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The BMW M350 xDrive now crowns the new 3 Series range, and it lands with real force. It takes over from the M340i, and it arrives with enough pace to make you wonder where the next M3 can possibly go. BMW has dropped the old i and d suffixes, so the badging is fresh too. The driving, happily, is familiar in all the right ways.
Under the bonnet sits a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight six, backed by a 48V mild-hybrid system. The generator is driven off the crankshaft rather than a belt, and throttle response is sharper for it. Output stands at 437bhp and 580Nm, fed through an eight-speed automatic and xDrive. The sprint to 62mph takes 4.1 seconds. Flat out, it will see 155mph. That makes it four tenths quicker than an Audi S5, despite the Audi giving away 75bhp, and half a second up on the outgoing Mercedes-AMG C 43. Kerb weight has crept to 1,860kg, mostly down to the hybrid hardware and a standard panoramic roof, yet it still beats the old M340i by three tenths. Official economy is 37.2mpg, with 171g/km of CO2.
The chassis has been worked over properly. Anti-roll bars are thicker and now use a pre-load function, the track is wider, steering caster has gone up, and the wishbone mounts are stiffer. The result is a nose that bites hard with barely a hint of understeer. Lift or squeeze the throttle mid-corner and the car simply stays put. Traction from xDrive is abundant. Adaptive M dampers read the surface without wearing you down, though they stop well short of 5 Series softness. The 20-inch wheels are the limiting factor on broken tarmac. Drift mode, which uncouples the front axle, was missing from the early car but should reach customers in spring.
The cabin follows the Neue Klasse script. Panoramic iDrive stretches across the base of the windscreen and can be configured with widgets to suit. The 17.9-inch touchscreen responds quickly, although there is nowhere to rest your hand, and right-hand drive cars suffer a screen angle that lets the wheel rim hide the shortcut toggles. A two-spoke M wheel, leather M Sport seats, red paddles and a backlit M tricolour mark out the flagship. Those paddles feel plasticky next to the alloy items in an Alfa Romeo Giulia. The engine note is synthetic, as it so often is now. Rear space is tight around the transmission tunnel, and the boot has shrunk from 480 to 450 litres.
Those are small debits against a very large credit. The M350 is the sharpest tool in the compact executive class, and it makes the S5 and the C 43 work hard to stay in touch. The quieter 320 looks promising, a plug-in hybrid follows, and Touring versions will broaden the appeal further. Once again, the 3 Series is the car everybody else has to beat.
