• Excellent driving position
• High-quality interior throughout
• High-tech infotainment is bang up-to date

How is the quality and layout?

The interior of the BMW 3 Series looks smart and is very well made. Early models in this generation had a rather plain dashboard but the 2022 facelift brought in the so-called Curved Display. It’s a vast sweep of screens butted together, one for the driver and another to control the infotainment system. It’s now familiar from most other BMWs but it gives the 3 Series an undeniable wow factor.

There’s a smattering of physical controls lower down on the dashboard and centre console, but the vast majority of the car’s features and functions are controlled through the screen. Fortunately, it’s much more user-friendly than some similar set-ups we’ve come across.

134

The whole interior is very solidly put together and high-quality materials are used pretty much everywhere. All the things you touch regularly – steering wheel, gear level, column stalks – have a a pleasing tactility to them, as well. There are some low-grade plastics used, but you have to get on your hands and knees to find them.

For our money, the 3 Series has the best interior in the compact executive car class. Updates for 2024 brought a new sportier steering wheel with a flat bottom and some jazzy backlit air vents to keep it looking fresh and class-leading. The Audi A5‘s is beautifully made but looks and feels cluttered, the Mercedes C-Class‘s is gliztier but feels too tech-heavy for our liking and doesn’t have the same depth of quality.

Infotainment and tech

This is the biggest change that 2024’s update brought about, the 3 Series now uses BMW Operating System 8.5, colloquially known as iDrive. We rate BMW’s infotainment system very highly, it looks good, the menus are easy to navigate around and the voice control system works well. You can also interact with the system via the touchscreen, but we still prefer the brilliantly user-friendly rotary controller found on the centre console.

BMW Operating System 9 is absent from the 3 Series, despite its use in the X1 SUV and 2 Series. You won’t notice a difference on the front end, the changes are all on the backend. BMW Operating System 9 is built on Android while 8.5 uses Linux.

The latest version is intuitive at the top level but deeply customisable and complex if you delve in further in. There’s also BMW Live Cockpit Plus which has constantly updated satnav mapping and ‘dynamic route calculation’. BMW claim the menu design is now flatter, which in practice means navigating settings is even easier than before.

134

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity feature as standard, should you want the familiarity of your phone instead. The BMW ID system allows you to transfer personal settings between vehicles using the My BMW App and a smartphone. The car can receive over-the-air updates via BMW ConnectedDrive, including software upgrades and the opportunity to buy extra features, such as remote engine start, high beam assist and even virtual engine sounds.

The driver also has their own display that shows a vast range of information and can be configured to show what you’re most interested in.

Comfort

• Good seats with lots of adjustment
• Engines are quiet and well isolated
• Acoustic glass as standard

The seats in the BMW 3 Series are really supportive and comfortable – especially the sports seats fitted to M Sport models. There’s a wide range of adjustment in the driver’s seat and steering wheel, sufficient for all our testers to find their ideal driving position. All models have heated front seats, which make cold mornings much more bearable. We had no complaints about back seat comfort, either.

The 3 Series is also a very quiet car. The 320i can sound a bit gruff under hard acceleration, but the M340i produces a lovely, silky smooth, almost Barry White-esque tone. Once you’re cruising up to speed, though, the engines are virtually inaudible, with minimal wind and road noise.

134

That quietness shows the value of the noise-reducing acoustic glass fitted to all 3 Series models. There’s also more sound insulation that previous generations had. And it all works. Long journeys are very relaxing – none of our testers reported developing any aches, pains, or ringing ears.