BMW reveals long-wheelbase version of the all-new 3 Series

ABU DHABI: Head over to China, and you are likely to see stretched-out versions of many popular cars. There is just something about extra legroom which the Chinese market seems to crave. Luxury brands seem to have a long-wheelbase version of almost all their models and not just of their flagships. German automaker BMW has just revealed the new 3 Series in a long-wheelbase format for the Chinese market.

The regular 3 Series is certainly not a small car, but the long-wheelbase version has grown even bigger. The wheelbase has increased by 41 mm and to keep everything balanced, and the wheel track is also wider. With this, the length increases by 10 mm and now comes in at 4,720 mm. This extra length means that the rear doors are also slightly longer. Apart from this, the rest of the design remains the same as the regular 3 Series.

Step inside the luxurious interiors and everything is pretty much the same as the standard 3 Series. BMW did mention that the front seats have been redesigned in the long-wheelbase version to offer more comfort. At the rear, there is obviously is more legroom but here again, the seats have been modified in a bid for more comfort. BMW has even added pillow cushions on the rear headrests (like in the larger 7 Series). Another exclusive feature for the long-wheelbase 3 Series is the panoramic glass roof, not available in even the Euro-spec 3 Series.

Powering this stretched BMW will be the same 2.0-litre turbo petrol motor that is found in the regular 3 Series. With the long-wheelbase version wearing the 325i badge, the power output should fall somewhere between the 320i and 330i. It seems that BMW has resurrected the 325i badge exclusively for China and in all probability, the long-wheelbase 3 Series will be called the 325Li.

So, China gets a stretched 3 Series that is almost as big as the regular 5 Series. Sadly though, the rest of the word will never get a taste of this longer 3 Series and will have to be content with the regular version.