New BMW 3 series revealed

[triggerh4ppy]

Guessing this is the sport trim. Interested to see what the SE trim will look like.

[Mafffew]

tannhauser said:

No doubt the PCP plebs will lap it up.

That didn't take long.

[rsbmw]

spookly said:

Meh. Other than looking a bit more fussy, I don't think it looks much different from the current 3 series. BMW have lost their way with the 3. Years back they stood out, now they're just dull and blend in. Good cars to drive with the better engines, but nothing special to look at.

I disagree, the 3 series saloon has always been dull and ugly, but conversely the coupe was brilliant. That said, I never liked the front end on the previous 3/4, E92 was the last good looking 3 series. This one I think is an improvement at the front, and certainly will continue to be popular.

[Warby80]

Pica-Pica said:

ITP said:

That front bumper is horribly over styled.
Not sure about the move away from the round dials either. Looks a bit too try hard for me.
And i’m not biased against BMW by the way, i’ve had an e28, e30, e36 and an e90 over the years.

I did not notice the dials. I am not sure they will make it to production, whatever the rest is, those dials are NOT BMW’s style.

Looks like a virtual cockpit style screen to me so maybe only an option with the normal dash as standard.

[DoubleD]

Mafffew said:

tannhauser said:

No doubt the PCP plebs will lap it up.

That didn't take long.

Yep. Page 1. Very impressive indeed.

[Ninja59]

Pica-Pica said:

I did not notice the dials. I am not sure they will make it to production, whatever the rest is, those dials are NOT BMW’s style.

Already in production no doubt exactly the same or simplified version of the ones in the new 8 series, X5 and Z4.

The overall interior styling is becoming pretty similar between each of the cars which all originate in part from the new 8. I suppose in a sense the 7, 5 and 6GT will need updating to match these at some point. Not sure BMW would do significant interior updates in the LCI models though?

[kambites]

As others have said the front bumper would be rather OTT for an M3 let alone a bog standard M-sport. The surface treatment on the side looks very Mercedes, although to be fair to BMW Mercedes stole it from BMW in the first place.

I suspect it'll look much better in SE spec.

[g3org3y]

tannhauser said:

It looks fking hideous. Fussy, overstyled yet dull as fk. Looks cheaply made too. No doubt the PCP plebs will lap it up.

Would you care to elaborate on the areas you feel look "cheaply made" based on what you've seen in the photos. I am just interested if there's any evidence behind this statement or whether it's standard PH st chat.

[Rawwr]

ITP said:

That front bumper is horribly over styled.

I'm not sure about that. If you look at the front three-quarter picture, it does indeed look like a Transformer's bowel movement but, if you look at the side profile, it looks really pug-nosed and flat. I suspect it'll probably look more sensible in the flesh.

[Wills2]

Some better pictures, looks very Japanese to me.

Edited by Wills2 on Tuesday 2nd October 08:01

[Wills2]

ntiz said:

Is this a totally new generation with new chassis etc?

Yes.

[MDT]

DoubleD said:

Its automatically recognisable as a 3 series. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing.

till it goes past you and you think it's a 5 series as it's getting big now

[Evolved]

Looks like a Lexus front end, also terribly overstyled.

[anonymous-user]

Excellent, I can’t wait to get cut up by one of these !

[KerwinRobertson]

There was something missing, fixed it.

[Smiljan]

g3org3y said:

tannhauser said:

It looks fking hideous. Fussy, overstyled yet dull as fk. Looks cheaply made too. No doubt the PCP plebs will lap it up.

Would you care to elaborate on the areas you feel look "cheaply made" based on what you've seen in the photos. I am just interested if there's any evidence behind this statement or whether it's standard PH st chat.

It's ok, he's got tourettes and can't help with the outbursts

Anway, looks ok to me. As someone else said it's instantly recognisable as a 3 series and doesn't offend too much. The interior I'm less sure of, it looks very busy and not BMW like. The shifter could do to be moved to the steering column a la Mercedes, now the mechanical handbrake is gone they could use that central space better.

Oh and the centre vents and controls look like a grumpy face with a screen on its head.

Edited by Smiljan on Tuesday 2nd October 08:29

[JakeT]

As a staunch 3 series fan...


I don't like it. Grilles are much too large. Maybe it'll get better with age. I hope it does.

[daveco]

I like it though the alloy wheels look like something Halford's would sell.

That said, BMW seem to be reducing the size/width of their tyres and alloy wheels on standard spec cars. I noticed that the new 5 series SE spec has smaller alloys and tyres compared to the same car in F10 spec.

[Smiljan]

Seems the photos weren't leaked, its been launched at the Paris motor show

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/3-series/104817/...

This bit had my attention too "Another first for BMW is something the firm calls ‘intelligent personal assistant’. The system is able to learn and recognise regular habits and behaviours of drivers and adjust the car automatically. For example, if a regular route includes a toll road, the car will disable the stop/start system and automatically lower the driver’s window at the right moment."

Can't see what can possibly go wrong with that type of system :rof:

Edited by Smiljan on Tuesday 2nd October 08:39

[Wills2]

Smiljan said:

. The shifter could do to be moved to the steering column a la Mercedes,

Edited by Smiljan on Tuesday 2nd October 08:29

Can't think of anything worse, some cheap little wand on the steering column, no thanks.