New BMW 3 Series ICE models get ‘Neue Klasse’ makeover

The ICE versions of the new BMW 3 Series arrive to join their EV siblings, with the new 320 and M350 xDrive as the first models.

We’ve been told for years that car buyers have fallen out of love with saloons, and all they want is SUVs. The trouble is, no one has told BMW buyers, as they continue to lap up the 3 Series, making it BMW’s best-seller of 2025.

So any new 3 Series is about as big a deal as it gets for BMW, so the arrival of a new electric 3 Series – the Neue Klasse BMW i3 – earlier this year had to be a strong offering. And it was, but it was only electric, and however good it may be, it’ll still only tempt a minority of 3 Series buyers.

So, as the i3 sits on a dedicated EV Platform which can’t accommodate ICE-based powertrains, BMW has taken the CLAR Platform underpinning the current 3 Series, given it a tweak or three and a ‘Neue Klasse’ makeover – inside and out – to deliver a new 3 Series offering for ICE lovers.

Initially, the new 3 Series is offered as a 320 petrol which comes with a 2.0-litre four-pot good for 208bhp, 243lb/ft of torque and 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds, and a more powerful M350 xDrive which gets a 3.0-litre in-line six good for 437bhp, 369lb/ft of torque and 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds.

Now on sale, the new BMW 320 costs from £44,975 and the M350 xDrive from £66,785. Expect more versions to be added before too long.