BMW ActiveHybrid 3 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $97,700
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint $1840; Glass sunroof $2920; 19-inch alloy wheels $1800; Sport Line trim $2000.
Crash rating: Five-star (EuroNCAP)
Fuel: 98 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 5.9
CO2 emissions (g/km): 139
Also consider: Audi A4 3.0 TFSI quattro (from $92,900); BMW 335i (from $91,400); Infiniti M35h GT Premium (from $99,900); Lexus GS450H (from $99,900); Mercedes-Benz C350 CDI (from $95,900).

One of the best things about the new BMW ActiveHybrid 3 is how it can drive silently on electricity. That makes it great fun in car parks.

Just glide up behind someone who has strolled out onto the road without looking because they are conditioned to listen for an internal combustion engine doing its suck, bang, squeeze, blow thing.

And when they realise you are there. Watch them jump. Heh, heh, heh.

No, let me assure I didn’t spend hours circling car parks looking for victims like a Great White hanging off a point break. It was just a happenstance, a byproduct of taking the 3 to the shops. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

The only link between the 3 and a shark is its nose, although even then it has a somewhat bi-focular look because of the way the latest ‘F30’ 3 Series links headlights and kidney grille together. An ageing shark then?

New age more like it. This is the second of three petrol-electric hybrids BMW has recently rolled out in Australia. The first was the 5, the 7 was third.

The 3, understandably is the cheapest option, But actually, at $97,700 it’s not cheap. Indeed, it is $6300 more expensive than the 335i with which it shares that wonderful 225kW and 400Nm turbo-petrol straight six engine and sublime ZF eight-speed auto.

What it adds is an electric motor located between engine and transmission and lithium-ion battery pack under the boot floor that combine to raise power to 250kW, torque to 450Nm, drop the zero to 100km.h acceleration claim for 5.5 secs to 5.3 secs, and the combined fuel consumption claim to 5.9L/100km from 7.2L/100km.

In our week with the AH3 the final consumption average was 7.5L/100km. Not bad for a sport sedan. Indeed, based on acceleration claim, BMW says this is the fastest production hybrid in the world, pipping the larger -- but not much more expensive -- Infiniti M35h and Lexus GS450H.

It definitely feels quick. All that power and torque delivered with a smoothness beyond the capability of most engines, managed adroitly by that eight-speed auto, rushes you forward to where you want to be. Go more gently and BMW says the AH3 will run on electricity alone up to 75km/h. The best we managed was about 50km/h.

But even being a lead-foot there’s a green-ish tinge to the AH3. Idle stop-start is standard (oh how de rigeur), while the motor charges the battery during coasting or braking. There’s also a sailing mode where the engine switches off and decouples downhill. However, that latter function only works when you’re in EcoPro mode, the most parsimonious of the selectable Driver Experience Control settings the car can be tailored to.

From EcoPro you can flick up through Comfort, Sport and Sport+. Transitioning from one extreme to the other is like Tony Abbott taking Crack. One minute it’s all about rationality and responsibility, the next the car’s crazy is out in the open and ready to party.

So Comfort and Sport are really the options. Comfort still has some treacle about its responses, but it suits a relaxed mindset. Sport gets up and about like a Collie chasing sheep, ready to dash forward, jag left or right and do it just for the fun of it.

The problem such as it is -- for the AH3 is that all this extra poke comes at a weight penalty of more than 130kg compared to the 335i. And that means some of its acute balance goes missing.

There’s a brittleness to the initial ride compliance exacerbated by the test car’s 19-inch run-flat rubber. But beyond that the rear of the car -- where the battery pack resides remember -- feels a tad under-damped, thumping into its bump stops more than once. Corruptions could also move the rear of the car around mid-corner.

There’s also a bit of a struggle finding the right balance for the electric-assist power steering, which changes weighting between different modes. By EPAS standards it’s excellent, but BMW’s hydraulic systems were simply outstanding and still missed.

Don’t be put off too much, however, as the AH3 remains one of those rare cars that encourages you to tackle a winding country road with enthusiasm. It communicates and flows. Just as any good rear-wheel drive BMW should, it is on your side.

And like any good Bimmer the cabin is also a nice place to be (although still not as good as an Audi A4). In this case the highlights are the very supportive optional Sport Line seats and leather sports steering wheel that really sell this car’s driving message.

In terms of merely passengering, this is really a four-seater given the shape of the bench backrest and the transmission tunnel that cruels leg space for any unfortunate middle-rear passenger.

Otherwise there is space for all in what is a significantly larger car than previous 3 Series generations. The positioning of the battery pack under the boot does mean capacity is reduced by 90 litres. But it also means there is a split-fold for longer loads like bicycles (because being a greeny you ride lots don’t you?).

Of course, there’s also ActiveHybrid 3 badging (outside as well inside), some info in the instrument panel and a selectable display in the media screen that shows where the juice is flowing to and from and how much fuel you are saving.

There’s also a new-generation sat-nav system with more gigs and better chips (sounds like a successful yet hungry musician) and a lucid 8.8-inch monitor. But for the most part its equivalent to the 335i. So that means bi-xenons, LED rear lights, leather upholstery, Harmon Kardon audio, Bluetooth streaming, USB, 3.5mm auxiliary input and powered front seats.

There’s six airbags and the usual profusion of safety acronyms that modulate braking, acceleration, sliding and parking. Of course, one thing missing from all those safety aids isn’t for the driver or other occupants.

It’s a siren to warn pedestrians there’s a 3 out there hunting them in the car park…

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