2015 BMW 3 Series 340i automatic first drive

A mid-life facelift for what may be the most important and enduringly popular executive car the world has ever known: the BMW 3 Series. Now a remarkable four decades old, the car was a symbol of Britain in boom throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s – and its success story continues.

The current ‘F30’ generation was introduced in 2012 and continued Munich’s best traditions of outstanding performance and rear-drive handling. It also went straight to the top of our road test class rankings – where it stayed until very recently.

But with an increasingly popular Mercedes-Benz C-Class to fight off, an all-new Audi A4 arriving later this year and a fresh and desirable newcomer on the scene in the shape of the Jaguar XE, the 3 Series needs to move forward just to stand still at the moment.

In fact, standing still may not even be a guarantee of success. Thanks to the introduction of the 4 Series line and the demise of the 3 Series Coupé and Convertible, BMW’s wider 3 Series brand has undoubtedly lost a bit of its old lustre and quietly dropped out of the UK’s top 10 biggest-selling cars.

Which may partly explain the lengths to which BMW has gone with this unusually far-reaching mid-cycle update - there’s clearly a consolidation job to be done. And this is not just the usual headlights-and-bumpers revision – although new optional LED headlights and reshaped bumpers front and rear are included in it. New turbocharged petrol and diesel engines come in under the bonnet, coupled to an updated optional eight-speed automatic gearbox, while extensive changes have been made to the 3 Series’ suspension, cabin and equipment.

Formidable. Outstanding in lots of ways. But still the class’s benchmark on performance and handling? It’s too early to say, but the early signs aren’t universally promising.

Munich could only provide examples of the new range-topping petrol 340i for us to test drive. It's a model with a quite brilliant engine, but it's a bit-part player in a sales mix that will be utterly dominated by the more affordable and fleet-friendly four-cylinder diesels.

BMW could also only manage one vehicle specification, including an optional eight-speed automatic transmission, optional adaptive dampers, optional Variable Sport Steering, and wheels and tyres that won’t be a part of the UK sales offering. So the verdict on a 3 Series anything like the one most UK owners may eventually take delivery of will have to come later.

The 340i’s is one of a pair of turbo petrol engines that make their world debut in the facelifted 3 Series. In replacement of the four-cylinder turbo 328i comes a new 330i four-pot with 249bhp and 258lb ft, while succeeding the 335i is the 340i, which gets a new twin-scroll turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six producing 20bhp and 37lb ft more than the last one. Elsewhere in the engine range, the all-important 320d gets a bit more power, the EfficientDynamics versions becomes a bit more efficient and there’s a plug-in hybrid version in the pipeline for 2016 – the 330e – combining 249bhp of total output with combined CO2 emissions of just 47g/km.

The overhaul to the 3 Series’ suspension has been made possible by a change to the way the car’s various combination of struts and links mount to the body. Anchored at three points previously, the car’s suspension is now secured at five separate points per corner, allowing for better rigidity and robustness from the suspension assemblies themselves and more effective support of the car’s weight.