It’s November: for the Yanks, that’d be the season of Thanksgiving. We don’t need to bust out a turkey dinner, but I’d personally like to give thanks for the continued existence of the six-cylinder sports sedan: a recipe that, if you’d asked five years ago, looked rather endangered.
Think back to COVID times: the car industry had pledged allegiance to selling only EVs by the end of this decade. And while desirable EVs have hit the market, helped by seemingly half the world’s oil infrastructure being blown up, there’s still something special about combustion.
One brand that refused to join the all-EV commitment was BMW. Rivals looked at it as a pariah for backing in the customer’s choice of petrol, diesel, hybrid, or electric powertrains, but the rocky road to EV uptake in the intervening years has shown bet-hedging wasn’t a bad idea.
Fast-forward to 2026, and it’s time for a new BMW 3 Series. Full changeovers only happen about once every seven years for this famous badge, so it’s a big deal.
RELATED: The Fine Art Of Going Sideways At BMW’s Queenstown Snow & Ice Experience
What is the BMW 3 Series?
Fifty years old this year, the 3 Series best encapsulates what the Munich brand is all about: equal serves of luxury and practicality alongside rear-driven fun, usually underpinned by characterful six-cylinder engines.
That’s still the elevator pitch for the new eighth-generation version that lands next year in Australia.
There’s a four-cylinder, and – for the first time – two fully-electric 3 Series variants, reflecting the growing slice of buyers ready to leave service stations behind. But the option of six-pot power persists.
It’s the latter you’ll want most. Badged M350, the 326kW 3.0-litre will be the apex of the petrol 3 Series lineup until a new M3 arrives.
In a classy touch, the petrol and electric 3 Series look like close relatives, so even if you prefer volts to litres, you don’t stand out. But the pair sit on different foundations, with the long-running platform used under the combustion 3 Series packaging a longer bonnet and cab-rearward proportions.
Prices are up. Is it worth it?
Australians get four versions: the 155kW 320 model with rear-wheel drive ($83,900), two all-wheel drive EVs promising 710km range ($97K) or a massive 912km range ($113K), but the M350 six is the most desirable – and BMW knows it, with pricing set at $128,900. It’s still built in Germany.
For that outlay, you’re getting real pace. The M350’s ‘B58’ engine is rightfully famous in BMW circles; it now delivers 326kW of power and 580Nm of torque, through ZF’s smooth eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic with all-wheel drive. A 48-volt mild hybrid system has sharpened it further; there’s no plug.
BMW claims 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds, while the top speed is limited at 250km/h for Autobahn runs. Claimed fuel use is 8.2L/100km; we saw 10L/100km in mountainous southern France.
It’s stacked with gear, both mechanical and cosmetic. The former includes 20-inch M alloy wheels, big brakes, adaptive dampers, and an M rear differential to make use of an on-demand ‘Drift Moment’ feature that will hit the car via software update in 2027.
Standard are a panoramic glass roof, heated and ventilated sports seats, a Harman-Kardon stereo, ambient lighting, keyless access that works with a smartphone app for remote climate control, plus a head-up display.
Does the six-cylinder still stir the soul?
Yes, it does. While BMW fits V8 engines to some models, the six-cylinder is the layout most associated with this German brand. The M350’s heart remains the biggest reason to shell out this kind of cash.
The B58 offers up crushing torque and near-instantaneous responses at nearly any speed, so overtaking or pounding out of a corner requires no thought: press harder, and the engine responds urgently, producing a smooth and metallic soundtrack. The sound is real, and it’s particularly loud outside the car.
Compared to the old M340i, which was a well-regarded thing, the M350 remains fun and rewarding to hustle, but the new model is more relaxing over the kinds of battered roads that have become commonplace in Australia.
On its standard adaptive suspension, the M350 is settled and absorbent, soaking up imperfections with amazing body control and some of the best damping we’ve found on any sports sedan. There’s very little road noise.
It’s utterly convincing on winding roads – you’ll look for excuses to drive this thing. The steering is precise, the brakes reassuring, and the rear differential makes this AWD BMW feel rear-driven when it matters: it will wag its tail on the throttle, perhaps even a bit too enthusiastically for some…
At nearly two tonnes, the M350 doesn’t have the fleet-of-foot sparkle of classic BMWs, but for a modern car with all the luxuries aboard, it’s about as good as it gets.
Has BMW gone overboard with the new screens?
Potentially. If you’re an existing BMW owner, you likely appreciate subtle displays and physical buttons for key functions. Sadly, most of that has been stripped away – but it isn’t all bad. Read on…
While the iDrive controller is dearly departed, it has been replaced by a pair of screens that work well in isolation. There’s a 17.9-inch touchscreen that sits much closer to the driver than the old M340i’s panel, joined by a super-thin, 43-inch (really) pillar-to-pillar display that sits at the base of the windscreen.
That sounds overwhelming, but in reality, the latter screen is a band of customisable widgets that sits in your peripheral vision. Your speed is dead ahead, but the other elements display G-forces, power and torque, navigation, media, fuel economy and more in a layout of your choosing.
Less convincing is the disappearance of buttons to control functions like fan speed and temperature – we’d prefer a few switches came back.
The good news was that our test cars were well-built. The driving position is low and comfortable, while rear seat space is acceptable and the boot is big enough.
As for cabin luxury: we’re not so sure. Textiles and synthetics have replaced leather, metal and wood from the old car, and while you can upgrade the seats to genuine hide, the Merino option costs a steep $4000.
What if you’d rather plug in these days?
You certainly can. If six cylinders are old hat to you now – or if you’re justifiably tired of near $3/L petrol – then the i3 is a proper electric 3 Series rather than some existing EV that BMW has shoehorned the famous badge onto.
On the roads that we tested the M350 on, we found the 345kW i3 50 xDrive electric to be quiet, instantly responsive, and very nearly as rewarding as its petrol sibling in the corners. Its chassis is brilliantly tuned and supported by cleverer electronics than the petrol version that help to deliver the i3’s remarkably natural feel.
For $112,900, the i3 claims up to 912km of range, making it useful for long-distance driving as it can be charged at speeds of up to 400kW: a 10-minute charge adds about 420km back to the battery. That’s not quite as convenient as refuelling a petrol car on the go, but it’s not far off, is it?
The M350’s poise and lighter weight mean it narrowly wins out over the i3 for driving enjoyment, but electric buyers aren’t getting a consolation prize.
Would we buy one?
Yes. The new 3 Series is expensive, particularly in the hot M350 guise, but the amazing depth of engineering is worth the coin.
BMW isn’t making it up when they talk about the importance of bum-in-seat chassis tuning conducted by experts who have been around for decades. That sounds like marketing material, but it isn’t: this company still builds cars that are great to drive and noticeably ahead of the competition in the fun stakes.
As for the question of petrol versus EV: these days, that’s less of an ideological issue and more about your lifestyle and your own preferences.
We’re mightily glad BMW has kept the six-cylinder around for at least one more generation, but the impressive i3 is closing the gap in every way.