3 Series (F30) [Official] BMW 3-Series (F30)


The sixth generation of the BMW 3 Series consists of the BMW F30 (sedan version), BMW F31 (wagon version, marketed as 'Touring') and BMW F34 (fastback version, marketed as 'Gran Turismo') compact executive cars. The F30/F31/F34 generation was produced from October 2011 to 2019 and is often collectively referred to as the F30. For the sixth generation, the coupé and convertible models were spun off to create the new BMW 4 Series nameplate.
M pack is great! but then i think the standard bumper has its own art in it, should give it some credit, it mixes very well with the low/flatness of the front end.

I don't think this is too similar to the E90, it really isn't. in fact i think the most similar thing between this and the E90 is the tail lights.

Ref above video: Sport Modern Luxury - sounds like names a kid would come up with.. and you mate it up with a car like this. call it "Happy" "Sad" "Angry" would be similar.

I too agree that the interior is perhaps a bit of a let down. I think the dash and everything is OK but the door panels are not. Door panels appear cheap, would hope it to get something more similar to the 5series instead of the 1 in terms of the door panels.
 
Nice, beautiful, i like it :) but like a 7er i dont love it. Just like with every 3er and 7er (except e38), i always see some minor flaws in them and even if i dont, something is definitely missing for me designwise. Maybe im biased, but 5er always looked best out of them all, not too big, not too small (ok e60 wasnt that much of a looker, still better than e65 or e90tho). However almost every bmw looks magnificient in flesh if done right, i have a feeling that this will be like e30 or e46, not an award winning design, but will age perfect and will look good 20 year after still
 
BTW guys, where the heck are the BMW guys? Where is Tycoon, klier, Rickfromblegium, Sunny and a long etc.? BMW shows this home run and I don´t see too much praise from the brand fans.
 
Honestly though, WHY on earth did BMW decided to do the Sport Line LUxury line Modern line whatever, seriously, this is even worse than MB's Classic/Elegance/Advantgarde, or is just a cheap copy, using simpler English names. First i don't think this improves anything, including personalisation. Why not just do what they did in the past (and do now with other models), just give me a price, engine, list of specs and SE model or not, and i will decide what options to add.. i don't need BMW to decide for me what i want. like what if i want the stupid black mirror but i want the sports rim? i got to add money wth??? makes it uncool too, a German brand now branding its cars using some simple English words that will even get a little badge stuck on the side reading "Modern" or "Sport" or "Luxury" omfg. please offer the badge (this badge) delete option as standard. Was so nice and simple in the past: 6cylinder models get chrome windows surrounds / chrome kidney bars, then options become a question for the local BMW dealer. No idea why BMW is always heading the MB way, being now more comfort orientated rather than "driving machine" orientated and even try to attract customers by making them think Sport Luxury Modern are some special words while in fact BMW owners tended be understated that they don't need others to know what options they've got or even what engine they got by deleting the rear badge.

The Lines are additional, optional.
You can still get a standard model (F20, F30), and pack it with all the available optional features - without any design peculiarities of a specific Line.
Black or white mirror caps? They are OPTIONAL - even when ordering Sport / Urban Line. So are the white rims on F20 Urban. Only the exterior trim is standard (black gloss / titanium matt).

So, with F30 you can get "Standard Line" - the bare standard car without any additional design gimmicks, Sport Line, Modern Line, Luxury Line, M-Sport Package / "Line". While F20 is avalable as standard bare car, Sport Line, urban Line, M-Sport Package / "Line".

It's not exactly the MB formula. BMW still offers standard bare car.
 
the rear door panel (interior) looks ridiculous from pictures. The amount of leather trim cover is so tiny what the hell? the rest is BLACK PLASTIC.

and WAIT: rear lights are FULLY NON-LED, front BLINKERS are ALSO NON-LED.
 
The Lines are additional, optional.
You can still get a standard model (F20, F30), and pack it with all the available optional features - without any design peculiarities of a specific Line.
Black or white mirror caps? They are OPTIONAL - even when ordering Sport / Urban Line. So are the white rims on F20 Urban. Only the exterior trim is standard (black gloss / titanium matt).

So, with F30 you can get "Standard Line" - the bare standard car without any additional design gimmicks, Sport Line, Modern Line, Luxury Line, M-Sport Package / "Line". While F20 is avalable as standard bare car, Sport Line, urban Line, M-Sport Package / "Line".

It's not exactly the MB formula. BMW still offers standard bare car.

That's good to know.
 
The only currently available HighRes pictures of the M Sport Package.
 

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Also, it may be a small point, but you can see that BMW listened to all the ranting and raving from fellow US consumers with regards to the E90/92 cup holders. I personally don't have a problem with the pop-out style of the current cup holders...but I imagine some owners who love to order super-duper sized Diet Coke and find that the cup holders are too small and fragile are now happy to see traditional-style cup holders.


Wallpaper size of the M Package front: BMW 3-Series wallpaper # 62 of 114, Front Angle, MY 2012, 800x600
 
I've already gotten used to the front lights, the only thing holding back the "perfection" title is that humpback hood, but even that fades with the M-Pack.....I think we have a winner here.


All 3 of BMW's sedans are now complete and the Bangle era is now officially over. The front wheels are pushed to the corners on the 3,5,7, and it makes the 7 look not quite right in the Li form, the 5-Series is 99% perfect and this new 3er follows the 5er. Game over for everyone else once this thing lands in U.S. show rooms. Can't wait to see what the coupe and convertible look like.

In my book, BMW now has the best looking lineup out of the German Fab 4, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche.


M
 
both the FL/pre FL E46s should be up there too ^^^^^^^^^ lol

i also found one 3series tradition that the F30 lost, it's minor but why don't they continue it just for the sake of it? that's the side window surrounds. Most apparent with Chrome window surrounds, the F30, like the 5series now, has a chrome strip that covers the full perimeter of the side windows, whereas on the E46 and E90, that chrome strip would "stop" at the edge of the side mirrors mounting place. Thought that was good but they don't do it anymore :(
 
BTW guys, where the heck are the BMW guys? Where is Tycoon, klier, Rickfromblegium, Sunny and a long etc.? BMW shows this home run and I don´t see too much praise from the brand fans.

I'm here. Seen the car a while ago, and I gave it a praise in August, I guess. :D

EnI said:
Similarities with 1er: the dash & central console & tunnel - using same HVAC & infotainment controls etc ... The front: the headlights are imitating the ones on F20, yet on F30 they are much more angular & pointy (while on F20 they are more rounded & bigger) - both clusters are wider on the outer side, and thinner on the inner side (near the grille) - and this transition is quite sharp in both cases. The F20 looks funkier compared to F30 which indeed is more refined & mature looking. IMO much more aggressive & athletic than the E90. But it for sure is a more mature car ... Making space for 4dr 1er? ;)

Rear lights: as you can see the outer part (on the flanks) is very similar to the one on 5er ... While the inner part (on the boot lid) is more 6er-like (bidiagonal, longer, thinner) - also the point cut is more like the one on 6er or 5er GT (obtuse) not like on 5er or 7er (acute). The rear looks wide & beefy. Athletic - yes, aggressive - no. Refined & mature - yes, elegant - not quite. I'd say: less elegant than 5er, but sportier.

The grille is a bit more 3D in i-style - there is visual connection between grille & headlights. There is a bit of "empty space" on the bumper - but much less than on F20, and it's not evident (the "empty space" on the nose makes F20 a bit Alfa Romeo-ish).

Double shoulder / character line is very interesting. The upper one gives the front more stance, while lower one makes the rear balanced & refined. A single character line would either result in too heavy rear (if only using the upper one), or in too bloated hood (if only using the lower one). While this solution works, and makes the care more visually dynamic, and giving the car a special character. It's executed very precisely & nicely. It makes the car look much more E46 in proportions than like E90 - where the rear was too high compared to the front. Although the F30 carries the E90-lie trunk design, the upper shoulder line which enhances the front gives the car more balanced look - the proportions more similar to E46 than to E90.

So, in the end the F30 looks a bit like a mini 5er - in a way 5er looks like a mini 7er. Sort of. But it has quite a few specific design elements, so it's definitely has got more dynamic look than 5er.

Sure the dimensions & some latest BMW design elements make the car an evolution of E90, but it has that E46 stance. Just like F10 has quite some recognizable E39 genes, despite being a successor to E60 - and it looks just as big if not more than E60.

It's not the most elegant BMW sedan (that's still the 5er - until 6er GC arrives ;) ), it's not the most sovereign (that's still the 7er), but it's definitely the most dynamic looking BMW sedan in the portfolio. A typical 3er. While in the previous generation it can be said the E60 had more dynamic styling than E90 (looking at pre-LCI versions).

IMO BMW has a real winner here. I hope the prices don't go crazy.

;)
 
THe German catalogue : http://www.bmw.com/com/de/newvehicles/3series/sedan/2011/_shared/pdf/BMW_3series_sedan_catalogue.pdf
 
All 3 of BMW's sedans are now complete and the Bangle era is now officially over. The front wheels are pushed to the corners on the 3,5,7, and it makes the 7 look not quite right in the Li form, the 5-Series is 99% perfect and this new 3er follows the 5er. Game over for everyone else once this thing lands in U.S. show rooms. Can't wait to see what the coupe and convertible look like.

In my book, BMW now has the best looking lineup out of the German Fab 4, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche.


M

Got to admit though, the Bangle era sprung much more surprises, especially the E60 rear was just so unexpected! and how things "got better" from the E65 to the E60 to E90. And i think we got to give credit to him, how everyone now "flame surfaces" their cars, some even overdo it (just look at the CLS/B class).
 
I was told the full-LED lights will be available later, as an option. My guess: with the coupe & cabrio introduction.

so it's the 6er all over again? damn, would rather them charge a bit more and just put LEDs as standard honestly. I mean, who's not going to get it if it's available? I think it'd be embarassing to have a E90 LCI blinking with LEDs next to your F30 with bulbs.
 

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, abbreviated as BMW is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945.
Official website: BMW (Global), BMW (USA)

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