braking (AEB) lane departure warning, lane change warning, rear cross-traffic alert.
Other safety equipment such as a semi-autonomous parking assist, surround-view camera and dash-cam are optional.
As noted above, pricing and specification for the updated 2023 BMW 3 Series will be made announced closer to its local launch date.
MORE: Everything BMW 3 Series
