BMW updates the 3 Series Sedan and 3 Series Touring

BMW has revealed an updated 3 Series. Not that you'll be able to immediately tell.

Up front, the car now comes with new front and rear aprons, while Arctic Race Blue metallic and Fire Red metallic are being added to the available colour palette.

The BMW 3 Series gets a redesigned steering wheel, and now runs the firm's Operating System 8.5

The car is also now being offered with new 19-inch M light-alloy wheels, which can be had either in a Jet Black finish or a bi-colour variant.

Step within either the sedan or the estate and you'll find a redesigned sports leather steering wheel, although customers who opt for the M Sport package will get an M leather steering wheel with a flat-bottomed rim and a discreet centre marking in the 12 o'clock position. Both steering wheels have illuminated multifunction buttons and gearshift paddles.

The adjustment controls for the air-conditioning vents of the car have been redesigned

Also new here are the adjustment controls for the air-conditioning vents, while the interior lighting now includes cascade lighting integrated into the trim around the central seam vents as standard. The car's 12.3-inch information display and 10.25-inch infotainment screen, meanwhile, now run of the firm’s Operating System 8.5.

The BMW 3 Series Touring comes as standard with automatic tailgate operation and a 40:20:40 split/folding rear seat backrest, which is available as an option for the sedan.

And under these changes, a host of suspension tweaks including the use of stiffer mounts to connect the rear dampers to the body are said to allow the car to deliver increased comfort across all driving situations.

The BMW 330e plug-in hybrid now offers an all-electric range of 100km thanks to a 19.5kWh battery

The BMW 3 Series range continues to start with the 318i, which gets a 154bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. A 320i is also available, with a total output of 181bhp. The 330i, meanwhile, offers a total of 241bhp.

The plug-in hybrid range now comprises of the 330e, available as either a sedan or estate. This model offers a system total of 288bhp, and now makes new high-voltage battery with 19.5kWh, allowing an electric-only range of 100km.

The new BMW 3 Series Sedan and BMW 3 Series Touring will be launched worldwide with a production phase-in in July 2024. Both models will be built at BMW Group Plant Munich, although the sedan will also be produced at BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi in Mexico. Examples of the 3 Series Sedan headed for the Chinese market, meanwhile, will be produced at the Tiexi plant in Shenyang operated by the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive.