The BMW 3 Series Goes Green

The BMW 3 Series is due an environmentally friendly facelift this year with the launch of a new diesel saloon. It's being described as the cleanest in the range yet and will please everyone who wants to see performance car makers doing their bit for the environment.

BMW has been keen to emphasise its green credentials for a number of years now. Just recently it was named greenest car manufacturer of 2009. It's the second time in the last three years it's won the award.

Prizes like this are clearly close to the company's heart. It was also named most sustainable car company in the world in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2009 for the fifth year running.

When you consider the current climate its no small wonder. Consumers routinely place the environment as a key priority among their buying considerations. However we're a fickle bunch and while we do want to do our bit, we'd rather not sacrifice much in performance.

It's a difficult tight rope to walk, but BMW has managed it thanks to its EfficientDynamics technologies which have been applied across the whole range. That, in the minds of green car enthusiasts, means more than a simple nod to the planet, but a full on drive to genuinely reduce emissions while maximising performance.

A raft of new updates are in the pipeline for 2010 with the new BMW 3 Series 320d saloon leading the way. It promises to deliver optimum efficiency without compromise. The 2.0 litre diesel engine delivers 163 horse power and can do 0-60 in about eight seconds, so it's no slouch.

However that comes with impressive efficiency statistics. It has a fuel consumption of 86.9mpg and has slashed CO2 emissions to 109g/km. That will save you a great deal of money when it comes to car tax time. It is the only car in its class to offer emissions below the 110g/km mark.

This is only one of a number of updates for the BMW 3 Series line planned for 2010. They all, in their own way, promise the same thing. More power with better efficiency, and they prove that driving a clean efficient car needn't be dull.

But is that really what we want? What's the point of driving a low emissions car if you're not visibly making huge sacrifices on behalf of the planet? The BMW 3 Series is renowned for its luxury, style and performance. It's a world away from the ugly electric hybrid motors you normally see and that's probably the problem. When people see you drive past who's ever going to imagine you're digging in and helping to save the planet? Sometimes you just can't win.