This month’s car is one of the most bought, popular, reliable car ever made by BMW. Have you guessed it? It’s the BMW 3 Series!

The BMW 3 Series is a series of cars produced by the german car manufacturer Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW). Production started in 1975, and they’re still being built.

It is the sucessor to the 2 Series and the predecessor to the 4 Series.

First Generation (E21, 1975-1983)

The E21 was available as a 2-door coupe, with carburetted 4 or 6 cylinder engines, which went from 1.6L to 2.0L for the 4-cylinders, and from 2.0L to 2.3L for the 6-cylinders.

The available transmissions were: 3-speed automatic, 4-speed manual or 5-speed manual.

These are the variants for the E21 model:

315 (74 hp)
316 (89 hp)
318 (97 hp)
318i (102 hp)
320 (109 hp)
320i (102-125 hp)
323i (143 hp)

No M edition was introduced yet.

Second Generation (E30, 1982-1994)

The E30 version was presented in 1982, and at that time only 2-door sedan body styles were available. However, in 1983, 4-door sedans were introduced, in 1985 convertibles and in 1987 touring body styles. Moreover, the E30 325iX model was the first BMW ever to include AWD.

4-cylinder gasoline or diesel and 6-cylinder petrol engines were available depending on the model. For the 4-cylinder engines, their displacement went from 1.6L to 2.5L, and for the 6-cylinder engine, 2.0L-2.7L.

These are the variants for the E30 model:

315 (75 hp)
316 (90 hp)
318 (98 hp)
318i (105 hp)
320 (109 hp)
320i (102-125 hp)
323i (143 hp)
324d (86 hp)
324td (115 hp)

M edition

Presented in 1985, the BMW M3 (E30) included several improvements which made the car track-focused, such as for example:

Aerodynamic improvements
Very improved suspension
Limited-slip differential

It was so amazing that even Automobile Magazine included the E30 M3 as their “25 Greatest Cars of all Time”.

Third Generation (E36, 1990-2000)

This model was sold in various body types: sedan, coupe, convertible, touring and hatchback (marketed as “compact”). The E36 was the first 3 Series model to offer a 6-speed manual transmission.

2-door, 3-door, 4-door and 5-door versions were available for this model, as well as 4 or 6-cylinder gasoline or diesel engines.

These were the available models:

316i (100 hp)
318i (113-115 hp)
318is (140 hp)
320i (150 hp)
323i (170 hp)
325i (192 hp)
328i (193 hp)
318tds (90 hp)
325td (115 hp)
325tds (143 hp)

M edition

Once again, the M edition was available, this time able to produce an amazing 321 hp for the Europe edition. This is because only the 6-cylinder option was available, as well as the increased displacement.

Fourth Generation (E46, 1997-2006)

Differing from the previous version, the E46 included several electronic modifications and improvements, such as satellite navigation, LED tail-lights, electronic brake-force distribution or rain-sensing wipers. On the other hand, the body types were kept the same.

All-wheel drive was also reintroduced in this model. This generation was the first one to include VVL (marketed as Valvetronic), a system which increases performance.

These were the available models:

316i (103-105 hp)
318i (117-150 hp)
320i (148-168 hp)
323i (169 hp)
325i (184-189 hp)
328i (190 hp)
330i (225-235 hp)
318d (114 hp)
320d (134-148 hp)
330d (181-201 hp)

M edition

As all the M editions, this version included aerodynamics and mechanical improvements. An specific edition offered an electrohydraulically actuated clutch, which greatly reduced shifting times. The engine could reach a maximum of 338 hp.

Fifth Generation (E90/E91/E92/E93, 2004-2013)

The fifth generation of the 3 Series was presented in 2004. The 335i version was the first one to include a turbocharged petrol engine. Also, it was the first to include the iDrive system, which consists of navigation, infotainment and vehicle functions.

Petrol engines went from 1.6L to 2.0L for 4-cylinder versions, and from 2.5L to 3.0L for 6-cylinder versions. Only 2.0L was available for 4-cylinder engines, and 3.0L for 6-cylinder petrol engines.

This time, only 6 and 7-speed transmissions were available, being the 7-speed the only dual-clutch version.

These were the available models:

316i (121 hp)
318i (127-141 hp)
320i (148-168 hp)
323i (174-200 hp)
325i (215 hp)
328i (231 hp)
330i (255-268 hp)
335i (306 hp)
316d (114 hp)
318d (121-141 hp)
320d (161-181 hp)
325d (194-201 hp)
330d (228-241 hp)
335d (282 hp)

M edition

This was the only M edition model that included a V8. As the available displacements were 4.0L or 4.4L, the engine was able to make an impressive 414 hp. Other changes were made to the car, such as aerodynamic improvements, dual-clutch transmission (in an specific version) or a carbon-fiber roof to reduce weight and the center of mass.

Sixth Generation (F30/F31/F34/F35, 2011-2019)

In this generation, a new model model was introduced, marketed as Gran Turismo (GT), which corresponds to the F34 version. A quite major improvement was the electrically-assisted steering, compared to the hydraulic steering of the previous versions. Moreover, the sixth generation was the first one to offer a 3-cylinder turbocharged engine.

From now on, all the engines in the 3 Series include a turbo. This time, an 8-speed automatic transmission was also available.

These were the available models:

316i (134 hp)
318i (134 hp)
320i (168-181 hp)
328i (241 hp)
330i (248 hp)
335i (302 hp)
340i (322 hp)

M edition

The F80 model included a 3.0L 6-cylinder twin-turbo engine which was able to produce up to 425 hp. It’s top speed is limited by default to 250 km/h, but if you purchased the M Driver package, the car could reach a top speed of 280 km/h.

Seventh Generation (G20/G21/G28, 2018-present)

This generation has been in production since 2018. This generation included for the first time two plug-in hybrid versions, called 320e and 330e.

Available models:

318i (154 hp)
320i (181 hp)
320e (201 hp)
330e (288 hp)
330i (255 hp)

M edition

This M edition, equipped with the same engine as the previous M edition version, is the first M3 to offer AWD, marketed as xDrive. Moreover, an M3 Touring is also available for the first time.