BMW 3 Series

The 2026 3 Series in brief

The 2026 BMW 3 Series is a compact car offered with 2 engines (2.0L 4-cyl turbo and 3.0L 6-cyl turbo), including a hybrid version and rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.

It measures about 185 inches long and 72 inches wide on a 112-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 3,494 lb (3-Series 330i Xdrive 4dr Sedan).

EPA rates its most efficient version at 31 MPG combined (28 city / 35 highway), 6% better than the 2026 compact car average of 29.2 MPG, for an estimated $2,650 a year in fuel.

There are no recalls or owner complaints on file with NHTSA for this model year.

The BMW 3 Series has 22 model years in our data, from 2005 to 2026, classed as Compact Cars, Subcompact Cars.

Its most efficient year was 2018 at 36 MPG combined; across all years the best version ranged from 21 to 36 MPG.

Owners most often report problems with the air bags (104), electrical system (50), engine (33).

Buying used? 2024 has the fewest problems in our data.

2012 has the most recalls (3); all years together count 4 campaigns and 220 owner complaints.

How the 2005 3 Series compares

The 2005 BMW 3 Series is a compact car offered with 2 engines (2.5L 6-cyl and 3.0L 6-cyl) and rear-wheel drive and 4-wheel or all-wheel drive.

EPA rates its most efficient version at 22 MPG combined (19 city / 28 highway), 6% worse than the 2005 compact car average of 23.3 MPG, for an estimated $3,750 a year in fuel.

About the BMW 3 Series

The BMW 3 series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 series and has been produced in eight generations.

From the Wikipedia article "BMW 3 Series", licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.