A closer look at the new BMW 328i

Now that the new BMW 3 Series is about to be seen on local roads it’s opportune to take a closer look at the 328i. It’s powered by a 2.0 litre trubo four cylinder “N20” engine and has official performance figures of 180kW/350Nm. BMW say it can reach 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.

With a list price of $66,900 it’ll probably cost you high 70s-low 80s to get a reasonably well specced example on the road. That said, it’s probably the sweet spot in the F30 range and could be a wise choice for cashed up buyers who have grown out of the hot hatch phase.

Helping to support the case for the 328i are two unofficial sources. The first is from InsideLine taking an in-depth look at the suspension of a US-spec 3 Series. That will keep the boffins among you quiet for a while! The second is a video clip from a BimmerPost member who ran his US-spec 328i on the dyno. It’s never wise to store too much faith into the numbers dynos produce, but they’re still a reasonably good yardstick.

Remember, the claimed figures for the 328i’s N20 engine are 180kW/350Nm. The standard car sampled on the dyno returned figures of 226hp/230lb-ft—that’s 168kW/311Nm in modern day lingo. On paper, then, that’s small power loss of less than 7% from flywheel to the road. A pretty healthy return at the wheels for a standard motor, which indicates the official figures from BMW are probably a little shy of actual numbers. Good news for performance-conscious buyers.

[Sources: Inside Line & BimmerPost]