VIP Sneak peek preview of the new BMW F30 3-Series

On March 6th, The BMW dealer of Jordan, Abu Khader Automotive, Received one of The new F30 3-Series Sedan and had a special even for us to take a peek at this new model.

The F30 was launched on February 11, 2012 by BMW Press in Germany as a successor to the E90.
With a completely different engine set up, letting go of the 6-cylinder and using a 4-cylinder turbo'd engine.

We had some time to wait before entering the F30 room, and all we were able to see at the beginning was a bold mean look from the 3-Series inside. We imagined it would  leftand give us the look, now that would've been creepy!

The car just stood there on a low profile staged style platform, looking very neat!

First thoughts? It's mostly a slightly smaller version of the 5-Series! I meanit had a big stance, almost like a 5-series but it still tells you it's a 3-series. Could they be comparable?

This was the 328 version, with the Sport package. It has a 2.0L front engine, with a rear-wheel drive drivetrain.
producing 242 hp, and 258 lb·ft of torque. can make a 0-60 in 5.9 seconds which is fair.

The sport package, comes with interior and exterior options. Such as the stitching on the steering wheel, the sporty seats, the glossy black trims. it all looked pretty nice! But still a bit blank at some areas.

For the transmission, BMW has used the same gearbox from the BMW 1 Series: a 6-speed manual as standard, and the 8-speed automatic as optional. This sport version had the automatic tranny, with good looking flappy pedals mounted on the steering wheel.

A few changes with the steering system, What's cool is a variable sport steering rack and it's massive electric motor. Variable steering is a $300 upgrade to the standard rack (both are electric) that changes the ratio of steering as needed. It means you don't have to throw the wheel over as many times for those tight parking lot turns

As for the engine set up, It's completely different now that BMW's naturally aspirated straight-six engines from the 325i/330i models are replaced by the new N20 turbocharged inline-four engine

As a comparison to the earlier E90 model, the E90 328i Used a 3.0L engine that produced 228 hp, and 199 lb·ft of torque. So when it comes to math, the earlier E90 had 1000cc more in capacity, 14 hp, and 59 lb·ft less than the newer model.

As for weight, The F30 weights 1505 kg (Manual transmission), or 1530 kg (Automatic).
Exactly the same as the E90, but weighs 5 kgs less for automatic.

*Also, lovely black painted exhaust for a more sporty look!

Later on fall 2012, BMW will be releasing the Xi line of the 3-Series which is equipped with an All-Wheel drive system, and for the first time ever, the 3-Series ActiveHybrid3 Sedan.
Hopefully when this car gets launched, we'll be scheduled for a test drive and tell you more about this car!

Till then, we'll be keeping you updated with different articles :)