BMW 3 Series E90/E91/E92/E93

The E90/E91/E92/E93 is the BMW 3 Series generation our specification records cover for US model years 2007–2013. Across that run EPA certified 176 versions of it for sale in America, under 31 trim names. It was sold as a sedan, Touring, coupe and convertible.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E90 measures 178.3 in · 4,529 mm to 182.3 in · 4,630 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 108.7 in · 2,761 mm to 110.6 in · 2,809 mm and weighs 3,252 lb · 1,475 kg to 4,001 lb · 1,815 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 300 hp in 2007 to 320 hp in 2013, and the best combined economy improved from 22 mpg to 28 mpg. An E90 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 E46 that preceded it, the E90 is 2.3 inches longer at the shortest version and 55 lb · 25 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 176 versions we hold under this code, 113 are rear-wheel drive and 63 all-wheel drive; by fuel, 173 petrol and 3 diesel. 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 23 original US brochures covering the E90, 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 109 of the 176 and horsepower for 23, 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.