[pix335i]

It is official, the next generation 3 series (chassis code F30) has made its debut and is now shown off in hundreds of pictures to the automotive world. Christmas has come early to auto enthusiasts who have been awaiting the release. We have weeded through the press release and have picked out our favorite features and the most questionable ones. Read on to get all the details.

Our Favorites

The Driver Oriented Dash Returns!
Our wishes have been granted with the return of a driver oriented dash design! (There is officially a 7 degree tilt towards the driver) How great is it to see in the official photos that the driver is once again given a proper interior flow towards them. The entire interior seems to be geared towards pleasing the driver and enabling them to enjoy the driving...what an amazing idea!



Engine Choices -- 4 vs 6?
Call us crazy but one of our favorite points about the new 3 is the fact that you can choose between a more fuel efficient (and still powerful) turbocharged 4-cylinder motor producing 245 hp / 258 lb-ft and the more powerful inline 6-cylinder throwing down 306 hp / 295 lb-ft off the line. This is great for the stock owners as well as the modding community -- more choices is a very good thing.



More Choices with Sport, Luxury, Modern and M Sport Lines
It is great that BMW keeps giving us more options on how the car looks and feels overall. The addition of the different lines allows customers to pick what style reflects their personality and is a great way to differentiate your 3 series from the others in the crowd. I'm sure there will be a ton of aftermarket accessories to accentuate these individual lines and make them even better.



Least Favorites

Turn Signals in the Side Mirrors
This is just a sad day to see these mirrors end up on US bound BMWs. Never did we think that this day would actually arrive but it has. The only good that can come from this is the work that the aftermarket community can do to replace these hideous additions as soon as humanely possibly. Get on it aftermarket community!



It Keeps Getting Bigger -- Why?
Come on BMW....seriously? You made the 3 series bigger yet again? This is getting out of hand. The 3 series used to be a smaller, sporty car but each generation we get bigger and bigger. We started with the E21 at a length of 171.5" and have now bloated the car all the way up to 182". Width we have gone from 63.4" to 71.3". Height from 54.3" to 56.3". I guess the only saving grace in all this is the car actually sees a weight savings of roughly 88 pounds. I still am not thrilled with how big it is getting.



European Crash Law Mandated Hood Line Changes
This may be somewhat unfair as a negative feature of the car since the design change is mandated by European pedestrian laws but pushing the hood line up further just hurts the overall look of the car. The car just does not have the same flow. I know it isn't something that you can change at this point but I can't help but be disappointed.



Jury is Still Out

How does it drive?

This is an easy one since no one has been able to drive the car yet. The number one factor in buying a BMW should be whether or not the car puts on a smile on your face going through some twisty back roads. The engines are certainly producing a good amount of power based on the numbers and you can even see the tuning community smiling at all the possibilities that a pure turbo lineup gives them in coaxing more and more out of these beasts. Toss all that in with BMW's commitment to keeping the weight distributed evenly in the car and one would certainly think this next generation 3 series is a winner. Time will tell once we get some driving time in the cars -- it can't come soon enough!



What do you think? What are some of your favorite and least favorite parts about the new 3 Series?

 

[Gjm127]

I dislike the hood too... I hoped for stock wheel size to get bigger but they didn't... The interior is kind of deceiving to me: the Nav. control is further from the driver and the gear shift is in its way, I don't get that decision.. In the E90, they were on the ame level. Also, I did NOT like the seats, they aren't sporty enough and the head parts are..too big IMO. Steering wheel lost its sportiness, and the M-Sport Steering wheel just looks awful...

 

[dtc100]

Christmas does not come early because you cannot get one before then

Like:

The fuel economy of the new 328i,
The 0-60.

Don't like:

The fixed "pop-up" screen,
The cupholders are too close to the shifter,
The front bumper style,
The sport suspension only available with the M-sport package, which will be costly.

 

[Highmodulus]

Like the look and the wider stance.

Dislike the M-sport seat, and the NAV screen integration is poor. When everyone thinks its a pop-up version, that's NOT a good thing.

The bear in the room: pricing. The 328 now has a very similar engine to the A4 and packages like the A4- will they cut the price to match the A4? Also its easy to get an a4 wagon and all wheel drive on any Audi lot- how long (of ever) will that be true for the F30's?

 

[pix335i]

That is a great point about the Audi A4 comparison. The base model A4 starts at $32,500 and the outgoing 328i xDrive starts at $36,600. It is a $4,100 difference right off the top but I am sure BMW will be quick to point out that the Audi comes with 211 horsepower and say that the base 3 Series is a better car than base A4. It warrants a closer look when we have pricing but it may be close enough where it comes down to personal preference.

I'll be interested to see what pricing comes out at for sure.

 

[Weaselboy]

This piece of plastic from the dash that flows down over the right AC vent looks a little off to me. Maybe with a darker color wood accent like the anthracite it will not stand out as much?

Also not thrilled with the NAV screen in a fixed position like that. Will have to see how it looks in person.

I think the front end/hood push out looks fine. It looked a little funny in the new 5-series photos also, but in person is handsome.

 

[TenzoR]

My biggest question, will the Touring version be coming to US/Can

The only complaint I have is the horizontal line where the hood and the front fascia meets, it just looks too distinct. But that's really nitpicking.

 

[TMQ]

Like the look and the wider stance.

Dislike the M-sport seat, and the NAV screen integration is poor. When everyone thinks its a pop-up version, that's NOT a good thing.

The bear in the room: pricing. The 328 now has a very similar engine to the A4 and packages like the A4- will they cut the price to match the A4? Also its easy to get an a4 wagon and all wheel drive on any Audi lot- how long (of ever) will that be true for the F30's?

I actually like the new Nav screen. It's very clean, and doesn't have all the extra plastic surrounding materials.

 

[SilverX3]

I like it

 

[chris328]

oh jesus, i just saw the back end for the first time. it looks like a friggin GT!

 

[Elias]

They really did a bad job on that steering wheel, looks old school not liking that one bit! :tsk:

 

[2001S15]

Does anyone know if this car will have a backup camera/camera package, like the X3?

The lack of a camera has been a huge (tech) disadvantage of the E9x over its competitors. My wife has an E91 and I love everything about it except for the lack of camera. The sensors work great in many situations but not all.

 

[SD ///M4]

Does anyone know if this car will have a backup camera/camera package, like the X3?

The lack of a camera has been a huge (tech) disadvantage of the E9x over its competitors. My wife has an E91 and I love everything about it except for the lack of camera. The sensors work great in many situations but not all.

Yes.

From the press release:

"A rear view camera is also available for the new BMW 3 Series Sedan as an extension of the Park Distance Control (PDC) system. PDC uses sensors in the bumpers to detect the distance to obstacles in front of and behind the car. The camera is located in a protected position in the licence plate recess of the boot lid and sends images with optimised colour and perspective to the cockpit monitor. Interactive lane markings signal the room available for the parking manoeuvre and the smallest possible turning circle. Added to which, a zoom function covering the area immediately behind the car helps the driver to back up accurately when hitching up a trailer.

Making its debut in the BMW 3 Series Sedan, the Surround View system provides an even more extensive overview of the car. This system complements the rear view camera and PDC sensors, and works using two cameras in the exterior mirrors. The data collected on the car and its surrounding area isprocessed by a central computer, which generates an overall image. This is then displayed on the on-board monitor, presenting a bird's-eye view of the car and the area around it, and enabling the driver to carry out precise manoeuvres in tight spaces.

If the car is moving at under 20 km/h (12 mph), the driver can - at the touch of a button - also choose to activate only the Side View function of Surround View. Side View uses two cameras integrated in the sides of the front bumper to monitor traffic crossing in front of the vehicle. These images are also relayed to the cockpit, where they not only act as a manoeuvring aid but, above all, give the driver an early idea of what is happening on the road to the left and right of the car when pulling out from narrow and concealed exits or junctions."​

 

[jonathan2263]

My biggest question, will the Touring version be coming to US/Can

The only complaint I have is the horizontal line where the hood and the front fascia meets, it just looks too distinct. But that's really nitpicking.

My understanding is they won't be importing the touring to North America. Too bad. Even with the size increase, I'm sure it's the best handling and smallest of the Euro-Wagons.

Does anyone else think the face looks very angry ?

 

[jusmills]

The only thing that I dislike...and I'm not even sure if dislike is the right word...is the headlight touching the grill. I just don't like it, reminds me of the fried egg years of the 911/Boxster.

 

[E36 Phantom]

Aside from the turn signals being integrated in the mirrors (horrible), they're enormous! Way too big for the rest of the car. And why are they unpainted on the sport line? Also the bright painted dash on some models. Looks like it's moving down the scale big time.

Sent from my Droid using BimmerApp

 

[3ismagic#]

Having seen the F20 styling I was really nervous. However, I would say that over all I am pleasantly surprised.
Most of these are provisional given we have no idea what standard/optional equipment/packages will look like in the US.

Likes:
1) Standard steering wheel looks sweet
2) Imperial Blue
3) It's a bit roomier yet still lighter than the E90
4) user selectable driving modes (e.g. eco/sport etc.) However, are these suspension settings, throttle mapping, shift points, all/none of the above?
5) Seats look nice
6) side mirror markers are tasteful. Thank god they went with clear and not the amber which was on the test mules.

Dislikes:
1) M-Sport Steering wheel
2) M-sport interior blue accents look like they were ripped from a 2006 Mazda3.
3) Ridiculous "active hybrid3" everywhere. We get it, it's a hybrid.
4) No black steering wheel for the Modern line? (oyster steering wheel? nein danke!)
5) no black leather with grey trim for sport line. what gives? there's grey w/black; black w/red; and red w/black
6) I like the exterior/wheels of the sport-line and m-sport line but some of the interior combos of the modern/luxury lines look nice (e.g. Anthracite wood and aluminum)
7) The S/M/L lines provide the illusion of more choice rather than more actual choice.
8) the interior combo choices are constrained (e.g. saddle only on luxury line)

Questions:
1) What engines will the US actually see (no 335d/big diesel is listed)
2) Not at all clear how the interior color options work relative to the Sport/modern/luxury lines . In the catalog there are interior/trim color combos that don't appear to be specific to any of the lines and the lines themselves are all listed as optional.
3) Will the blue trim be mandatory for M-sport? If the steering wheel isn't a deal breaker for me then the blue trim will be. Otherwise the M-Sport facia looks great.
4) Brochure lists both an "adaptive suspension lowered by 10cm" and an "M-sport suspension. How are these different?
5) How will the electro-mechanical steering feel? I love love love the feel of the E90 steering, but if the F30 feels anything like the F10 or the Audi A4 then nein danke!

 

[AzNMpower32]

It really seems like the exterior is a smaller F10 and the interior is from the F20 1er, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I like both the F10 and F20. However styling has always taken a backseat to the driving experience for me, so until I drive one, I won't love or hate it.

 

[SARAFIL]

That is a great point about the Audi A4 comparison. The base model A4 starts at $32,500 and the outgoing 328i xDrive starts at $36,600. It is a $4,100 difference right off the top but I am sure BMW will be quick to point out that the Audi comes with 211 horsepower and say that the base 3 Series is a better car than base A4. It warrants a closer look when we have pricing but it may be close enough where it comes down to personal preference.

I'll be interested to see what pricing comes out at for sure.

The A4 starts at $32,500 before destination and it is a FWD. A Quattro will be $34,175 with destination for a manual and $35,475 for an automatic.

For comparison, a 2011 328i is $35,475 with destination (auto and manual same price) and the 328xi is $37,475. So the difference is really only $2,000-3,000 depending on if you want auto or manual. Since most buyers are going auto, the real world difference is only $2,000 and not the $4,000 you suggest.

 

[boramkiv]

HaHa, having that new turbo four pretty much guarantees it a spot on Car and Drivers 10 best list for 2012.
Way to go BMW!! Looks good too!