The BMW 3-series recently won our 2006 Automobile of the Year award against stiff competition. Having driven it on some entertaining rural roads in Michigan and Ohio, we decided to find out what this latest iteration of the 3-series would be like over the course of a year. Will it be as rewarding to drive in the grind of the daily commute as it is on twisty two-lanes?
We carefully trawled the list of available equipment for our titanium silver 330i, because it's quite easy to outfit BMWs with a lot of alluring (and expensive) options. We first settled on the cold-weather package, since seat heaters are vital when you hop into a car on a frigid Midwestern morning. Next up was the sport package, which includes a sport steering wheel and seats along with eighteen-inch wheels and tires. (The latter seem to be a prerequisite if you want a Bangle-era BMW to look its best.) The big wheels will have to wait until spring, however, because we had the car delivered with Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 DSST snow tires mounted on seventeen-inch rims. The final option we selected was BMW Assist with Bluetooth telephone connectivity. This feature allows a Bluetooth-equipped cell phone to operate through the car's audio system, turning it into a hands-free device.
We passed on the navigation system, not only because it's pricey but because it saddles you with iDrive.... Read full article