Journalists have tried out the all-new, seventh-gen, 2019 BMW 3-Series G20 at its official launch event in Portugal, and first impressions of the car are really good. You’d expect BMW to want to pull out all the stops in order to get its smallest and most popular sedan right and, apparently, it did.

2019 BMW 3 Series Video Reviews

The new G20 3-Series is a bit longer than the outgoing model, partly because BMW has switched the model to be underpinned by the same Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform that can be found under the 5, 6, 7 and 8 Series, as well as the Z4 and the new Toyota Supra.

But, despite being longer, the new 3 really shines on Portugal’s twisty roads, providing secure handling with precision and fun dialed in nicely. According to reviewers, it doesn’t really feel that much bigger inside compared to the outgoing model, but knee room and headroom are no problem for it - the previous one wasn’t bad in this respect, but it is slightly better now.

The fleet of cars provided for drivers at the launch venue contained the 320d, the 330i, and the still camouflaged 340i that was only driven on the track. The 320d gets a new twin-turbo version of the old 2.0-liter diesel and, while it isn’t any more powerful, nor does it provide any extra torque, BMW does say it is more efficient and responsive than before.

The 330i has a development of the same 2.0-liter turbo four found in the current car, and it isn’t very different to the current unit, while the 340i gets a revised 3.0-liter six-pot turbo with 369 horsepower. All models tested had the eight-speed automatic gearbox. BMW insists it’s improved the six-speed manual too, even though it is not a new gearbox, but an improvement of the one they also use in the current 3-Series.

More in-depth reviews and comparisons are bound to pop up within the next few months as the 3-Series becomes available for road testing, but for now, this roundup of first drives points to it being quite good and clearly one of the vehicles at the top of its class.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW 3 Series.

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 BMW 3 Series Touring.

Read our full review on the 2018 BMW 3 Series.