BMW 3 Series E46

The E46 is the BMW 3 Series generation our specification records cover for US model years 2001–2006. Across that run EPA certified 132 versions of it for sale in America, under 10 trim names. It was sold as a sedan, coupe, convertible and Touring.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E46 measures 176.0 in · 4,470 mm to 178.3 in · 4,529 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 107.5 in · 2,730 mm to 108.7 in · 2,761 mm and weighs 3,197 lb · 1,450 kg to 3,737 lb · 1,695 kg. Length and wheelbase come from Transport Canada, which measures every vehicle sold in North America; curb weight from the same source.

The generation did not stand still: the strongest version rose from 225 hp in 2001 to 255 hp in 2006. An E46 from the first model year and one from the last are not the same proposition, which is worth remembering when a listing gives only the chassis code.

Set against the E36 that preceded it, the E46 is 10.3 inches longer at the shortest version and 507 lb · 230 kg heavier at the lightest. Both figures are taken from the lightest and shortest version we hold for each, so they compare like with like rather than setting a base car against a loaded one.

Of the 132 versions we hold under this code, 97 are rear-wheel drive and 35 all-wheel drive. That matters on the used market more than it looks: which axles are driven changes the weight, the service list and the price, and the badge does not always say which you are looking at.

This archive holds 6 original US brochures covering the E46, with the text of each one searchable. They are the source of the figures no government record collects — torque, acceleration and the equipment lists — and they are what BMW told American buyers at the time rather than what is said about the car now.

Gaps are left as gaps. We do not hold curb weight for 27 of the 132 and horsepower for 43, because Transport Canada does not publish a weight for every model and EPA began recording certified output usefully only in the late 1990s. A dash on this site means the figure is not in a source we can name, never that it is roughly the same as the row above.