Generation after generation, the BMW 3 Series kept piling up firsts
Since May 1975, the 3 Series has been the car that pays BMW's bills, making up around 30% of the brand's yearly sales. It began as a single two-door saloon and grew into estates, convertibles, hatchbacks and a hybrid, and Car and Driver put it on its 10 Best list 22 times, the longest run in the list's history.
The first generation, the E21, replaced the 02 Series in 1975 with a body designed by Paul Bracq and only one shape, a two-door saloon. The E30 that followed in 1982 added four doors, a convertible and a Touring estate, plus the range's first diesel, its first turbo and all-wheel drive in the 325iX. It also spawned the original M3 in 1986, powered by a high-revving four-cylinder engine.
Each new model introduced something. The E36, arriving in 1990, brought the first six-speed manual in a 3 Series, stability control and a far better multi-link rear suspension borrowed from the Z1 roadster. The E46, launched at the turn of 1998, added satellite navigation, rain-sensing wipers, xenon lights and LED tail lamps. With the E90 generation, the 335i introduced a turbocharged petrol engine in 2006, and the next M3 became the first mass-produced 3 Series with a V8.
The family has also shed branches. The small Compact hatchback became the separate 1 Series in 2004, and from 2014 the coupé and convertible were rebadged as the 4 Series, leaving the last M3 coupé to roll out of a German factory on 5 July 2013. Model numbers stopped reflecting engine size and began signalling relative power. In 2016 the 330e brought a plug-in hybrid and a three-cylinder engine appeared for the first time.
The seventh generation, the G20, was unveiled in Paris on 2 October 2018. It finally delivered an M3 Touring, shown in June 2022 as the first M estate BMW has actually sold, and a China-only electric version badged i3. The plug-in hybrid was Britain's best-selling car of its type in 2021, with 10,979 registrations.
Source: BMW 3 Series
