The 1999 BMW 3 Series makes you feel like you have just been given an upgrade, from a two room flat to a six-door house in the suburbs. Capturing the essence of the all American by-line, "bigger is better", the 1999 3 series is longer and roomier. The 1999 3-Series sedan is slightly longer, wider and taller. And a moderately longer wheelbase allows more room in the backseat. Finally BMW offers a 3-Series model with decent rear room for two 6-footers.

 

The 1999 sedan is the first in a line of re-engineered 3-Series models. Its arrival may cause confusion to a lot of folks because BMW is slowly phasing in other redone 3-Series cars. The new 3-Series coupe won't get the 1999 3-Series sedan's new design for about until a year. And the 3-Series convertible doesn't get the design for 18 months. Two years away are a station wagon and high-performance "M'' versions of the new 3-Series. Two models will be upgraded like being moved from economy to the first class coach. At least that was the concept behind the upgrade of the 323i and 328i models for the 1999 model year.

 

This revised duo, which first came to market in 1991, are essentially all-new, sporting better high-performance six-cylinder engines in addition to many other enhanced features. Both engines - the 2.5-liter in the 323i and 2.8-liter in the 328i - have stronger torque at low-to-medium engine speeds as a result, plus increases? in horsepower. The 2.5-liter now delivers 170 horsepower, while the 2.8-liter cranks out 193 hp. The snappy 0-to-60 times are 6.6 seconds for the 328i with the manual and 7.2 seconds with the automatic transmission. BMW has been using basically the same design years over with minor modification. And why not it has been successful so far and botching it up might be chaotic.