The look of the interior is classically European: spare, upright and cerebral. The gauges are BMW's traditional round analog dials, with speedometer and tachometer front and center. Controls are all well-placed and easy to use, once you decipher their purpose (with German cars, a thorough read of the owner's manual is a smart idea). Standard cruise control has been extended to the 318i.
For some drivers, the no-nonsense interior is appropriate - stripped down and ready for action. For others, the interior looks shockingly spartan for a $30,000-plus car. Compared with the best American and Japanese interiors, the materials may seem less than luxurious and the padding thin. The cupholders are a crude dealer-installed option - BMW's grudging response to what it perceives as a sloppy American habit of slurping beverages while driving.
On the other hand, the interior is remarkably roomy for a car of its size. The coupe and the convertible lose some rear legroom compared with the sedan (6 in. in the case of the convertible), but they are still acceptable for adults and far more useful than the compact rear compartments in many sporty coupes and convertibles.
Highly supportive seats reinforce the 3-Series' aggressive character. The deep side bolsters are clearly designed to keep both the driver and front passenger in place when the car is hustling around corners.
A premium 10-speaker, 200-watt audio system and leather interior - standard on the 325i - are now available as options on the 318i, as are sport suspension packages.
Security has been a big issue at BMW because the cars have a particular appeal in the hot-car market. All the radios have standard theft-deterrent systems, and the engines have a disabling feature designed to foil hot-wire artists. New for '95 is a freewheeling lock cylinder that defeats entry by anything other than the correct key.
The point of owning a BMW - the reason people pay the tariff and put up with the theft risk - is that they're marvelous driving machines. Plenty of vehicles offer high-quality transportation and driving pleasure for less money, but they don't feel like a BMW.
The heart of any BMW's personality is its front-engine/rear-drive layout. In a car the size of the 3-Series, this translates into a sporty, responsive, nimble package. The long wheelbase and stiff, well-engineered chassis help deliver a surprisingly comfortable and quiet ride, considering the car's athletic character.
The refined strut-type front suspension, multi-link rear suspension and balanced weight distribution provide exhilarating handling. The large disc brakes, combined with standard ABS, provide exceptional braking ability, stop after stop.
Our test vehicle's 1.8-liter 16-valve 4-cylinder engine, producing 138 hp at 6000 rpm, provided plenty of fun. But this is not a lightweight car, and the greater power of the 325i's 2.5-liter
6-cylinder engine would have been more satisfying.
Although rear-drive devotees swear by the responsiveness of their cars, they must acknowledge that there are limitations on slippery surfaces compared with front-drive cars. The 318i doesn't offer a traction-control system, but it does have an optional limited slip differential to improve traction during acceleration on slick surfaces.
The standard transmission is a 5-speed manual. In our 318i, it offered short, precise shifting and an elastic third gear that was excellent in city traffic. Given the versatility of the manual transmission, it's hard to imagine why anyone would want an automatic, but a well-geared 4-speed is available. It's a little slow off the line, but the sport mode lets you enjoy the power that comes at higher revs.