With the 2019 3-Series, BMW continues to treat smartphone compatibility as a hostile takeover. But it spreads joy in the form of comprehensive if pricey options. All told, it’s a good value, too.

We give it a 7 for features, knocking it down a point for slapped-on charges for smartphones, but adding points for value, options, and infotainment. (Read more about how we rate cars.)

The base $41,245 3-Series hits showrooms for the 2019 model year with the usual power features, 18-inch wheels with all-season run-flat 225/45 tires, climate control, a sunroof, a split-fold rear seat, power front seats, cruise control, ambient lighting, oak trim, and AM/FM/HD radio with Bluetooth and audio streaming. It also has standard forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking, but doesn’t include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

That begins the story of options. BMW offers them by the ream. CarPlay comes with navigation, a head-up display, and heated seats in a $2,800 package, which requires a $2,150 convenience package, but they’re also available with navigation as a $1,600 stand-alone option. After a year, BMW charges $80 annually for its wireless smartphone connection. No other automaker charges those fees.

Other options include $1,700 worth of leather upholstery; a $2,150 bundle with LED headlights, keyless entry, blind-spot monitors, satellite radio, and Active Driving Assistant. Another $1,700 added to that stirs in active lane control, adaptive cruise, and traffic-jam assist. Automatic high beams, a surround-view camera system, gesture controls, and Laserlight headlights come in a $2,100 package.

We’d definitely pitch in for the $5,000 M Sport package and its variable sport steering,  19-inch wheels (225/40 front, 255/35 rear), synthetic leather dash, aluminum or wood trim, and ante up another $700 for adaptive dampers. Track Handling is a $2,450 option that gets M Sport brakes, sport differential, and adaptive dampers.

Stand-alone options include remote start, heated front seats, a power decklid, parking sensors, wood trim, Harman Kardon sound, adaptive cruise control, wireless smartphone charging, and a heated steering wheel.

While we have qualms with the way BMW charges for smartphone connectivity, we like the latest iDrive infotainment system. In base form it combines a 5.7-inch digital display in the dash with an 8.8-inch screen on the center stack; pay more and it gets 12.3-inch digital gauges and a 10.3-inch touchscreen. It’s capable of understanding more natural spoken phrases, can read emails, change temperatures in the cabin, and can even learn your chosen name for it: Instead of “Hey, BMW,” you can beckon it with anything you like, after a short voice-programming run.

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