No sub-100g/km BMW 3 Series
* ED Touring model available for the first time
* Estate expected in September 2012
BMW says it has no plans to launch a sub-100g/km version of its new 3 Series compact executive. However, the company has said it will release a version of the new estate model with emissions of less than 110g/km.
Speaking at the launch of the new 3 Series in Barcelona, Dr Peter Nefischer (responsible for powertrain integration in the 1- and 3 Series) told What Car? that, with emissions of 109g/km for both a manual and automatic gearbox, the forthcoming 320d Efficient Dynamics would be the lowest-emitting car in its class.
He added that there were no plans to develop a version of the new 3 Series with lower emissions, but advised customers who wanted a lower-emitting BMW to consider the recently announced 99g/km 1 Series.
Where the new 3 Series will be different is that, for the first time in any BMW, the Touring (estate) version of the car will be available as an Efficient Dynamics model.
The Touring version of the new 3 Series is expected to be launched around September 2012, and at least one version will have CO2 emissions of just 109g/km.
That model will use the eight-speed automatic gearbox that has just been launched in the new saloon. It is yet to be confirmed whether the equivalent model with a manual gearbox will match those emissions.
