3X5; In its fifth generation, the BMW 3 Series goes from stand-alone icon to improved icon with stiff competition.(2006 BMW 330i)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: MATT DAVIS

BMW's 3 Series has been enhanced using Porsche 911-like caution. As it enjoys a fanatical following and accounts for nearly half of worldwide BMW sales, this was a good move.

We'll talk about the new straight-six engine and other tech wizardry in more detail soon. This week, we just get in and drive the new 3, codename E90.

Riding on the architecture developed for the 1 Series, the 3 is nearly two inches longer, three inches wider and a smidgen taller, with 1.14-inch-wider tracks and a wheelbase longer by 1.38 inches vs. the outgoing model. Overall rigidity is said to be 25 percent greater. Much of the improvement is a result of beefing up high-stress structural points in the body using aluminum and high-tensile steels. The result is newfound sturdiness over all road surfaces, lower NVH levels, and added courage at top speeds and while leaping between apexes.

The interior gets an upmarket massage and there is more head, shoulder and knee room. If you're six-plus feet tall and long of torso, you should think a bit before you order that sunroof. At times we were rubbing skull to the outside; losing the sunroof fixed that.

BMW has upgraded the E90 technologically to fall in line with the 5, 6 and 7 Series. New-generation Dynamic Stability Control with Dynamic Traction Control comes standard. The front MacPherson struts now attach to an aluminum, double-joint tie-bar axle and subframe, while the steel multilink rear configuration has five links instead of four.

As you drive along in wet conditions with the windshield's automatic rain sensor activated, the Brake Dry function applies light pressure of 1.0 bar (14.5 psi) to all discs for 1.5 seconds every 1.25 miles. A second braking aide, Brake Standby, involves the calipers being moved to within 1.0 millimeter of the discs when the car's brain notices an abrupt lift from the accelerator pedal. Braking dynamics in our 330i testers on local roads and on the track at the Circuito Albacete near Valencia, Spain, were optimal at all times. Front and rear discs are 13 inches and 13.2 inches respectively, up from 12.8-inch and 12.6-inch units.