2022 BMW 3 Series Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The 2022 BMW 3 Series model lineup includes the 330i, 330e, M340i, M3, and M3 Competition. Base prices range from an MSRP of $44,990 (for the PHEV, which allows it to qualify for incentives) to $93,500, not including a destination charge of $2,480.

Each variant of the 3 Series has a different powertrain. The BMW 330i xDrive sedan and 330e have a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The latter is paired with plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology that provides 32 kilometres of estimated electric driving range before reverting to gas-electric hybrid operation. For more power and performance, the M340i supplies a turbocharged six-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid technology coupled with dynamic tuning to improve the car’s handling. The high-performance versions of the 2022 3 Series are the vaunted BMW M3 and M3 Competition.

This BMW 3 Series review pertains to the M340i xDrive. Our test vehicle wore Barbera Red special-order paint, a $4,500 upgrade that, while gorgeous, certainly is not worth the extra cost. BMW paired the paint with a Cognac-colour SensaTec simulated leather upholstery and SensaTec dashboard wrap. Options included the Advanced Driver Assistance package, the Premium Enhanced package, and an Adaptive M Suspension. The price tag comes roughly to just under $80,000, including fees (Canadian, estimated).

When you choose the M340i, you get a standard M Performance exterior design treatment with exclusive grille and bumper designs, Shadowline exterior trim, and blue brake calipers. A set of 19-inch wheels is standard, wrapped in high-performance tires.

The result is styling with an undeniable appeal, and the M340i provides plenty of performance while avoiding the unfortunate grille BMW slaps onto the M3. The M double-spoke 19-inch wheels look terrific and give the car a perfect stance.

Inside, the perforated SensaTec upholstery convincingly mimics leather, and the test car had it on the dashboard for a more upscale look and feel. The Cognac colour is trendy and supplies sharp contrast against the otherwise dark cabin.

Overall, the 3 Series boasts quality materials rendered in complementary tones and textures. The design is technical rather than luxurious, but that’s in keeping with the car’s history and focus on driving enjoyment rather than plush elegance.

BMW equips the M340i with a sweetheart of a drivetrain. It’s a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline-six equipped with fuel-saving 48-volt mild-hybrid technology, and it returned 9.4 litres per 100 kilometres on our evaluation route. That’s 0.2 L/100 km above the official Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption rating of 9.2 L/100 km in combined driving, but considering how hard we flogged the car, the result is impressive.

The turbo six supplies power specs of 382 horsepower between 5,800 rpm and 6,500 rpm and 368 pound-feet of torque from 1,800 rpm to 5,000 rpm. It pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission with a Sport mode, paddle shifters, and launch control, and the power flows to the rear wheels through an M Sport differential. In Canada, BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive (AWD) system is standard equipment on this and every 3 Series except the M3 and the plug-in hybrid. Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is not offered.

Additionally, the M340i includes stout M Sport four-wheel ventilated-disc brakes, variable sport steering that delivers quick, precise response and a good feel for the road, and a standard M Sport suspension for a tauter ride and more athletic handling. The test car had the optional Adaptive M Suspension, which further contributes to the car’s utterly unflappable driving dynamics.

BMW claims the M340i will accelerate to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.3 seconds, and the car is undeniably fast, pushing you deep into the sport-bolstered driver’s seat each time you press hard on the right pedal. The transmission behaves flawlessly, and though the paddle shifters are rewarding to use, we nevertheless found it preferable to let the automatic do its thing while we focused on the task at hand. Still, a silky BMW manual gearbox option would be heavenly.

While winding our way across the mountains, the M340i felt hard-wired to our frontal lobe, almost presciently reacting to inputs and behaving exactly as we wanted and expected. It is a perfect tool for carving canyons, cornering with a graceful athleticism combined with surgical precision to keep the driver calm, cool, and confident in the car’s capabilities.

It’s been a decade since the sixth-generation 3 Series arrived with software and electronics that put sad faces on driving enthusiasts worldwide. Since then, BMW has righted wrongs while its rivals have increased the use of similar systems and technologies such as electric steering and character-altering driving modes. Today, in our opinion, given the leveling of the playing field, the BMW 3 Series remains the standard against which other sports sedans are measured.

Furthermore, as much as we enjoyed our time in the even more capable M3 last year, it’s hard to understand how anyone requires more performance than what the M340i provides. Simply put, it is a thrilling car to drive, and we strongly recommend it for that purpose.

A traditional four-door sedan might not look very sporty, but a three-box exterior design has nothing to do with how the BMW 3 Series drives. The beauty of this car is that you get all of the driving satisfaction described above without any loss of passenger comfort and practicality.

The M340i features power-adjustable front sport seats that supply plenty of support whether you’re slogging to the office in morning traffic or slamming down a mountain road just for the fun of it. The driving position is perfection, the thick-rimmed steering wheel perfectly shaped for comfort and grip.

Rear seat passengers will find just enough legroom to make the 3 Series suitable for carrying four relatively tall people, an advantage over the BMW 4 Series coupe. The bottom cushion provides outboard bolstering, positioning passengers a little further inboard than expected. So, while the 3 Series offers a centre rear seating position, it is likely to go unused. The back seat is comfortable, supplying good thigh support, but watch your knees on the rigid plastic panels covering the front seatbacks.

A three-zone automatic climate control system is standard, and in Canada, a heated steering wheel and heated front seats are standard on the M340i. Heated rear seats are also available, but you cannot get ventilated front seats, an odd omission.

Interior storage space is decent, and the 481-litre trunk offers roomy cargo space. The back seat offers a 40/20/40-split folding design with a centre armrest pass-through to add even more utility. But you know what would be better? A BMW M340i sports wagon. Unfortunately, time and time again, North Americans have shown BMW that they’d rather drive the tall, heavy SUV body style, so we don’t get a wagon. Sad face.

The optional Digital Cockpit Professional feature equips the car with a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system display, and a navigation system.

We miss the traditional round analog gauges BMW once used in its vehicles. And if Digital Cockpit Professional were more like Audi Virtual Cockpit Plus with its beautiful integration of maps and Google Earth imagery, we’d be more impressed. But aside from this quibble, the infotainment technology package works well.

BMW iDrive 7.0 is far more intuitive to use than those of the past. Whether you choose to use the centre console knob and buttons, the touchscreen display, the steering wheel controls, or the voice recognition system, you’ll discover how easy it is to operate. BMW even offers a gesture control system, but we’ve had hit-and-miss success with it.

Naturally, every 3 Series has Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and BMW equips the car with satellite radio and a 10-speaker HiFi sound system. A 16-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system is available.

Connected Package Pro technology is standard, equipping the car with BMW Remote Services and the excellent Intelligent Personal Assistant, which supplies conversational voice recognition. For example, you can say “Hey BMW” to wake the digital assistant and then say something like “Find the nearest Starbucks” if you need a caffeinated pick-me-up.

That’s a pretty basic command, though. The beauty of Intelligent Personal Assistant is that it quickly and accurately responds to various queries and requests. It passed all of our standard testing prompts, including “I need to go to a hospital.” After all, when there is an emergency, the last thing you want is to figure out how to get directions to the closest medical facility.

Alternatively, if you really do need to go to a hospital, you can simply press the standard BMW Assist eCall system’s SOS button on the headliner to summon help. Following a collision, it also automatically activates to speed first responders to your location.

A head-up display is available for the M340i, but if you wear polarized sunglasses, it can be challenging to read even when its brightness level is high. This feature is part of the optional Premium Enhanced Package.

As a part of our test car’s Advanced Driver Assistance Package, our M340i had a surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, and autonomous parking capability while the driver is seated in the vehicle. When leaving a tightly confined parking space, a Back-Up Assistant can retrace the steering path the 3 Series took to enter the space to ensure a clean exit.

Considering how advanced driving assistance and collision avoidance systems have gone mainstream and are now standard in what many people would consider “cheap” cars like the Toyota Corolla, BMW’s standard safety tech package is skimpy. Then again, some people prefer not to have all of that stuff on their vehicles.

The 2022 3 Series includes Active Guard, a package of safety features with forward-collision warning, pedestrian and cyclist detection, city-speed automatic emergency braking, and lane-departure warning. An available Traffic Jam Assistant pairs adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability with the lane-centring assist for semi-autonomous driving during the daily commute. An Emergency Stop Assistant can detect an unresponsive driver and bring the car to a safe stop while initiating an SOS emergency call for help.

Our loaded-up M340i had all of these features, and though we could not evaluate all of them, those that are safe to test on public roads worked as advertised. Of particular note is BMW’s lane-keeping assist technology. It can be downright aggressive about preventing a lane departure. This is aggravating when you’re aware that you’re drifting over the line but appreciated when you’re distracted by something.

If you are involved in a collision while driving the 3 Series, know that the car earns a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Only models equipped with the optional adaptive LED headlights with Laserlight qualify for the accolade, but otherwise, the 3 Series performs well in all crash-safety assessments.

The 3 Series also earns five-star ratings across the board from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), including for rollover resistance.

Generally speaking, you’ll pay more for a BMW than you will for most rivals. BMW commands a premium because it is just as aspirational a brand as Mercedes-Benz. That blue-and-white roundel on the hood and trunk lid is all that matters to some people.

Driving enthusiasts, however, ascribe a different kind of value to the BMW 3 Series. Long known for building “the ultimate driving machines,” BMW backs up its marketing with thrilling acceleration, unwavering brakes, and athletic handling.

Value seekers may decide to look elsewhere, but well-equipped versions of the Audi S4, Cadillac CT5 V-Series, Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance, and Volvo S60 Recharge aren’t much less expensive than the M340i – if at all. And an Alfa Romeo Giulia with similar performance costs even more. To realize significant savings, you’d need to select an Acura TLX Type S, Genesis G70, or Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400.

Still, we’re of the mind that spending extra to get the BMW 3 Series is a new car that’s a worthy use of your hard-earned money. Especially if you love to drive.

Note: Images show a US model.