2022 BMW 3 Series

The 2022 BMW 3 Series hasn’t changed much from 2021, but last year saw one of the biggest upgrades ever to this familiar compact luxury sedan. That upgrade was the debut of the second-generation of the 3 Series plug-in hybrid models, the $42,945 330e and all-wheel drive (AWD) $44,950 330e xDrive. While the 3 Series has offered a plug-in hybrid before, the new 330e’s dramatic upgrades make it a much more desirable machine than its predecessor, and arguably the best model in the lineup.

Some things haven’t changed though. The 3 Series still competes head-to-head with the Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS and Cadillac CT4, as well as some newer upstarts like the Genesis G70. All are luxurious machines and some offer driving experiences that approach BMW’s famously athletic dynamics, but not many offer meaningful PHEV options. Even if the plug-in isn’t your thing, Munich still offers a punchy regular four-cylinder model (the 330i) and a kind of M3-lite, the six-cylinder M340i. Though Forbes Wheels includes many M versions in our other BMW reviews, we review the smokin’ hot M3 separately.

M3s may grab headlines, but the 330e is the version most deserving of your attention. It uses a 12-kWh battery pack and 107-horsepower electric motor with a turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine similar to the one in the 330i. Combined output: 288 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, but the big deal here is that 77 of those pound-feet POUND immediately, from a standstill. The four-cylinder engine’s max torque comes down low at 1,450 rpm, taking over for the electric. Many may find the hybrid 3 Series more engaging than pure gasoline editions. 

More changes are coming for 2023, but in the meantime BMW has added standard LED headlights with cornering function, and what BMW calls Live Cockpit Professional where drivers can customize the digital gauge cluster. Front passengers will find the cockpit-like front cabin plenty roomy, but like other compact luxury sedans, the 3 Series skimps on both backseat and trunk space. There are just 35.2 inches of rear legroom, and the 330e reduces trunk space from 13.2 cubic-feet to 13.0, figures which are basically average for the class.

The 3 Series, as is BMW’s propensity, includes some great base technology and safety, but they charge more for some of what rivals include. Standard gear: automatic dual-zone climate control, semi-active dynamic cruise control, (wireless) Apple CarPlay and (wired) Android Auto and frontal collision warning including pedestrian and cyclist detection. But BMW wants to charge you $700 more for stop-and-go capabilities with cruise control, lane departure warning and active blind-spot assistance which will steer you back on track if you try to merge into the path of another vehicle.

Can we really damn BMW for doing what all their peers do? Not really. And the 3 Series still offers a pretty stellar combination of a sedan that’s fun to drive, along with the famous BMW brand cachet. Heck, even the nostril-grille looks okay on this model compared to the enormous grilles on the M3 and 4 Series Gran Coupe, to say nothing of some of BMW’s recent tall-schnozzed SUVs. Underneath, it’s still the same luxurious and satisfying machine it’s always been, it just offers a greener and meaner PHEV now.

Performance: 14/15

BMW offers three powertrains on the 3 Series. All start out driving their rear wheels, with xDrive AWD a $2,000 option on all models, and all use an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The base-model 330i comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 255 hp and 294 lb-ft of torque. The top-spec 3 is the M340i, which uses BMW’s 3.0-liter “B58” turbocharged inline-six, delivering 382 hp and 369 lb-ft, assisted by a new 48-volt mild-hybrid system that sharpens its responses and boosts fuel economy. The M340i is good for four-second zero-to-60 sprints. Both powerplants are also offered on the 2 Series and 4 Series.

The middle-grade version, not shared with the 4, is the plug-in hybrid 330e, with a total system capacity of 288 hp and 310 lb-ft.  The 330e might be the ideal compromise between the 330i and M340i because of performance as much as frugality or price. EV torque is real, but here it’s backed by a thrilling turbocharged four-cylinder engine. That’s rare: Hybrid powertrains are almost never thrilling. On the 330e, however, the turbo four-cylinder revs sweetly, so any sports car enthusiast looking at a BMW won’t feel like they’re giving up too much with this model.

Diehard enthusiasts will no doubt still hunger for the more potent M340i, and there the argument is tradition and raw power, but only that. What all 3 Series have in common is superb, engaging handling. BMW says that this generation of 3 Series was gifted with a chassis that’s as much as 50% stiffer than its predecessor, and that allowed substantial improvements in suspension tuning. It shows in excellent steering and intuitive cornering. The 3 Series feels alive and engaging, and that’s why people buy it in the first place. 

Fuel Economy: 13/15

The EPA says the combined fuel economy of the 330e is actually worse than that of the 330i, which probably has to do with 450-pound heft of its battery pack. You’ll get 28 combined mpg from the rear-wheel-drive 330e, and 25 mpg from the xDrive version. The 330i gets 26 city and 36 highway mpg (30 combined), while the xDrive model gets 25 city and 34 highway mpg and 28 combined. 

However, you can also operate the 330e as a hybrid, with a calculated 75 MPGe for the rear-wheel model and 67 MPGe for the xDrive, and each 330e can be driven in electric-only mode as well, for, respectively, 23 and 20 miles. Which essentially means if you’re mostly going to drive on the Interstate the 330i might make sense, but if your daily routine would let you drive the 330e in mostly EV mode, you’d save a boatload on gas. All 3 Series models only drink premium gas.

The M340i in either rear or AWD configuration gets 23 city and 32 highway mpg, and a combined 26 mpg. 

These figures compared pretty well to the alternatives, with the most fuel-efficient Lexus IS topping out at 25 mpg combined and both the Cadillac CT4 and Alfa Romeo Guilia at 27. Audi and Mercedes-Benz offer comparable MPG figures to the 330i, but their AMG and S-Line versions fall behind the M340i. 

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 11/15

BMW earns both five stars across the board from NHTSA for the 3 Series and an IIHS Top Safety Pick (one level below Top Safety Pick Plus). 

As mentioned, BMW includes some advanced safety technology in the base 3 Series, but it’s stingier with these features than on other models. Only forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection are standard. Blind spot detection, lane departure warnings and active driving assistant, which provides certain warnings, are part of a $700 Driving Assistance Package. Some of these features are standard on other BMWs, and since even more gear than this is included on a $23,000 Subaru Impreza, it feels like more should be standard here.

Beyond that, there’s the $1,700 Driving Assistance Professional Package, which includes stop-and-go traffic within cruise control, active lane keeping, an evasion aid to recenter the car and help with emergency maneuvers. Rear cross traffic alert is also part of this package.  

Comfort & Room: 11/15

If you’re buying for capaciousness then know all the German compact sports sedans aren’t really about that. The 3 Series isn’t trailing either the Audi A4 or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class massively by any measurement, coming up a little shy in backseat legroom, but making up for it with a little more headroom than the Benz up front.

Partly, this is down to why you buy a 3 Series, which is to feel like you’re in a cockpit, not a cocktail lounge, so the seats are well-bolstered but on the firm side, the dash wraps around you, and backseat passengers might find perches a little too firm. BMW wants to charge you $1,600 more to get front heated and cooled seats with lumbar support, but that’s probably worth it. These seats are already comfy, but during our rather warm testing spell, having them cooled made a difference.  

Infotainment: 13/15

The 330i comes with an 8.8-inch infotainment screen, but a 10.3-inch unit is optional and standard on the higher trims. Both run BMW’s familiar iDrive infotainment setup. If you’ve used past iDrive systems it’s easy to master, but learning its ins and outs can take awhile for new users. While a round input bracketed by buttons remains in the heart of the armrest/cupholder divider between passenger and driver, iDrive 7 allows touching, tapping and swiping right on the touchscreen, too. 

A customizable digital gauge cluster called Live Cockpit Professional allows the driver to play with exactly what they want to see. This lets you move the speedometer and tachometer entirely to the periphery of the display, centralize entertainment sources and also see, for instance, navigation instructions as well, all right in front of you. 

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both free, and here, BMW lets you see Apple Maps’ live turn-by-turn guidance within the display cluster in front of the driver. It’s a few years later than ideal, but high-five to BMW for finally enabling that. The automaker also includes both a USB-C and conventional USB plug up front, along with a 12V port, but we could do with more plug-in options. 

Cargo Space & Storage: 12/15

The pure gas-powered 3 Series models have a big trunk for their size, at 17 cubic-feet, but the 330e’s battery pack eats up a chunk of this space, and only has 13.2. That puts the PHEV mid-pack among its peers but the gas-only versions nearly at the top, trailing only the very different Tesla Model 3. 

The rear seats fold, which a good thing, and that they split 40/20/40 is even better, because that enables passing through a few pairs of skis or fishing poles and still allowing use of the two rear outboard seats for passengers. With all seats folded, we put an electric bicycle into the back (with the front wheel of the bike removed) and it fit easily, in part because the cutout for the pass-through is reasonably wide, which, even if a car has a pass-through, isn’t a given.

The 330e has a hump in the rear, between the hatch opening, where it’s lower, and ahead of the bulkhead formed by the rear seatbacks. For folks who are really in love with the 3 Series dynamics but just need more cargo space, the 4 Series Gran Coupe might be a good option, as its hatchback layout adds much more volume.

Style & Design: 9/10

A lot of people feel like BMW is out to lunch on design, all because of the outsized, polarizing, visible-from-space kidney grilles on their latest cars. We’ll just say this: It may not scale all that well. But on the current 3 Series it sure doesn’t look bad to our eyes, and the rest of our test car? Well it did have a $550 Sunset Orange Paint job, but really, if you’ve looked at these photos can you say this car isn’t dang sexy? 

It could just be the paint, but everywhere we drove the 330e we got nods, thumbs ups and just before pulling into our photo spot, a guy nearly mowed us down while he was so busy eyeballing the 330e. Later when we explained it was a hybrid his eyeballs popped even more, and that led to a full walkaround. 

Anyway, subjectively, the grille isn’t that polarizing on the 3 Series at least, and the rest of the shape seems pretty winning as well. 

Is the 2022 BMW 3 Series Worth it? Which 3 Series is the Best Value?

With gas prices sticking at all-time highs, sedans may yet see a buying comeback. How come? Even the most lusty M340i returns reasonable fuel economy while pushing nearly 400 horses. Wonder how? Crossovers like the X3 and X4 sit taller, have to push more metal through the wind and tend to weigh more. Physics simply cannot be cheated. 

All those words up there about how the 3 Series has a tighter cabin space YET amazing handling adds up to an old-fashioned reality that you gotta give up something to get something. In this case, it’s deciding to climb down from SUV height in order to get superior fuel economy—and that also yields a car that’s more entertaining to drive.

While the M340i might approach the M3 on speed, for our money the 330e is the best buy. At $43,945 (including a $995 destination fee), it’s only $1,500 pricier than the base 330i. It does shed some cargo volume, but it also adds that useful electric range and instant torque.

Now, mind you, BMW does like to charge for bits and bobs that some automakers, like Genesis, offer standard. On the 330e, the $1,400 Dynamic Handling Package with excellent M Sport Brakes and Adaptive M Suspension felt well worth it and there’s the $700 Driving Assistance Package, and as mentioned above, that offers better safety tech. You’d want the aforementioned $1,600 Premium Package to get those heated and cooled seats, right?

And now you’re neck deep down the rabbit hole, right where BMW wants you. Still, the 3 Series is also really, honestly, pretty sweet, soldiering on just as has been the case for nearly half a century. 

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the BMW 3 Series?

The 3 Series’ insurance costs are about average among its competitors. According to our data, the average 30-year-old female driver with a good record can expect an average annual premium of $2,744, but rises steeply to $3,287 for the M340i. For comparison, Audi’s A4 Quattro Prestige runs to $2,828, the Alfa Giulia Sprint $2,960 and the Acura TLX SH-AWD $2,259. To get a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, see our car insurance calculator.