The former arrives unusually early for a petrol engine at 4,350rpm, suggesting a deliberate attempt by BMW to cap its outputs, possibly for the benefit of fuel economy. Based on the MINI’s Prince engine, the N13 sits longitudinally in the 316i’s engine room and pushes out a remarkably conservative 136hp and 220Nm.

With questions regarding equipment levels answered, we now focus our attentions to the 316i’s engine room, where the new 1.6-litre N13 twin-scroll turbo engine resides.

Like with the 320i and 320d however, and indeed even up to the 528i, the 316i regrettably omits smart keyless entry BMW would do well to have this increasingly important security feature implemented across as much of its models as possible. It is on par with regards to functional equipment however, being equipped with powered driver and front passenger seats, automatic bi-xenon headlights, iDrive with 6.5″ central screen, all-round parking sensors, and Drive Experience Control. In installment terms, the 316i costs RM370 per month more than a Toyota Camry 2.5 if stretched over a nine-year tenure (we recommend five).Ĭompared to the 320i and 320d above it, the 316i makes do without the Sport/Modern/Luxury trim line options. The 316i’s pricing undercuts the Golf GTI (RM213k for the 3-door Pure model) and Volkswagen CC (RM230k) from the former together with the S60 T4 (RM220k) from the latter. With a stated price of RM208,800 without insurance, the 316i not only makes for a more affordable alternative to the 320i, it also poses serious questions to pseudo-luxury models coming from Volkswagen and Volvo. Entry into the realm of 3 Series ownership is now via the 316i, powered, remarkably, by a 1.6-litre engine. The 184hp version powers the 320i which, until recently, was the most affordable variant of the 3 Series at RM238,800. Introduced with the 5 Series in 2012, BMW’s 2.0-litre N20 twin-scroll turbo engine forms the spine of the current 3 Series engine line-up being offered in 184hp and 245hp states of tune. As a result, the current generation F30 model is notable for being BMW’s first ever 3 Series to hit the market with an all-turbocharged line-up with four-cylinder engines making up the bulk of sales. The advent of turbocharging and direct injection in recent years have allowed manufacturers to downsize their engines in the name of fuel economy whilst maintaining respectable power outputs. Times have changed however, and thanks to innovation and technology, owning a four-cylinder 3 Series these days is no longer owning a poor man’s 3 Series of days gone by. Traditionally, the BMW 3 Series is offered with a range of six-pots at the core of its line-up propped by a miserly four-cylinder engine as the range’s bottom feeder.

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