New 3 Series - function over form

[Alfa159Ti]

I do a fair few miles for business and have just been offered a brand spanking new 330d M Sport on a 24 month business lease, with 15k miles, for £396 per month.

I just looked at the official spec sheet of the car, not being too familiar with the latest genration '3' and it is ridiculous!

258 bhp
0-60: 5.4 secs
Combined mpg: 57.6
Co2 (g/km): 129

We all know manufacturers figures should be taken with a fistful of salt, but still, that is mighty impressive.

But to look at...oh boy. What a pig ugly munter. It has to be one of the most hatefully ugly cars I have seen since the Nissan Juke. What happened to the handsome lines of the E46 generation?

Indredible spec that pushes all the right buttons for me as a business-mobile, but just couldn't face driving such an embarassingly ugly car.

What a shame.

[Fox-]

That seems like an absolutely incredible deal - where is it from? Don't forget if you do a fair few miles but only have a 15k mile PA lease the excess mileage costs will get very silly very fast.

[Bayerischer]

have you seen one in the metal? they actually look quite good

[philmots]

Great specs i agree..

I also think it looks great! (specially the steering wheel!)

[JREwing]

I think you're in a minority of people who don't like the looks, although it's not stunning. The last model was pig-ugly, admittedly.

[fatboy b]

Oh yes. That was what was behind me yesterday. My first thoughts were that BMW are now selling their crash-test prototypes to the public. Things are still going downhill since the E46 then. Hideous pile of poo.

[Chris Stott]

I looked at the new 3er for my next conmpany car around 4 months ago... it looked great in the showroom, I could have got quite a decent spec and I loved the interior (perfect driving position).

I was about to pull the trigger then I saw one on the road... it just looked plain boring. At first I thought it might have just been colour sensitive, but then I saw a few more in different colours and it isn't.

The MSport ones look better, but all of them just have no road presence at all... the front end look squashed and back is just bland.

[kambites]

If only the styling was the only thing they'd sacrificed to get those figures...

Mind you they are impressive figures, for those that like that sort of thing.

[Fantuzzi]

Alfa159Ti said:

Co2 (g/km): 129

thats awsome.

[Motorrad]

Function over form? I'll take that every time.

Many of my favourite cars have the same attributes ie Issigonis Mini, Giacosa 500 etc etc

[maniac0796]

I thought it looked awful in photo's, but they do look a damn sight better in real life. Shame the same doesn't apply with the 1'er.

They seem to be using a slightly better version of that horrible E90 dash, but nothing on the E46 dash

[okie592]

thats bloody lovely! the ones with xenons look so good,

[HeatonNorris]

It looks like a 3 series.

[flibbage0]

I'll be honest and say that when I first saw the initial photos of the new 3 series I didn't like it at all. Especially with that wood trim that looked like it came off a fisher price toy.

However in the flesh it does look really good (not sure on the wood trim) but at least the exterior looks good. Much better than the E90 in my opinion.

[Chrisw666]

Motorrad said:

Function over form? I'll take that every time.

Same here, I spend more time in my car than looking at it, and enough pretty cars exist for me to look at elsewhere.

[Pints]

kambites said:

If only the styling was the only thing they'd sacrificed to get those figures...

Mind you they are impressive figures, for those that like that sort of thing.

I think they look great.

What are you alluding to regarding something else being compromised / sacrificed?

[David87]

I'm not really seeing the ugliness, to be honest. Is the 30d engine the most powerful diesel currently offered in this model of 3 Series? When's the 35d (or something even more powerful?!) coming along?

[kambites]

Pints said:

What are you alluding to regarding something else being compromised / sacrificed?

Lots of small things really - the new electric power steering system is rubbish; the run-flats ruin the ride; the suspension just feels cheap and badly set up; there's no N/A engines left so throttle response is poor across the range;... BMW's sole focus these days seems to be on getting the cars to look good on paper.

I actually agree about the looks - I don't think it's a terrible looking car at all.

[Fox-]

David87 said:

I'm not really seeing the ugliness, to be honest. Is the 30d engine the most powerful diesel currently offered in this model of 3 Series? When's the 35d (or something even more powerful?!) coming along?

It is the currently most powerful model, yes. If the performance figures are true then its hard to see the case for anything more diesel wise. Simply staggering.

[Urban Sports]

Alfa159Ti said:

but just couldn't face driving such an embarassingly ugly car.

What a shame.

Are you that insecure that you really are bothered about what other people think? You'll blend into the background so much that nobody would notice you. It's a BMW clitoris, every other cu*t will have one!