BMW 3 & 5

BMW 330i. Thirty Dancing By Leow Ju-Len. From CarBuyer, Issue 34, Singapore.

The 330i is everything that BMW does best, but is it worth the $54,000 premium over a 320i?

NOW I KNOW that God exists, for He has seen fit to give us the BMW 330i. That might seem like a blasphemous thing to say, but I defy anyone to drive it and not come away convinced that any sane cherub would gladly trade his wings in for the keys to a 330i.

CarBuyer has had a crack at the 330i before, of course (see 'BMW Climbs To The Top Of The Three', Issue 22, also available online at www.onemotoring.com.sg), but that test drive involved two lucky jerks who got to indulge their inner hooligans on a skidpan and racetrack in Spain.

Needless to say, they came back with grins you couldn't erase with battery acid. Having sampled the 330i for myself here, I now see what the fuss is all about, and I have the following warning to make: Be very, very afraid for your bank balance if you make the trek down to Performance Motors and venture forth in their demo car. To drive a 330i is to ache with every fibre of your soul for one.

Without revisiting too much ground covered in our first review, here's the basic proposition: the car tops the new 3 Series family, and tackles the main flaws of its predecessor.

Its rear seats are habitable by real adults, the boot has grown to a useful 460 litres in size, and the bland lines of the interior have been edged out by bold swoops and sharp surfaces.

And then the new car builds on the strengths of the last 3 Series, which was comfortably the best driving tool in its class, even in its twilight years.

First, there's the optional Active Steering, the super-smart system which hurries up the steering at low speeds so you can attack bends without flailing your arms like an Italian person in heated discussion, then slows it back down when you're bombing along at high speed, so you don't dart off the PIE when a sneeze causes you to tug at the wheel.

Pair that up with a balanced chassis, tight damping and superlative body control, and the result is a car that assaults corners with a zeal that borders on fanaticism.

The 330i changes direction with such virtuosity that even the most challenging corners are cut down with astonishing aplomb, and where the BMW slices through bends, its rivals bludgeon their way through in comparison. It makes superb use of its tyres, too, generating so much grip as to render your hapless passengers wide-eyed and breathless.

And then there's the engine, a masterpiece whose six-cylinder voice is the equal of anything Pavarotti ever managed.

The urgent, purposeful snarl that rises as you wind the engine to its redline is enough to make the small hairs stand, and it's matched with proper fury, as well.

258bhp and 0 to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds are not figures to sneeze at, but the tangible shove in your back says the engine is brawny enough to back them up. Indeed, the honeyed tones of the engine, the insta-torque responsiveness and ability to feel as unruffled at 7,000rpm as it does at 2,000rpm are probably the aspects of the 330i that crystallise everything BMW does best.

Anyone who has ever had a poster of a car on his wall would, in fact, be highly likely to judge the $54,000 premium for the 330i over a 320i well spent for the noise alone, for - good as the latter car is - as far as how much joy you can expect to extract from a 3 Series is concerned, life begins at 30.

If you can afford to buy, buy with the confidence that you're getting not just the absolute best car in the class, but also one of the finest automobiles ever conceived.

NEED TO KNOW Model BMW 330i Engine 2,996cc, 24V in-line 6 Max Power 258bhp at 6,600rpm Max Torque 300Nm at 2,500-4,000rpm Gearbox 6-speed automatic Top Speed 250km/h 0-100 km/h 6.6 seconds Price S$209,800

NEED TO KNOW
Model BMW 330i
Engine 2,996cc, 24V in-line 6
Max Power 258bhp at 6,600rpm
Max Torque 300Nm at 2,500-4,000rpm
Gearbox 6-speed automatic
Top Speed 250km/h
0-100 km/h 6.6 seconds
Price S$209,800