2012 BMW 3 Series UK: New photos & video – 4WD, new engines & hybrid confirmed

Lots of new 2012 BMW 3-Series photos

BMW UK has produced a big gallery of UK specific photos for the new 2012 BMW 3-Series – and a video too – and confirmed xDrive and hybrid 3-Series for the UK.

We got the reveal of the 2012 BMW 3-Series back in October, together with a decent amount of detail, a big photo gallery and video too. But as BMW UK has taken the trouble to send us a huge gallery of UK-specific photos of the new 3-Series, new UK 3-Series video and confirmed extra models, we thought the least we could was publish what they’ve sent.

So there’s a new UK photo gallery for the 3-Series and a new UK video too at the bottom, but we also get confirmation of the new engines coming for the 3-Series.

We already know that BMW are kicking off the new 3-Series with the 335i, 328i, 320d and 320d EfficientDynamics. But we now know that a few weeks after these four models land in UK showrooms they’ll get another pile of 4-Series models chasing sales.

There will be a couple of bottom-end diesels – the 316d and 318d – which get the 2.0 litre diesel engine with the wick turned down to 116hp and 143hp respectively. There will also be a new 320i with a 2.0 litre petrol turbo churning out 184bhp. So that’s a total of seven models to be going on with.

By the end of the year you can throw in to the equation BMW’s xDrive 4WD platform for the new 3-Series, which won’t be available right across the range, and a hybrid 3 Series as well. The hybrid 3-Series – the BMW ActiveHybrid3 – gets the same setup as the ActiveHybrid5, which means the 335i’s engine with an electric motor bolted on for a bit of green halo polishing.

Throw in to the equation the plethora of trim BMW will be offering by the end of 2012 – ES, SE, MSport, Sport, Modern and Luxury – there’s probably zero chance that you’ll ever see another new 3-Series that looks like yours.

(90 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK