JEDDAH, 18 March 2005 — The fifth generation of the new BMW 3 Series, launched here on Wednesday night, aims to set a new benchmark in the sports sedan segment.
“The new 3 Series is both a midrange saloon and a sports driving machine — more dynamic and spacious than its predecessor,” Musa Al-Aruri, managing director of Mohammed Yousuf Naghi Motors, exclusive BMW importer in the Kingdom, told a press conference at Sun Rise resort on the Corniche on Wednesday night. The formal unveiling ceremony of the new 3 Series later followed with fanfare in the presence of a large number of dealers.
The new car comes with a host of new first-time features in the midrange segment like iDrive, active steering and the engine start button. Engineered to deliver exhilarating performance, the top-of-the-range BMW 330i boasts a six-cylinder, 258 brake horsepower (bhp) engine and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds. “This makes the new three-liter car the most powerful and lightest six-cylinder in its segment,” Joerg Kelling, BMW’s Dubai-based area manager for the Middle East, said.
The new 325i has a maximum engine output of 218 bhp at 6,500 rpm and acceleration to 100 km/h in 7.1 seconds. Rounding off the line-up is the 320i “the most powerful four-cylinder in the range.”
With the iDrive concept, the conventional buttons and knobs in the cockpit are eliminated and the comfort access option makes the conventional ignition key a thing of the past. A transmitter, or ID sensor, enables the driver to enter the car and start the engine without even touching the key. In conjunction with key memory, the ID sensor also serves to set the seat position, the mirrors, automatic air-conditioning and radio reception according to the driver’s wishes as entered in advance.
“A feature available for the first time in this segment is BMW’s active steering coming as an option in the six-cylinder version of the new 3 series,” he said. “BMW’s dynamic stability control featured for the first time also ensures safety of the highest standard.”
All models come with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission gearbox making the 3 Series even more dynamic on the road, with faster acceleration, and higher top speed and standard of all-round economy.
“The BMW 3 Series established the segment of sports sedans and it remains the quintessential embodiment of the segment. This is the ‘icon of sports sedans’ and it has been this way for no less than 30 years,” said Kamal Momina regional manager at MYNM.