Late last year, we talked about how BMW is selling the 520i in Turkey with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with 170 horsepower. The smaller 3 Series has officially arrived locally with the Life Cycle Impulse and it too features a downsized unit with the same amount of power. It’s good for 250 Newton-meters (184 pound-feet) of torque, enough for a sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.1 seconds and a top speed of 142 mph (228 km/h).
Using a 1.6-liter engine (N20B16) instead of the regular 2.0-liter unit allows the luxury brand to keep the model (relatively) affordable by avoiding the high taxes on larger engines applicable in Turkey. The most recent adjustments to the Özel Tüketim Vergisi” (ÖTV) special consumption tax has increased the threshold from 150,001 lira to 175,000 lira, but we’re still talking about a whopping 60% tax rate for vehicles with engines smaller than 1,600 cc. The 320i falls into that category by having a 1,597 cc.
Other than that, it’s the same 3 Series LCI we’ve been getting familiar with over the last couple of months. Shown here is the 320i equipped with the M Sport Package and optional 19-inch wheels. It appears to have a Tanzanite Blue Metallic paint and adaptive LED headlights judging by the blue accents. Most of the facelifted 3er LCI builds we’ve seen had the blacked-out grille, but not in this case as the kidneys keep their chrome finish.
To mark 50 years of M, it also wears the anniversary badges available for all M Sport and M cars built this year. Inside, it has a classy spec with cognac Vernasca leather while featuring BMW’s Operating System 8 as well as the small gear selector. While the latest X1 and 2 Series Active Tourer have lost the iDrive rotary knob after switching to the newest infotainment, the 3 Series LCI thankfully still has it.
Source: Erdal gülüm / YouTube
