The favorite wagon of enthusiasts will again be available in the US Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 12, 2012 6:00pm EDT…BMW today released the first images and information on the next generation BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon and announced that, as with the two previous generations, this model will be offered in the US. Unlike anything else on the market, the all-new 3 Series Sports Wagon will again offer the flexibility and utility one would expect from a premium wagon combined with the driving dynamics of the quintessential sport sedan, the BMW 3 Series. The new BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon will launch in Europe later this year and is set to arrive in US showrooms in Spring 2013. Powertrain details for the US, as well as pricing, specifications and standard/optional equipment will be announced at a later date. Like its Sedan sibling, the new 3 Series Sports Wagon is slightly larger than its predecessor, most notably its wider track (front + 37 mm/1.46 in., rear + 48 mm/1.85 in.). The car’s length (+ 97 mm/3.66 in.) and wheelbase (+ 50 mm/1.96 in.) also accentuate its sporting promise. Inside the new BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon, rear passengers will appreciate the noticeable increase in space made possible by the larger dimensions. These larger dimensions also pay dividends in utility with nearly ten percent more cargo volume both with the rear seats up and when folded. The new 3 Series Sports Wagon will be the next model to offer BMW Lines as a way to tailor the car to individual tastes, just as with the Sedan, by choosing from a trio of trim and equipment variants – the Sport Line, Luxury Line and Modern Line. Each presents its own individual take on the character of the Sports wagon, with exclusive, high-quality trim and material combinations. For the enthusiast who wants to go beyond even the Sport Line, the M Sport Line will also be offered because it is, after all, a BMW 3 Series at its heart. Download the entire newsletter. Continue reading...
OK, BMWNA, I'll guess you may be in the process of figuring out what engine, option and color subset of this car's universe we will get the chance to buy here in this increasingly backwater wagon market. If I may offer a cheeky suggestion or two: Engines: Of course, the 2.0 liter turbo 4 cylinder and the 3.0 liter turbo 6 cylinder, BUT ALSO, consider diesel versions of those same two engine confirgurations. Transmissions: please make the 6/7 speed manual available on the 6-cylinder engine(s) too Drive Train: PLEASE don't force us all to take AWD. please offer REAR wheel drive with 6-cylinder manual equipped cars - thousands of us will BUY them, we really will!!! Colors: offer some COLOR on the cars, not just the black to silver range with a few "colors" trying to look like Black to Silver; and more than just RED. Options: Real Old-school sport package with lowered suspension, the big-bolstered sport seat, lighter and better looking wheels and a few other distinct trim and colors to choose. So many of us are tired of the jostling herds of SUV/CUV trundle buggy thingys and we long for a reasonably sized high utility car. and we can keep our e46 SPORT wagons going as long as we need to, but we'd do a Euro delivery for one of these new Sport Wagons if we could get it with the items above. Thousands of us would go for this kind of car!! And THANK YOU for bringing the real honest-to-god Touring instead of that bob-tail Grand Tourismo - just not a suitable substitute. Respectfully submitted...
^^^ +1. I'd love a diesel, but we would be lucky to even get the larger petrol engines here in the states. They always put the small 6 for us. I recently ran across this: http://f10.5post.com/forums/showpost.php?s=66ab1b6c89bb5a9e29d79d29826b1fa0&p=12081559&postcount=1 if they offered that with a manual, i'd be all over it.
With the caveat that I haven't driven a turbodiesel-engined car or truck with a manual transmission, the way I experience the turbodiesel engine of my pickup making its power leads me to think that a manual transmission for turbodiesel-powered vehicles wouldn't be much of a fun driving experience at all. Look at the hp/torque chart in the post linked in the above link (scroll down the page a bit): http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=640422 . Max torque is reached at 2k rpm, and falls off after 3k; my pickup truck isn't much different - after 2500 rpms or so, it's all over; so, for a vehicle to be able to take advantage of how a turbodiesel makes its power, it's going to take a lot of gears and a lot of shifting to keep it in the power band - and, max. rpm is 5400. Part of the fun in driving a manual non-diesel gas-engined car is running the engine up through a long rpm range - even 7-8k rpm in some BMW models. Obviously you can't do that in a diesel, and it's likely to feel kinda flat in the upper rpm range compared to how it feels in the lower rpm range with all that torque. The other aspect is that although most non-diesel engines don't generate the huge torque a turbodiesel does, the peak torque band is broader (if the engine has enough displacement to be torque-y), so one can keep it in any particular gear longer without needing to shift so frequently, making the shift-work less tedious, and thus the driving experience more fun. Not a very technical explanation, but, hey, I'm not an engineer - the point is, unless one really loves to shift both up and down often and quickly, I think it's likely that most folks would find having to manually row the gearbox for a turbodiesel quickly becoming a chore... and that might be why we're not seeing a manual option here for BMW's diesels. Even though I prefer a manual to automatics, for turbodiesels, I can see how an auto tranny makes sense - I'm certainly thankful I don't have to do all the frequent gearbox-rowing in my pickup. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who's driven a manual-transmission BMW-turbodiesel across the pond!
interesting observation MGarrison, makes me ponder your points. however, i did drive a 335d and looking at its torque curve, it has similar properties (http://d0j.blogspot.com/2011/03/torque-curve.html). Of course it was an automatic but from what I recall, it didnt seem to be flat at the upper end, contrary to what the graph says. i guess they only way to know for sure how it *feels* would be to give it a try. but for now, I'll just keep it tagged as "wow, neato, awesome" in my mind!
More sport tourings are a very good thing. I think they compliment sedans and coupes very well, and they promote the ultimate driving machine mantra just as well. It says 'we germans' can make anything sporty, fun, and fast. I think a diesel with manual would be great to drive. I get a warm feeling driving cars and motorcycles with lots of torque with manuals, there is something about knowing you could shift but don't have to. Like driving a Ducati twin through the mountains and using the power over the entire rev band throw you from corner to corner. A limber 3 series touring could feel the same with one of the wonderful larger BMW diesels.
I went to the Drive for Team USA that BMW was sponsoring for USA Olympics and talked to the employees, and they said no more diesels. I hope they are mistaken.
I'm not so sure, as I already mentioned, but perhaps so - there's a simple way to see for oneself - just drive any of the current crop of BMW diesels and shift the auto trans. manually and see how it feels running it up through the gears to redline for each upshift. Then do the same thing in auto sport/D shifting modes, paying attention to when and how quickly/often the transmission makes its programmed upshifts and see how it feels in comparison. If the way BMW has got them making their power feels like they're pulling strong all the way to redline, then a manual trans. could be a hoot - & if they feel kinda flat once it gets into the higher revs after the torque peak, then, hootness, perhaps not so much. Maybe I'll see what my friend who has an X5d experiences. In any case, I think a sports wagon diesel could be a good seller for BMW, manual trans or not, and if a M550d magically appeared on the doorstep, I wouldn't be complaining about 546 ft-lb's torque & 381hp if an auto trans. was the only transmission option. Stick that diesel M-motor in an X5 and you'd have the ultimate towing machine!
