The new mid-life refresh of the fifth generation BMW 3-Series is set to maintain BMW as the number one manufacturer of premium cars. With its unsurpassed driving dynamics, executive class refinement and technological innovation, the BMW 3-Series has defined the compact executive segment since the first E21 model appeared in 1977. Its dominance is so strong that the compact executive segment has long been referred to as the BMW 3-Series class by its competitors. And this dominance makes the launch of any new BMW 3-Series an important event in the calendar of the car-buying public and motoring commentators alike.