2012 BMW 3 Series
BMW revealed the latest, sixth-generation BMW 3 Series today here at its Munich HQ, parading the new cars from the factory to the Welt showroom/museum across the street. Read on for our first impressions of the new car during it’s live reveal.
The most noticeable update to the new car is right up front. The new nose is shorter and gives the impression the car is narrowing its eyes in anger, or just squinting depending on whether you like it or not. It looks better from a three-quarter angle than dead on. Overall, it makes the front of the car look much smaller than it is, but look close and you can see just how high the hood rises above the headlights. It’s a neat visual trick that helps disguise the limitations imposed by tighter pedestrian impact regulations.
The nose will also tell you which model you’re looking at. Sport, Luxury and Modern models each get different trim around the fog lights and unique wheels to set them apart. The looker is the M Sport package, which features a much more aggressive nose that should foreshadow the next M3.
The rest of the car is less of a departure. A strong pair of parallel creases run up the sides below the windows but there’s nothing extreme going on here. Around the back, it looks quite a bit like the latest 5 Series, but just a bit smaller. There’s no mistaking that this is a bigger car than its predecessor, but at least it’s a bit lighter.
Inside, it’s still clearly the same basic BMW interior design we’ve been seeing for years, but tastefully updated. The new nav screen looks like a miniature version of the flatscreen in your living room. The gauges look like they’re meant to have a digital display integrated into them rather than having it tacked onto the bottom. The new steering wheel is more modern and sleek and the M Sport’s unique steering wheel is a tasteful retro-modern piece. We’re also impressed with the new seats. The padding is plush and comfortable and the bolsters are thick and well-shaped for sporty driving. The extra legroom in the rear seats is noticeable and appreciated.
Overall, we’re liking the new 3, though we concede the new look takes some getting used to. Of course, the biggest question remains unanswered: how does it perform? We hope to find out soon.
