The king of compact luxury sedan is set to be reborn in about 2 years' time. Expect exceptional aerodynamics with a Cd figure of around 0.24. Turbocharged units will be in full circulation at BMW by the time the new 3 Series hits the streets. We may see a 1.5L three-cylinder petrol turbo engine delivering about 150hp (112kW) while their diesel counterparts are likely to offer around 300Nm of torque. The 8-speed automatic gearbox that makes its debut in the 7 Series will find its way into the upcoming 3 series.

My personal opinion is that BMW is making a wise move to downsize the engine capacity and employing turbocharging technology to compensate for lower capacity. This is going to be an industrial trend. Just look at the success story of VW's 1.4 TSI units that have won numerous awards over the past couple of years. Ford has just introduced their 1.6L Ecoboost turbo powerplants and Hyundai group is set to release their 1.6L Turbo engines in 2010 too.

Such a move by automakers benefit a market like Singapore whereby road tax are tied to engine size. In addition, a lower capacity engine usually implies better fuel efficiency.

From the video, the outline of the new 3 series appeared rather conservative. I hope that it will not end up looking like a baby 5 series and has it's unique styling clues. This is vital in order to take on it's good looking competitors such as the Alfa 159, Audi A4 and Lexus IS250.