HI RES of E90 side by side with E46 & E36

Let the bitter debate begin

I love my E46. But as soon as the E90 is on the street, I´ll start drooling for it and the 46er will start to look dated in my eyes.

Very nice picture that just confirms what I had been expecting to happen. Thanks for posting

I'd love to see the E30 in that photo too.

Is the photo cropped or is it the original ?

I bet if you added the face-lifted sedan next to the e90, the e46 won't look that date. Well, that's just my opinion.

Never mind, found it.

2 things jump out at me: 1) the E90 is wider and 2) the nose is longer

Originally Posted by hmr

2 things jump out at me: 1) the E90 is wider and 2) the nose is longer

I had a similar response..

1) E90 looks bigger (wider)
2) E90 looks really good next to those cars. (and better than I thought it would in a comparo)

From those pictures you can really see that the 3 series has become bigger looking with every new generation.

Originally Posted by Artslinger

From those pictures you can really see that the 3 series has become bigger looking with every new generation.

It's wider. But distortion in the photo makes it appear even wider than it is. Checkout the apparent width of the pavment squares from left to right.

Originally Posted by numbersguy

It's wider. But distortion in the photo makes it appear even wider than it is. Checkout the apparent width of the pavment squares from left to right.

Now that you mention it the picture does look a little distorted.

Now the family is complete

If the photo looks distorted, its because it's cropped, scaled, and heavily compressed, the original is like 6 MB.

It is an official BMW picture, I hope this doesn't come off as arrogant, but I would prefer not to give any information about where I got the picture.

The E90 looks like a 5er beside the E46. Wasteline expansion isn't just a human phenomena.

beat me to it, damn work!

Originally Posted by hmr

2 things jump out at me: 1) the E90 is wider and 2) the nose is longer

The biggest cause of that effect in the photo is because that E90 is the only one that has a Sport Package, which increases the body width visualization compared to the others, IMO.

If only the interior were half decent I would say that the car overall looks great... other than this and it is just OK.

Originally Posted by brybarrett

I bet if you added the face-lifted sedan next to the e90, the e46 won't look that date. Well, that's just my opinion.

That was my first thought when I saw the picture. There should be a facelift sedan also, between the E46 and the E90. I'm not sure about the kidney grills, I'm not sure if I like the way they are U shaped with that strip of crome on the hood creating the illusion that they are a squarish, rectangular, circular shape like all the other cars before it.

I wish they also did a rear shot of the 3 family. The front of the e90 looks like an evolution in the design, but the rear and interior are definately steps in the wrong direction, IMHO.

my contribution to the bitter debate

Originally Posted by bluetree211

my contribution to the bitter debate

Damn.

It was a gray day in Munich...

To me that picture seems REALLY unflattering for the E90. I was beginning to warm to the E-90 exterior, but after seeing that pic, I am not sure. Something about the design just doesn't work...maybe it's the odd camera angle.

I still need to see the car in person before passing final judgement.

Originally Posted by brybarrett

I bet if you added the face-lifted sedan next to the e90, the e46 won't look that date. Well, that's just my opinion.

I gotta say i think the front on my 330i performance package looks far more aggressive than the e90's frontend.

I think the new 3 looks awesome in that pic. Much more of a wedge for a nose, instead of the relatively blunt, almost square nose of the e46. From the photo, the e90 looks so much more squat and planted.

I know I'm probably going to buy one.

The E90's front is what bugs me the most. It appears to be in a perpetual state of anger, bordering on rage.

The E46 in that pic is much more serene, which, to me, is classier. I admit, however, that the E46 would look better if it were a little wider.

Also, the E90 is dark. Imagine how much wider it will look in light colors. That said, the E90 doesn't look awful. A different spoiler would help brighten its mood.

Originally Posted by brybarrett

I bet if you added the face-lifted sedan next to the e90, the e46 won't look that date. Well, that's just my opinion.

In fairness this is the pre-facelifted E90.