Sunday, March 31, 2019
Griffin enjoys trip to Purgatory with third collegiate win
Killarney's Caitriona Griffin
Killarney's Caitriona Griffin can claim to enjoy a spell in Purgatory after she secured her third win for Northwestern Ohio with a school record performance at the Purgatory Intercollegiate in Indiana.
The Munster interprovincial, who earned medalist honours at the rain-shortened WHAC Jamboree and was co-medalist Georgetown Invitational earlier this season, shot a bogey-free, four-under 68 to win the weather-shortened event by one stroke.
"I'm so happy for Caitriona," said the UNOH Racer's head coach Dawn West. "She has put in the work the past three years and has been swinging so well the past two months.
"Her being a senior and knowing it's her last go round makes this even sweeter for her.
"To card 14 pars and four birdies with no bogeys on Purgatory is a phenomenal round. She is very deserving and I'm extremely proud that she was able to close the round out."
She finished one stroke ahead of Taylor University's Nicole Jung on Friday before the second and final round scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to persistent, heavy rain.
Her 68 clipped a shot off the previous school record, set by Malaysia's Devaki Ganesh last October.
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BMW M Motorsport presents first DTM car design for 2019
BMW M Motorsport heads into the coming DTM season with a new Premium Partner. At the opening round at Hockenheim (GER) on 4th May, Philipp Eng’s (AUG) BMW M4 DTM will line up on the grid in the ZF livery. To date, ZF has been involved in the DTM as ‘Official Partner of BMW M Motorsport’, providing custom-made racing clutches and shock absorbers for the touring car series, Formula E and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring (GER).
“We are pleased to take the long-term collaboration with ZF to the next level this season,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “In doing so, we are not only building on the success we have already enjoyed together, but also underlining the mutual trust that exists between us. On this basis, we are out to continue our success story together in 2019.”
Eng, who made his DTM debut last season and immediately achieved top results in his rookie year, will drive the #25 car again in 2019. “I am delighted that ZF is my Premium Partner in the DTM,” said Eng. “It is a huge company with the most advanced products in nearly all areas of mobility, and I am proud that I am able to represent the company with BMW in the DTM. I obviously hope our car will be seen at the front of the grid and top of the standings as often as possible. I am looking forward to a successful season with ZF.”
Norbert Odendahl, Managing Director at ZF Race Engineering, added: “The DTM is and will remain an important platform for us, on which to repeatedly demonstrate the performance of our technology under the toughest conditions. Philipp Eng showed in his first season in the DTM that he is capable of racing at the very front of the field. As such, we are all the more delighted to be able to expand our involvement in the DTM together with BMW M Motorsport and Philipp.” As is tradition, the 2019 DTM season kicks off with the opening races on 4th and 5th May at Hockenheim. The season comprises nine events and ends in October, back at Hockenheim. Between the two events at the Hockenheimring, the DTM will also visit Zolder (BEL), Misano (ITA), the Norisring (GER), Assen (NED), Brands Hatch (GBR), the Lausitzring and the Nürburgring (both GER) this year.
The article BMW M Motorsport presents first DTM car design for 2019 appeared first on BMW BLOG
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G-Power gives 475 hp to the BMW X5 M50d
G-Power has quietly unveiled their power tuning program for the BMW G05 X5. The X5 M50d model has received a power bump to 475 horsepower and 865 Nm of torque. One of the two models built under the M Performance Automobile division – the other being the future M50i in 2020 – the M50d is powered by a quad-turbocharged 3.0 liter inline-six diesel, packing in standard form 400 hp and 759 Nm of torque. With the new power upgrade, it should go from 0-60 mph in around 5 seconds.
This new upgrade to the engine power of the X5 M50d is only 99 hp less than the outgoing X5 M, yet with 115 Nm more torque. The price for the power kit is 1,949.99 euros.
The other model that received a power bump is the G05 X5 50i which now makes 600 horsepower and 810 Nm of torque from the 4.4 liter V8 TwinTurbo engine. The price for this upgrade is 2,450 euros.
No other details on the aftermarket program is available now, but judging by the images here you can see new wheel options and of course, the G-Power badging.
If you’re in the mood for one of the lower-powered G05 X5s, the German tuning shop has you covered. The X5 25d gets 266 horsepower, the X5 30d is rated at 311 horsepower, the 40d at 375 horsepower. The 3.0 liter gasoline X5 35i gets 355 horsepower.
With the new X5 being just a few months old on the market, expect more tuners to bring out their own offerings.
The article G-Power gives 475 hp to the BMW X5 M50d appeared first on BMW BLOG
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Clean Estoril Blue BMW 335i With Custom Wheels
It’s sad to see the BMW F30 3 Series go. After all, we hung out with it for the last several years in various shapes and forms and the vehicle did nothing but to impress us. And this is especially true for the more performance-oriented variants – such as the BMW 335i or the M3. Sure, it got replaced by the somewhat more potent BMW 340i in the recent years. However, the good old 335i still poses one of the most potent punches – slotted right below the much-famed M3 – providing an impressive bang for your buck factor.
The BMW 335i is powered by a 3.0 liter BMW TwinPower Turbo engine churning out 300 horsepower powering the rear wheels. The vehicle comes with a fast and easy to use 8-speed STEPTRONIC automatic transmission with Adaptive Transmission Control (ATC). Thus, the BMW 335i can accelerate from 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in just 5.5 seconds. The vehicle is able to accelerate to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.
Placed just a tad below the pure-bred high-performance machines, the BMW M3 and BMW M4, this is for many, the perfect balance of power, performance, and aesthetics. Furthermore, this particular Estoril Blue BMW 335i features a set of lightweight aftermarket wheels. In turn, it showcases an even more appealing and aggressive exterior look.
These flows formed wheels come from Forgestar, and were installed by Mod Bargains, a local Los Angeles tuning shop. These Forgestar CF5V wheels come in sizes of 20×8.5 and 20×10.5 in the front and rear, respectively. Thanks to a finish Forgestar calls Bronze Burst, they fit the narrative of this high-performance machine perfectly.
You can grab a detailed look at the complete media gallery of this build right below.
The article Clean Estoril Blue BMW 335i With Custom Wheels appeared first on BMW BLOG
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McIlroy left to rue missed opportunities
See you at Augusta. Rory McIlroy congratulates Tiger Woods after his 2 and 1 defeat in the WGC Dell Technologies Championship
Losing to Tiger Woods is no disgrace but it’s important now that Rory McIlroy does not linger on the missed putts that arguably cost him his chance boost his confidence even further in his last start before the Masters.
While his double-bogey seven from the centre of the fairway after a 375-yard drive was a glaring error, it did not escape his attention that Woods holed the clutch putts and applied pressure at the right times.
McIlroy had never trailed in his three group wins and lost just three holes.
But while he made a 12 footer for a half at the second, he missed from seven feet for a half in birdies at the fifth and he lost the sixth to another Woods birdie.
Conditions were difficult but he missed from 12 feet for a win at the seventh, missed from seven feet for a win at the ninth and then three-putted from 32 feet at the 10th, missing a three-footer to gift Woods a three-up lead.
Woods bogeyed the par-five 12th where McIlroy two-putted for an easy win, then saw his lead reduced to just one hole after another McIlroy birdie at the 13th.
In fairness to Woods, he made a seven-footer for a half at the 15th, then arguably forced that McIlroy mistake at the 16th before closing out the match with another clutch putt at the 17th.
The Co Down man looked odds on to win the par-five 16th after he hit a huge, 395-yard drive. Woods drove into a bunker, but after a lay up he hit a crucial third from 204 yards to 25 feet, forcing McIlroy to make birdie to win the hole.
McIlroy had only a short iron to the green — possibly as little as a gap wedge — but it was knocked down by the wind and finished 25 yards short and right of the pin, just above a bunker.
After that, it was a comedy of errors and after bunting his third over the green and watching it tumble over a kerb, across a cart path and into an unplayable lie, he opted to replay from the original sport, one-hopped his fourth into a bunker and conceded after his sixth failed to drop.
Even when Woods offered a glimmer of hope by coming up short at the par-three 17th, McIlroy could not make two from 30 feet, and Woods buried him at the first opportunity, making a 13 footer for par.
“I’d been told he hadn't trailed in a match yet so it was nice to get that lead, especially back-to-back holes [fifth and the sixth]," Woods said. "He gave me a gift at 10, but chipped away at it with a couple of birdies of his own on 12 and 13.
"And 16 was tough. With the wind is blowing as hard as it is, his ball got knocked down. That's just the way it is with these hills here, the way the fronts come through. It was a difficult day for both of us.”
McIlroy is aware of media narratives and steered clear of saying anything in the spur of the moment after his round, making a swift exit.
He took to Instagram afterwards to apologise to the scribes looking for a postmortem and admitted he "squandered" a chance to level his match.
"I want to apologize to the media for not giving them any of my time after the match this morning,"he said. "Although I was disappointed with how the match ended, I showed real patience and persistence to claw a couple of holes back on the back 9, then squandered a great opportunity to get back to all square on 16.
"Definitely one I let get away but I'll learn and move on. I wish Tiger the best for the rest of the tournament, he made a couple of clutch putts on 15 and 17 to shut the door. See everyone at Augusta"
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Grazie Frankie — Lowry's Augusta place guaranteed after Molinari win
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry will gladly stand Francesco Molinari a mint julep at Augusta National after the Italian crushed Kevin Na 6&5 to ensure an outlandish triple whammy did not deny him his place in the Masters.
It was calculated that Lowry needed at least one win in Austin to remain in the world's top 50 and he got it with a 3&2 win over Andrew Putnam on the third day of the WGC Dell Technologies Championship, finishing the week with 1.5 points from three and 3.3775 precious world ranking points.
But when the dust finally settled late on Friday night and the numbers had been crunched, it emerged that there was still a chance, albeit remote, that he could be bumped out of the top 50 by fractions.
It required three things to happen — Dane Lucas Bjerregaard to reach the quarter-finals and Kevin Na to finish third or better in Austin as well as a win for Sungae Im to win the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship
In other words, he was in a strong position until the Korean hit the front in the Dominican Republic and Na and Bjerregaard both won their groups in Texas.
When Bjerregaard beat Henrik Stenson on Saturday morning to reach the last eight and Na came back from two down after 11 holes to beat world No 2 Justin Rose 2 up to make the quarters, Lowry had every reason to get nervous.
Cue Molinari, who came to the rescue in the afternoon in impressive fashion
Europe's Ryder Cup hero in Paris made it 10 consecutive matchplay wins with a 6&4 win and Lowry is now guaranteed his place at the Masters and projected to finish 49th in the world with Justin Harding also Augusta-bound.
The South African is projected to finish 48th and only Sungjae Im, who trails 54-hole leader Graeme McDowell by strokes in the Dominican Republic can now join them in the top 50.
Lowry looked almost certain to make it to the Masters with ease when he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January and then finished 12th in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to remain 41st in the world.
“I don’t want to count my chickens, but I would have to say I’m looking good for Augusta," Lowry told reporters at Pebble Beach last month. "I would have to play pretty badly between now and the cut-off point not to be heading back to Augusta”
He went on to miss three of his next four cuts and but for that 1.5 point haul in Texas and Molinari’s brilliance, he might have faced an even more anxious 24 hours.
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McDowell breathes out — and produces breath-taking putting show
Graeme McDowell speaks to the Golf Channel after his third round 64
Graeme McDowell knows he can't take the foot off the gas now despite taking just 20 putts en route to back-to-back 64's and a one-stroke lead at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
The former US Open champion (39) is seeking his first win since he claimed the OHL Classic at Mayakoba at the end of 2015 and hoping that he can finish the job and take a giant step back to where he believes he still belongs.
The secret to his success yesterday was an otherworldly performance with the putter — a PGA Tour career-best 20-putt round featuring 15 single-putt greens in a row to start a ten-birdie day.
"Something small's kind of clicked, something I used to do really well years ago," said McDowell, who leads by one stroke from Chris Stroud on 15-under par with Sungjae Im, who must win to qualify for the Masters, tied for third with Aaron Baddeley on 13-under.
"I became not so good at it and I've tried, I've been practising. It's just a breathing thing and it really clicked with me last week a little bit and it's been working really well on the greens again this week. It's helping me relax and it's helping me just stand there and hit nice putts.
"Just before I take the putter head away, just a little bit of an out-breath to relax. It's something I used to do very well way back when and it's amazing how you instinctively get good at things and then you stop being good at things as well. That's cleaned my routines well up on the greens.
"But like I said, scoring is still hot here. You've got to keep your foot on the pedal and I've got to come back out here tomorrow and try to make some more birdies.
"So 15 one-putts in a row out there to start my day was something I'm not sure I've ever done before, but kind of cool. Twenty putts total out there with no chip-ins is pretty steady."
While he's had ten top-10 finishes since he won that playoff over Jason Bohn and Russell Knox in Mexico three years and four months ago, the former world number four has also missed 31 cuts and lost full playing privileges on the PGA Tour, falling as low as 262nd in the world earlier this year — his worst world ranking for 15 years.
It's been a chastening experience for one of the most positive thinkers in the game. But he's been saying for a while that the game is close and buoyed by a bogey-free 64 on Friday, he repeated the trick yesterday and knows he must try to finish the job having failed to make the final step in recent years.
"You know, listen, this is just a continuation of the journey really," said McDowell. "I mean, I haven't achieved anything yet. I've got to go back out here tomorrow and try and play well.
"My caddie keeps saying to me that at some point I'm going to get tired of messing it up. So I'm enjoying being out there and being in contention. I like this golf course, I like the idea of being able to be patient out there because you always know there's lots of chances ahead of you on this golf course.
"Like I said, the way I'm putting, I feel like it's easy to stay very, very patient even with a couple of mistakes I made on the front nine this morning."
Greystones' Paul Dunne is tied for fifth, just four strokes behind after a 69 and still chasing, not only a top 10 and a spot in next week's Valero Texas Open but a maiden PGA Tour win.
Seamus Power is tied 53rd on four-under after a third round 72 but Irish eyes are focussed on Dunne and McDowell, whose haul of just 20 putts shaved a shot off his previous record of 21 putts in the 2014 FedEx St Jude Classic.
As for single putting the first 15 greens, he added: "I think after I knocked the one in on 12, I said to [caddie] Kenny [Comboy], 'Is that 12 one-putts in a row?' To be honest with you, I was standing over those three-footers on 14 and 15, I was more nervous about the three-footers that I didn't want to spoil my round of putts.
"I hit a great shot into 16, I hit a really good putt there and my run came to an end. But it was a fun day. Listen, I hit a lot of great shots and made some putts as we talked about. I'm going to have to keep doing that tomorrow if I want to try and win."
It's no wonder McDowell likes the Paspalum surfaces in the Dominican Republic, which are similar to those he sees regularly in the Bahamas, where he owns a second home.
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Leona in pole position as she chases maiden professional win
Leona Maguire in action at the IOA Championship in California. Picture: Symetra Tour
Leona Maguire has a chance to claim her first win as a professional at the IOA Championship in California today and give herself the perfect platform to graduate to the LPGA Tour.
Twelve months ago, her former Ireland teammate Stephanie Meadow won this event at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon and went on to claim one of ten LPGA Tour cards when she finished sixth in the Symetra Tour's Volvik Race for the Card to secure her return to the big time.
Maguire (24) was still at Duke University and would not turn professional until last June.
As a result, she had just half a season on the Symetra Tour to at least make it to the LPGA Tour's Q-Series. But while she ended up missing out on a trip to Q-School, finishing 37th on the money list, the overall trend is positive, and she has racked up 11 top-20 finishes (and three top-fives) from 20 professional starts worldwide - not including a top 5 at the Ladies European Tour Q-School last December.
After an early season sojourn to Australia, where she played the LPGA Tour’s Vic Open and missed the 54-hole cut, she then forged a pair of top-20s on the LET, returned to the Symetra Tour and followed a jet-lagged share of 25th in the SKYiGolf Championship with a T5 in the Florida's Natural Charity Classic last week.
She now has a chance to put a considerable dent in her bid for one of ten LPGA Tour cards this year after she followed an opening 68 with a bogey-free, three-under 69 to lead by one stroke from American pair Jillian Hollis and Amy Lee and Israel's Laetitia Beck on seven-under-par.
Leona Maguire, who has been globetrotting this season, grabs a selfie with a native in Australia
"This year I have a little bit more time, can plan out my schedule," the world No. 317 said of her form. "Last year was such a quick turnaround between graduating to finishing up with Nationals then going straight to playing tournaments.
"It was all quick and kind of chasing myself all year didn’t — I really get a chance for a proper break. This year it should work out nicely.
"I’ve had more patience, was maybe a little impatient coming out of the blocks halfway through last season because I knew I had a lot of ground to catch up.
"It’s nice to be starting this year on an even platform with everybody else."
Like Meadow last year, she's thriving at Morongo Golf Club, where hitting fairways is critical.
“We played a lot of junior golf together, on Irish teams growing up and a lot of the same courses," said Leona, who has made ten birdies so far. "I would say our games are quite similar, so it’s not exactly shocking that I’ve played well at a course she’s played well at.
"This isn’t necessarily a typical course you get in Ireland, maybe as lush and green as it is though.
"I think this is a tough golf course; you have to drive the ball well because that rough is thick out there. There are some long holes and the wind today made it a different golf course, right back into the wind made some really long."
Meadow, meanwhile, slipped back at the LPGA Tour's Kia Classic, which is being played just 80 miles south of Morongo at Aviara Golf Club near Carlsbad.
Tied for ninth at halfway after rounds of 67 and 72, five shots off the lead, she added a two-over 74 in last night's fourth round and is now tied 35th on three-under, 11 strokes behind leader Inbee Park.
Meadow is hoping to make the top 15 non-exempt players seeking spots in the opening LPGA Major of the year next week, the ANA Inspiration, and will likely need a sub-70 score to keep that hope alive.
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Saturday, March 30, 2019
TEST DRIVE: 2019 BMW G20 320d – Still a Best-Seller?
Looking over the history of the BMW 3 Series, you’ll notice a lot has changed since it was initially launched. The iconic nameplate that created an entire new segment when it first came out has gone through 43 years of production so far and is now in its seventh generation.
Back when the original was launched, the world didn’t really associate the words ‘sporty’ and ‘sedan’ as a good mix but then again, if there’s anything BMW has proven over the years, it’s the fact that preconceptions are not to be tolerated. Therefore, Bavarian engineers managed to create a light, rear-wheel drive compact sedan that was fun to drive and offered a premium experience on top of that. Before the 3 Series came out, you couldn’t have all of those features combined into one car.
THE HISTORY OF THE 3 SERIES
Admittedly, at first, the ‘sedan’ part was a bit hard to grasp as the original E21 was a 2-door model but it was marketed as a sedan nonetheless. Some would call it a Coupe but that’s a discussion that has been going on for over four decades and we won’t get into it again. What does matter though is the fact that the Germans stuck to their guns and what they knew best: refining recipes.
It’s probably something in the DNA of people from Bavaria but they are an ambitious type, who like to have a great final product, refined over time with small increments. That’s the story of the 3 Series in a nutshell if you will: constant improvement over several generations. From the E21 to the E30 and then the E36, E46, E90 and then F30, every new generation built atop what the previous one was offering. Everything is taken to a new level when a new 3 Series comes out and for good reason.
As the inventor of this segment, the 3 Series has some responsibilities towards fans of fun, compact sedans: it needs to keep improving because that drives the competition to replicate this behavior and do the world a favor. Ever since the 1970s, the continuous feud between the 3er and its main rivals led to a number of advancements for the industry as a whole.
Today, the 3 Series is probably being challenged the most it has ever been, with the competition as fierce as you could imagine. The usual rivals are still giving it the most headaches, the Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class being utterly magnificent cars, but then we also have models like the Alfa-Romeo Giulia biting at the rear end of the 3 Series as well as the Jaguar XE, yet another underestimated car that is pretty great as well. So how does the new G20 generation compare?
The fact that the landscape has changed so much over the course of 40 years means direct comparisons don’t really work as well as they used to. Not long ago, say at the beginning of the 21stcentury, having a similar engine under the hood with around the same amount of power meant two cars from different manufacturers, playing in the same segment were direct rivals. The customization war we’re dealing with today though, and the new technologies launched year after year, make that process a bit harder. A car can feel completely different today even compared with itself, solely because of the optional features added to it. The new 3 Series is no exception.
EXTERIOR DESIGN
That’s quite apparent from the moment you configure your car. The exterior look can change quite drastically depending on the package you go for. When I first saw the 3 Series in photos, online, I wasn’t sold on it. The headlights were a bit off, reminding me of certain Peugeot models, the rear end reminded me of Lexus and the increased nostrils seemed like a bit of overkill. And yet, in real life, in the metal, the new 3 Series looks exactly as it should, like a logical, expected evolution. It feels more refined, more elegant and serious. To some, that may be a bad thing but the 3 Series is now over 40 and I think it fits it.
INTERIOR DESIGN AND TECH
And while the exterior may feel like an upgrade over the last model, it’s inside the cabin where the biggest differences can be noticed. If there’s one thing that universally popped up as a negative comment in all the reviews written about the F30 3 Series over the years, it’s the interior. In all fairness, it feels like it aged prematurely. When the car was originally launched back in 2012, the interior design felt on par with the times but that was a flaw to begin with. When a new model that’s bound to be in production for 7 yeas shows up on the automotive scene, it should have a futuristic design in all areas, interior included, so that it can withstand the test of time. With the new 3 Series that’s been fixed.
The interior of the G20 3er works in its favor and against other cars in the BMW range. Style-wise, it looks almost identical to what you see on the new X5, Z4 and 8 Series. In terms of overall design, differences are small, the four models being mostly differentiated by the materials used inside, but the lines are roughly the same. Therefore, the 3 Series looks on par with the 8 Series inside, even though the materials used are of different quality.
Unlike on the 8er, the 3 Series has plenty of plastic inside but of great quality. Even the trims are made of plastic but they replicate various other materials rather well. You can’t get the Glass Package on the 3 Series, as one would expect, but you won’t miss it, I can guarantee it. As a matter of fact, I like cars without the Glass Package because their iDrive rotary controller has a touch-sensitive surface you can use to input addresses and numbers in the infotainment system.
The tech you can get on the 3 Series is also astounding these days. All the driving assistance systems are available, from lane keeping tech to adaptive cruise control, everything’s there if you’re willing to pay for it. The new Live Professional Cockpit is also available, with the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant and, what was a premiere for me, NFC access to the car.
When the 3 Series was launched, a couple of clips published on Youtube showed us a fancy new way to use it, locking and unlocking it with your phone. Back then it looked like a pretty good idea to me but real-life showed me it’s not really that better overall. Our tester came with a NFC card that could be used to lock and unlock the car and start it. That card can be replaced by your phone but for logistical reasons I couldn’t test that feature. Instead, I tried imagining how things would’ve worked if I used my phone as a car key.
The thing is, while it does allow you to leave your key fob at home and use your phone instead, it gets quite tiring after a while. That’s because in order to lock and unlock the car, you have to get your phone out and touch the driver’s door handle with it for a couple of seconds. That’s the only door handle that has the NFC sensor on it, so you have to use that one handle all the time. Then, once you’re in the car, you have to position the phone in the wireless charging slot in front of the cup holders to be able to start the car. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I unlocked the car, put my card back in my pocket, got inside and then remembered I have to get it out to start the damn thing.
Also, when leaving the car, you have to lock it by doing the same thing, touching the handle with your phone or card. It’s basically as if you have a car without a central locking, remote key. Think, old muscle cars if you will, that had a physical, metal key you used to lock and unlock the car.
There are good sides to this tech too though. The fact that you can give someone access to your car remotely is definitely a plus. Say you’re in the Bahamas and your son wants to use the car but doesn’t have a key because it’s on you. You get your phone out, give him access and you’re all set. However, in day to day operation, the Comfort Access Package worked better for me, with the car locking and unlocking just by touching the handle with they key fob in my pocket.
The new 3er also can be fitted with laser lights now which will probably not be a popular option, since the standard LED lights are already pretty good and the price tag for the laser alternative is quite high. Inside the cabin you get beautiful ambient lighting in various colors and gesture control can also be had but, once again, I’m thinking most customers will pass on it. The standard Hi-Fi audio system is quite good actually, and I would think twice before upping to Harman/Kardon. I’m an audiophile and the difference between the two lies mostly in volume, as the Hi-Fi system has a balanced, warm sound to it, but not enough power in my view. If you want more though, just check the 900 EUR tab next to the HK system and you’ll be set.
There’s also more room inside the 3 Series according to the press release but, to be honest, you don’t really see it. I’m 6-ft tall and, with the driver’s seat adjusted to my preferred position, I do fit inside without touching the roof or losing parts of my legs but that’s about it. I can’t say I noticed an observable increase in space, to be honest, compared to the F30 3 Series. The rear seats can fold to get more storage space, while the boot measures 481 liters for luggage.
You can get so much technology on it that the experience you get in a base model can be drastically different to the experience a top-spec version implies. Therefore, when discussing rivalries and even performance to some extent, one now has to take the spec sheet into account. After driving the 330i on a couple of occasions, we are now looking at what has set the benchmarks in the BMW 3 Series range over the years in terms of sales and popularity: the 320d.
Numbers aside, drive one and it will become even more obvious why you wouldn’t need more car on your daily commute. The 320d is a best-seller for a couple of very obvious reasons, the most important of which is the balance it brings to the table.
In Europe, the 320d won’t even be the cheapest model you can buy, that claim probably going to a future 316d or 316i model. Thus, the 320d will be finding itself somewhere in the middle of the range, the perfect spot for it, if you ask me. For the 2019 iteration, the engine under the hood was basically kept intact compared to the F30 generation. Yes, we’re still dealing with the B47 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel mill that’s basically the workhorse of BMW in Europe. It delivers the same 190 PS and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque we’ve gotten used to.
But on the G20 model it feels a bit more refined than before and I’m ‘blaming’ that on the added sound deadening installed on the new model. All cars can now be equipped with better sound-proofed windows up front and they do work miracles most of the time. Some would complain that it makes the interior of the new 3 Series too muffled but who wants to hear a 2-liter diesel engine anyway?
It’s also a balanced mill that works flawlessly with the 8-speed automatic gearbox we had on our tester. Mind you, the 6-speed manual choice is still available while xDrive – which we had – is not really necessary. I’d go for a good set of tires for the snowy season and drop all-wheel drive as it does add a couple of kilos to the overall weight of the new 3er. The good parts of this configuration? Where do I begin?
DRIVING EXPERIENCE
Driving the 320d even for half a day reveals why this is the top pick in the range and it’s all down to a great mix of power and frugality, torque and efficiency, fun and responsibility. The fact that the engine has a twin-scroll turbo helps out a lot, as all the torque it can deliver comes on pretty quick. Push it a bit harder and the torque replies by creating a perfect replica of the seatback on your backside. Don’t get me wrong, I know 400 Nm of torque is not an incredible figure by today’s standards but it is enough on a car of this size.
BMW also wanted to make sure that the new 3 Series is a dynamically potent car and thus invested heavily in the way it handles the road. According to official claims, the new 3er has 50 percent more torsional rigidity and you can feel it when driving the car. On normal roads, in day to day traffic that won’t huge percentual increase won’t make a huge difference but in order to make it shine you have to take the car out on some back roads. That’s where you’ll notice it handles twisty turns a whole lot better than the F30 generation which felt heavier and bit slower to respond to your inputs. Not anymore.
The 320d and its 2-liter engine is actually quite fun to toss around. The rear end will start skidding if you want it to, even with xDrive that, in this case, is a RWD-biased setup. Getting the tail to misbehave is one of the ways the new 3er will put a smile on your face. The fact that you can do it with a car that can also cover over 600 miles (900 km) on one tank is just the cherry on top. Because yes, the new 320d is even more frugal than before. During my time with the car I saw an average fuel consumption of 6 l/100 km (39 mpg US/47 mpg UK), split around 8 l/100 km around town (29 mpg US/35 mpg UK) and 4.5 l/100 km (58 mpg US / 70 mpg UK). Those are very good figures for a car that tips the scale at over 1.5 tons and has 190 HP to play around with.
Another novelty announced by BMW in the driving dynamics department are the new lift-related dampers. They are supposed to adapt to the driving conditions better than ever without the driver having to do anything. They feature both main and auxiliary springs and new internal hydraulic bump stops, which are capable of progressively increasing pressure inside the shock over bumps, while also progressively adjusting rebound. This new suspension setup stages compression on both compression and rebound which should allow for a finer-tuned, more controlled ride. The theory sounds good but do they actually work in real life?
In short: yes. The new 3 Series absorbs bumps in the road better than before but you’ll have to be careful about the way you configure it. Initially, I thought the new 3 Series has a noticeably stiffer suspension than before and that it may just be too rough for some people. While the car’s weight was kept in check beautifully in corners, I pondered whether the trade-off might be just too much. Then again, the comment about the way a car changes depending on the optionals installed on it showed why it’s relevant. My baseline reading was an F30 fitted with adaptive dampers, in Comfort mode. And yes, the F30 in that configuration is slightly more comfortable in day to day traffic, over potholes and uneven surfaces but it also gives you the feeling you lack control over it. It’s a more laissez-faire feeling, if you will.
My G20 tester was a 320d with the standard, non-M Sport, non-adaptive suspension, riding on 19” wheels and runflat tires. Therefore, when also taking into consideration the added stiffness of the chassis, not a lot could be expected in the comfort department. And yet I was impressed of how comfy it felt. It also handled corners brilliantly, showing where these lift-related dampers truly shine. The biggest difference can be felt when you have some added weight inside the car, say three passengers. Whereas the F30 model would lean quite noticeably in a corner, in spite of its adaptive dampers being set in Sport mode, the G20 handled things with more grace, feeling almost as planted as when driving with the car empty. A truly impressive feat achieved by BMW considering these are the standard, non-adaptive dampers.
Overall, in true BMW 3 Series fashion, the ride is a bit on the stiffer side of things, so the C-Class would probably still feel like the more comfortable choice, but when it comes to carving canyons, even in 320d guise, the new 3 Series sets itself apart from the competition, once again.
But surely there must be some downsides too, right? Well, not many and, to be honest, I’d just be splitting hairs bringing them up. Shortcomings include a crowded rear bench and a stiff ride on 19” wheels but, as I said, they are not exactly instant turn offs.
There’s actually only one major issue I have with the 3 Series and the 320d I drove, in particular: the price. As you probably figured out already, it’s pretty high. The tester we had started at 43,459 Euros and ended up costing a staggering 63,823 Euros. Call me crazy but that’s too much for a 3 Series with a 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine under the hood and you simply can’t convince me otherwise. To make things worse, this wasn’t even a fully-decked model, some options missing from the 2-page list of equipment. We didn’t have all the driving assisting tech available for the car on board, we didn’t have the top-notch HK sound system, no gesture control and no laser lights. And yet, the price tag was still nearly 64,000 Euros. Whether it’s worth it or not, it’s your call, and yes, you can probably get it cheaper if you don’t tick a lot of options, which can totally transform your experience with this car.
CONCLUSION
Pecuniary issues aside, to sum it all up, it seems like the new 3 Series is now about to reclaim its throne, after the old version grew old and was surpassed by newer models. It’s too soon to claim a clear victory over its age-old rivals though and we still have a bit of rummaging to do to decide on that. However, there’s a lot to work in favor of the new 3 Series; from the abundance of technology infused in it – albeit at a cost – to the way it drives with the standard suspension and the new interior, the G20 3 Series is an impressive overall package.
As expected, BMW delivered on what we were promised for the new 3er. It’s such an important car for the Bavarians, they couldn’t afford to strike out and this car proves to be a complete, sharp package that may very well signal a true return to form for BMW.
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