BAVARIA IS BACK
Can BMW deliver on the promise of the Ultimate Driving Machine once again?
Over the past four decades, Bavaria’s sporting marque has endured tremendous pressure to constantly improve on what is seen as the segment benchmark. It is a cruel task. Improving one area often comes with a trade-off in another.
BMW owners are as demanding as they are proud. Take it from someone who owned the 3 Series that really started it all—the 1988 E30 325i—as well as the outgoing-generation 2012 F30 328i (and who has tested every generation in between). We’re an arrogant bunch possessing sturdy right feet, and we have no qualms calling out missteps in handling and steering feel.
The competition doesn’t sit still, either. For those among you who track these things, the past two MotorTrend Car of the Year winners have been compact luxury sport sedans designed to dethrone the 3 Series as the default choice for shoppers in the segment.
Both the COTY-winning Genesis G70 and Alfa Romeo Giulia make outstanding cases as the
