What are the best BMWs on sale?

It’s been called the car that has an answer to every question. A machine so desirable and renowned in the industry that it could be the Porsche 911 of executive saloons. 

That’s reflected in its sales – it accounts for a substantial 14% of BMW's sales – and our own assessment of it. In our book, the 3 Series is the best BMW you can buy.

The range of cars and specifications available are fantastic in and of themselves. You can have the fuel-sipping but still gutsy 320d, the even more gutsy but still fuel-sipping 330e plug-in hybrid, or the M3, which is the most effective ‘all-weather supercar’ you could hope to find. 

Larger, wider and taller than the car it replaced, the current G20-generation 3 Series is just 66mm shorter than the E39-gen (1995-2004) 5 Series. This pays dividends when it comes to rear passenger space and a general lack of claustrophobia up front – something that hampered previous iterations.

Of course, in such a crowded market Mercedes and Audi both offer rivals that are just as generally competent, but no other compact executive car manages to meld desirability, ease of use, handsome looks, practicality and a genuinely good drive quite like the 3 Series does.

The i7 has all the fundamentals of a traditional luxury limousine. It has leather like a gang of bikers and inch-thick carpets, it’s quieter than reading and it measures nearly 5.5m long. 

BMW's most luxurious and expensive electric model to date, the i7 is Munich's answer to the Mercedes EQS and Porsche Taycan. The range kicks off with the £101,765 eDrive50, which uses a 105kWh battery for 325 miles of range. A motor on the rear axle produces 455bhp and pushes the 2715kg barge to 62mph in 5.5sec. The top-rung xDrive60, meanwhile, sends 526bhp to all four wheels and dispatches 62mph in 4.7sec. Range is officially put at 385 miles, but when we tested it, it failed to achieve that, stopping short of 300 miles.

But because BMW knew this car would become a core part of its model range – the crowning glory – it was vital it delivered incredibly refined performance, the excellent drivability expected of any BMW, and serene cruising manners.

And it does. Our road test verdict said: "The BMW i7 demands consideration by anyone who wants a luxury saloon in the traditional mould. It’s richer, more inviting, more technology-packed and more spacious than any 7 Series before it, and it earns its stripes on handling, too.”

On a B-road it feels firmer and more reactive to the road surface beneath it than many of its rivals, and is more like a typical BMW the faster you go – a real achievement for something of this size and heft.

This is one of the very best electric SUVs the market has to offer. Its fitness for purpose is so compelling that it makes the £70,985 asking price seem very good value compared with its competitors.

Take its performance. Being an EV, it rolls away smoothly and picks up instantaneously. But unlike every other electric car out there, the iX's motors have a really potent roll-on pedal response and greater stamina of outright acceleration, so its strong performance continues at motorway speeds.

But rather than being an outright performance car, this is fundamentally a luxury car. Which is to say it is still a five-metre-long, 2.5-tonne electric SUV that has enough lateral grip and body control to make it handle like a BMW, but it also brings unprecedented rolling refinement. For example, when we tested it at Millbrook's high-speed bowl, we recorded just 58dBA of noise inside its cabin at a 50mph cruise. That's the same level as a Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge we recorded in 2020.

And so to summarise, done so aptly by our road testers: "The iX’s combination of generous SUV-level cabin comfort and versatility, and of a genuinely relaxing and understated luxury ambience, with world-class rolling refinement and drivability, instant and effortless performance, and creditable real-world range is one unmatched by any of the market’s other zero-emission SUVs."

Just when you thought the notion of a 'traditional BMW' had moved beyond the company's reach in 2024, it goes and creates the 2 Series. With a long bonnet, subtle double-kidney grille, the Hofmeister kink and drive sent to the rear wheels, it's been created to retain traditional buyers and appeal to new ones. And we reckon it's worked.

Priced from £36,010 for the 181bhp 220i and rising to £47,515 for the M240i, the G42-generation 2 Series sits on the same CLAR platform as the 3 Series and 4 Series, with which it shares many other components. While it is not available as a drop-top, if you plump for the full-fat M2, you can get a six-speed manual gearbox and 454bhp.

The benefits of its new platform and a refreshed attention to quality can be felt inside. When we road tested it, we said: "If you were to compare its materials, fit and finish and ergonomics with those of the Mercedes CLA or Audi A3, you would feel like you were sitting in a car from the class above."

A trade-off of this platform, however, is the fact that this is now a 1546kg car in base-spec 220i trim, which makes it 46kg heavier than the Audi S3 and the same as a 3 Series Touring.

All things considered, though, the 2 Series is an everyday coupé that offers more style and driver enjoyment than a saloon, hatchback or indeed SUV.

The stalwart executive saloon is now in its  eighth generation and, just as with the latest 3 Series, it is evident that BMW has thrown all of its expertise and experience at it.

Well, everything except diesel powertrain options. In the UK at least, the G60-generation 5 Series has ditched the black pump in favour of petrol, plug-in hybrid and electric versions – namely, the entry-level 520i, 530e, 550e, and i5. With power figures ranging from 205bhp to 593bhp and prices spanning £51,000 to £97,745.

Expensive though it is, it's an extremely refined car. In our road test, we found it "to be quieter even than a Mercedes E-Class, and it rides with an unexpected grace that becomes even more remarkable as you discover just how composed this chassis remains when fired down a tricky B-road with almost 500bhp."

It’s an entertaining and consummate all-rounder, in other words. Company car drivers should also note that generous tax bands mean a pretty sweet deal for hybrid versions.

Sitting on the same UKL2 modular architecture that underpins the X1, X2 and Mini Clubman, the 1 Series has a shorter wheelbase than its rear-driven predecessor, but is still both wider and taller. This means there's a lot of room inside (enough for five adults, which there barely was in the last car), and an additional 20 litres of boot space.

This is the model that ditched its rear-drive USP and made the switch to front-wheel drive after the then BMW CEO admitted to journalists that 80% of 1 Series owners believed their cars to be front-driven anyway. Because of this, it’s one of the more accommodating cars in its class, with enough space to rival its main competitors.

Just as with the bigger 3 Series and 5 Series, the cabin layout feels familiar and intuitive, from the air conditioning controls to the radio controls to the volume knob on the steering wheel. 

But what of its dynamics? Surely it has become lumpen and soggy now that the front wheels have to manage everything? Not exactly. Our road tester editor reported: "Our test car had BMW-typical precision and progressiveness of response about its handling. It didn’t dive suddenly into corners, had plenty of weight about its steering, and seemed entirely stable and settled at high speeds."

In terms of petrol engines, there’s the 1.5-litre triple in the 118i, a 261bhp 2.0-litre 128ti, and a 302bhp M135i. And while the range of diesels is diminishing, you still get the 116d, which trades power (113bhp) for economy (61.4mpg), and the 120d which offers both.

It's the lower, wider, meaner, sleeker twin of the 3 Series, and one that polarises opinion like many of BMW's designs these days. 

Like the 3 Series, the 4 Series offers a choice of mild-hybrid engines, including a 2.0-litre petrol (codename B48) in the 420i and 430i, and a 3.0-litre straight six in the M440i, which is good for 369bhp and 0-62mph in 4.1sec. You can also step up to the M4, which is as poised and directionally keen as you can imagine. No diesels are available: they were dropped from the running in March 2023.

The electric i4, meanwhile, comes in three flavours: eDrive35 (285 miles of range), eDrive40 (365 miles), and M50 (318 miles). The latter produces 542bhp and a 0-62mph time to rival most M cars. Even the cooking version, the 35, does the sprint in a Volkswagen Golf GTI-rivalling 6.6sec.

These powertrains complement a car with stiffened, greater handling poise than even the 3 Series, which is the best-handling executive car in its class. The car rises to the B-road challenge with all the composure but perhaps slightly less rearward playfulness than you might expect.

The cabin exudes a premium ambience, with just enough trinketry and knurling to differentiate it from the 3 Series. It's also very comfortable over long distances, aided by a driving position that’s slightly lower than that of the 3 Series and an attention to ergonomics that makes it one of the very best interiors in its class.

It's a bit of a shame that it lacks the visual grace of its predecessors. But while the front grille (now a victim of endless clichés related to Bugs Bunny) and squashed headlamps are a little harder to stomach, there’s no question that this car is as dynamically compelling as you would want. And then some.

Another car that, while not especially radical, knows its market exceptionally well. Sit inside the X3 and you'll notice an exemplary level of material quality, together with noticeably more room than both the first and second generation cars that preceded it. One of the biggest boots in the class complements various hooks and cubbies, as well as cavernous door pockets for more storage space.

There will be an engine for you, too, since there are six variations to choose from and one EV. The range kicks off with a 181bhp 20i, which uses the brand's standard-fit 2.0-litre four-pot. You can also buy two diesels - a 2.0-litre or a 3.0-litre - with 187bhp and 286bhp respectively, as well as a plug-in hybrid which use the same petrol engine as the 20i mated to a 12kWh battery, and hits 62mph in 6.1sec. The electric version uses an 86kWh battery with 286 miles of range.

Step inside and you'll quickly realise why the X3 belongs on this list. With most of the switchgear electroplated, the crisp dials easy to read and the trim finishings featuring a better look and feel than many of its rivals, the X3 proves that last-gen, 'old-fashioned' technology does not serve to trouble cabin ergonomics. Quite the opposite, in fact. We'd even go so far as to say it's better than an Audi Q5; it certainly matches it.

Behind the wheel, it's more playful and poised than a 1875kg SUV should be. When we tested it in 30e trim, it responded keenly and intuituvely to our testers' inputs with a powertrain, chassis and steering rack that felt unruffled by even the most undulating, rutted and lowest-budget British roads. Its ability to absorb said ruts and coarse surfaces remained unsullied at every opporunity, too.

After four generations and 2.2 million examples sold, you don't want to tinker with the formula. Thankfully, with the X5, BMW has taken the same approach as Volkswagen with the Golf and Porsche with the 911: it has subtly evolved by small percentages here and there.

Let's start with the way it looks. It's more restrained than the car that preceded it, with a cleaner front end that adopts fewer angles, scoops and curves, and kidney grilles that sit nicely against an otherwise menacing profile. At the back, it has been nipped and tucked to within an inch of its life, but despite a cleaner and more minimalist design of bumper and lighting, it still looks brutish and purposeful. 

This is helped by the fact that this generation has grown over the last one, with a wheelbase extended by 42mm, the overall length by 36mm and the width by 66mm. However, it also means it's heavy. In fact, it tips the scales at 2220kg in 30d form and 2420kg as a 50e with hybrid batteries on board.

Still, in the cabin, the dashboard design looks as fresh, clean and modern as the exterior profile. A dashboard-width, 14.9in curved display sits at the top of the dashboard, together with a 12.3in driver display. Sadly, a style-over-substance ethos has pervaded inside and the perceived quality of materials could be higher.

The row of physical climate control buttons that used to exist in the X5 has migrated to the display, which makes the car more difficult to live with, and there is a distinct lack of configurability in the various different iDrive menus and screens.