The Next Gas-Powered BMW 3 Series Gets Way More Horsepower But Its Big Party Piece Won't Be Ready In Time For Launch

Just because BMW has started production of the i3 sedan doesn't mean it's the end of the road for the straight-six. Far from it. See, for the first time, we're about to get two completely different new 3 Series models, one powered by electricity and one powered by stuff you pump. It's going to take some time to get adjusted to the new combustion-powered 3 Series, but this sport sedan has the potential to be very good indeed. There's just one little question mark still dangling over it. On the subject of changes, BMW has a new naming convention to wrap our heads around. While the 'i' at the end of BMW model names historically signified fuel injection, now that everything's fuel-injected, BMW's repurposing that letter. It now exclusively goes at the front of electric models' names like the i3 and i7. Thus, goodbye M340i xDrive, and hello M350 xDrive. Okay, I'm still getting used to the name, but part of that's because a 750i used to have a five-liter V12 and a 550i used to have a 4.8-liter V8. The M350 still has the familiar B58 three-liter turbocharged straight-six, but BMW's engineers have been in the lab and tweaked it so that it now produces 437 horsepower. That's 51 more horsepower than the outgoing M340i, and only 36 fewer horsepower than a base M3. With mild-hybrid assistance for smooth auto-stop-start and ZF's gold standard 8HP eight-speed automatic transmission, BMW claims a zero-to-62 MPH time of 4.1 seconds. Given how BMWs have a long history of outsprinting their factory-claimed times, don't be surprised if the eventual magazine zero-to-60 mph figure with rollout deducted is under four seconds. Solid stuff, but there's more to a medium-hot 3 Series than just power. It needs to handle while still rounding off potholes and frost heaves better than a full M Car. In that pursuit, the M350 xDrive is getting adaptive dampers, an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential, and a bodyshell even more rigid than that of the old car. The steering's been tweaked, the wheelbase lengthened, axle track widened, and fenders carved out to fit staggered 245-section front and 275-section rear tires. That all sounds promising, but there's trepidation to be had over the new 3 Series' big party trick. Ever since BMW started bolting air compressors to gasoline-powered inline-sixes, the quickest non-M 3 Series models have garnered a bit of a reputation for being a German Mustang of sorts. Inexperienced drivers mash the pedal, put a lot of torque to the rear axle, and sometimes find themselves in the scenery, looking at the road. While standard all-wheel drive should mitigate this, BMW has announced something on the M350 xDrive called Drift Moment for those who know what they're doing. Essentially, this decouples drive to the front axle, just like two-wheel-drive mode in the all-wheel-drive M cars. It could be a great deal of fun, but it's not actually ready yet. See, BMW claims that 'The new Drift Moment will be made available over the course of 2027, at which point it will also be activated – via Remote Software Upgrade – in cars already delivered to customers.' In short, it's software that isn't ready yet and is expected to be pushed out over the air. Hmm. That's enough to warrant a pause. While a drift mode isn't as substantial a feature as certain promised advanced driver assistance capabilities, promising this capability before it's actually baked in seems a bit bold. If, for some reason, the timeline sees further delay or BMW isn't able to implement Drift Moment, will owners be left hanging? On the other hand, production dates are usually set in stone this close to market launch, and the olden ways of late-availability features weren't exactly optimal either. Flash back 20 years, and early E90 3 Series sedans didn't have full personal profile capability like later models, which tie each key to a series of settings including central locking and lighting functionality. Early adopter? Too bad. Regardless of purported over-the-air updates that are yet to materialize, there's still plenty enticing about the M350. Even with the camouflage on, it looks less fussy than the outgoing M340i. The Neue Klasse grille panels cut a modestly sized but sharp graphic in the nose, and BMW's instead leaning on a big lower grille for cooling airflow. The big channel on the hood is very much part of the new family face, and the Hofmeister kink in the greenhouse is more pronounced. Even the overall shape of the diffuser-style insert in the M Sport rear bumper seems cleaner. If the Drift Moment feature ends up being pushed to all M350s as promised, the new 3 Series has the potential to be extremely good. The mid-range (at least in America) model has more power than ever before; the new iDrive 10 system as seen in the iX3 is actually rather decent; and signs point towards this new-generation car fixing minor annoyances with the largely excellent outgoing model. In time, there will likely also be a four-cylinder 330 model, but we'll just have to wait until later this year to find out where the chips fall. Top graphic image: BMW