BMW is a German car manufacturer that is known for manufacturing premium cars. The 3 Series for many years has been its most popular model, especially for saloon buyers. Recently the 3 Series has received some competition from within, in the name of the 4 Series. We are going to take a look at these two cars by taking a look at their interior, exterior, engines, and practicality hoping to assist any person who is or will be in the market looking to switch from one model to the other.
BMW 3 Series vs BMW 4 Series Side-By-Side Comparison
(*Prices are reflective of average BE FORWARD pricing as of March 2021)
BMW 3 Series BMW 4 Series
Generations 7 (E21, E30, E36, E46, E90-93, F30-35, G20) 2 ((F32/F33/F36), (G22/G23/G26)
Production Year 1975 - Present 2014 - Present
Performance 248 HP - 342 HP 248 HP - 320 HP
Fuel Consumption 10.4 KM/L - 13.2 KM/L 11.27 KM/L - 12.33 KM/L
Drivetrain RWD & AWD RWD & AWD
Key Features Radio, CD Player, Airbag, Power Steering, Power
Window, A/C, ABS, Keyless Entry, Back
Camera, Sun RoofRadio, CD Player, Airbag, Power Steering,
Power Window, A/C, ABS, Keyless
Entry, Back Camera
Seating Capacity 5 Passengers 5 Passengers
BE FORWARD price US$ 1200 - US$ 57,510 US$ 16,160 - US$ 45,340
Exterior/Interior Comparison
Bmw 3 Series
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 3 SERIES MODELS
Interior
The BMW 3-Series is thoughtfully designed with a handsome interior, quality materials, and multiple body styles. The 3 Series is available as a sedan, wagon, and Gran Turismo (a sedan with a hatchback rear design) with each having five seats. The front and rear seats are cozy, comfortable, and nicely padded. The head- and legroom are good enough even for the tallest of occupants.
The 3 Series comes with a very good infotainment system. A crisp graphical 6.5-inch iDrive display providing simple menus, quick responses with Bluetooth, HD Radio, a USB port, a CD player, and satellite radio functions. The system can be controlled using a knob on the center console, or by either the dashboard or steering wheel buttons. Upper trims (an option on lower trims to) feature an 8.8-inch display. a Harman Kardon sound system, navigation, genuine leather upholstery, heated front seats, Apple CarPlay, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, and rear sunshades.
Storage on the 3 Series comes in the form of a glove box, door pockets, front seat pockets, cup holders, and a deep central bin. The 3 Series sedan has a 368-liter boot, the Gran Turismo hatchback has a 696-liter boot extendable to 1608-liters with seats folded. The Wagon has a 778-liter boot extendable to 1741-liters with seats folded.
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 3 SERIES MODELS
Exterior
The 3 Series is available in sedan, wagon, and Gran Turismo body styles. Exterior features include LED headlights, LED fog lights, 19-inch wheels or 18-inch bi-color Jet Black wheels, a kidney grille frame at the front, and dark LED taillights.
Safety
The 3 Series is fitted with safety features such as airbags, rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, low-speed automatic emergency braking (City Collision Mitigation), blind-spot monitoring, 360-degree parking camera, hands-free park assist, adaptive pivoting LED headlights, automatic high-beam headlights, a head-up display, ABS, and adaptive cruise control.
Bmw 4 Series
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 4 SERIES MODELS
Interior
The BMW 4 Series is very well designed with some premium finish and a spacious interior.
The 4 Series Gran Coupe is a 4-door 4-seats hatchback, while the convertible and coupe are 2-door 4-seats cars. The power-adjustable front seats and the rear seats with standard synthetic upholstery (leather upholstery is an option) are roomier for most tall people to fit in comfortably, except for the coupe and convertible body styles that have their rear seats a bit tight, and accessing the rear seats of the 2-door models is a bit challenging. The front seats are excellent, they’re wonderfully supportive and comfy with options for side support.
The 4 Series comes with a basic 6.5-inch display, a 9-speaker audio system, HD Radio, Bluetooth, and a USB port as part of the infotainment system and BMW’s iDrive system with a central rotary dial controller and hot-key buttons. You have the option to upgrade the infotainment system with an 8.8-inch screen, a 16-speaker Harmon-Kardon surround-sound system, Apple CarPlay, satellite radio, a Wi-Fi hot spot, wireless phone charging station, a touchpad controller, navigation, parking cameras, and a heads-up display.
The 4 Series has several storage compartments such as the glove compartment, door pockets, front seat pockets, and a central deep pocket. For the cargo space, the Gran Coupe offers 481-liters behind the rear seats and 1300-liters with the rear seats folded. The coupe has a 445-liter boot. The convertible has a 371-liter boot with the top up and reduces to a 221-liter boot when the top is down.
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 4 SERIES MODELS
Exterior
The 4-Series is available in 3 body styles namely the coupe, Gran Coupe (a four-door-sedan variant), and convertible. The front features sexy-specs LED headlamps and dual round light-pipe daytime running lights with hexagonal frames, that horizontally touch the grille. At the back, the 4 Series is fitted with full-LED taillights with wider amber turn signals and outboard reflectors.
Safety
The 4 Series comes fitted with a vast amount of safety features such as Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Front Head Airbag, Rear Head Airbag, Front Side Airbag, Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Control, Daytime Running Lights, Child Safety Locks, Integrated Turn Signal Mirrors, Traction Control, Blind Spot Monitor (Optional), Auto-Leveling Headlights, 4-Wheel ABS, and Lane Departure Warning (Optional).
Engine and Fuel Efficiency Comparison
Bmw 3 Series
The BMW 3 Series is fitted with a choice of the below engines.
- A TwinPower-Turbo 2.0-liter/255 HP inline 4-cylinder petrol with fuel economy of 13.2 KM/L
- A TwinPower-Turbo 2.0-liter/248 HP inline 4-cylinder petrol with fuel economy of 11.9 KM/L
- A TwinPower-Turbo 3.0-liter/382 HP inline 6-cylinder petrol with fuel economy of 10.4 KM/L
Power is transferred to the wheels via an 8-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission.
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 3 SERIES MODELS
Bmw 4 Series
The BMW 4 Series is fitted with a choice of the below engines:
- A TwinPower-Turbo 2.0-liter/248-hp TwinPower-Turbo inline 4-cylinder petrol with fuel economy of 12.33 KM/L
- A TwinPower-Turbo 3.0-liter/320-HP TwinPower-Turbo inline 6-cylinder petrol with fuel economy of 11.27 KM/L
Power is transferred to the wheels via an 8-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission.
BROWSE LOW COST BMW 4 SERIES MODELS
The Verdict
Many people can’t tell the difference between the BMW 3 Series and the BMW 4 Series. In this article, we have tried to tell the difference and we conclude by saying, the BMW 3 Series has a sportier 2-door coupe, 4-door gran coupe, and convertible siblings by the name of BMW 4 Series. But although they have similarities, they also have enough differences to justify the name change. Unlike the 3 Series, the 4 Series comes fitted with a top-drawer engine with great performance, fuel economy, with some great rear-wheel-drive handling.
As part of BMW’s range expansion plan, the 3 Series Coupe and Convertible were extended by providing the Coupe, Convertible, and Gran Coupe models and gave them the BMW 4 Series name signifying their sportier nature.
I am a Telecom & ICT specialist with a career spanning over 15 years in the demanding Tanzanian telecom industry.
I am also an avid DIYer with a good knack for everything technical and a wealth of vocational skills, with automotive being the top, and here I am writing about cars.
In 2017 a guy created a WhatsApp group called MyCar for the sole purpose of members helping each other with all matters regarding cars. I joined this group in 2018, and with my enormous wealth of knowledge regarding cars, and my readiness to share the knowledge with others, I became a top contributor, and that didn’t go unnoticed, as one member thought I was a potential writer and had contacts with Be Forward Japan who were looking for writers then. Fast forward to January 2020, I began writing for the Be Forward blog with 2024 being my fourth year.
As far as I can remember, I love cars, and growing up in the farming and tourist city of Arusha Tanzania in the ’80s and ’90s, I ended up being drawn to the Ranger Rover Classic for leisure and Land Cruiser 70 pickup as a workhorse. These were tough cars then, cars that could take you anywhere any time no matter the weather.