3 Series (G20) [Official] BMW G20 3 Series LCI Leaked

[Matski]

Those LCI headlights bugged me.

The ones they put on the LCI Coupe's and Convertibles were even worse.

 

[Swiss_ZH]

m sport rear bumpers are getting out of hand! 4 gc and now the 3 series. the huge amount of black plastic is absolutly not my thing.

 

[Laurent T]

I don't like the current design direction from BMW... and this one won't change my opinion. I am sad because that's my favorite brand among the top 3 German...

 

[Serpens]

I absolutely loved the E46 LCI, that was the whole reason I got into the BMW brand. The new bumpers on this G20 facelift look bad, especially the rear.

 

[leylandi]

It's great how you can be so far from the antipodes of thought, since the E46 LCI is for me and I think everyone except you, one of the most successful restylings of the brand.

e46 LCI looks very unidentified

 

[advantage20]

I assume the bluest headlights are the top-of-the-line, but are they still laser or have they switched over to LED?

Either way, a tiny touch of blue in the car's 'eyes' gives them a nice and fresh look (even though ideally I'd prefer the crisp and clean contrast of just white and clear crystalline tones against a dark housing), but this here is getting out of hand

And yeah, let's get rid of that notch in the headlights too because it gave the 3er too much of an old-school BMW look and we don't want that. In fact let's get rid of the whole restrained athletic elegance design paradigm because progressive means binning everything we've stood for.

What happened to this?

It's the one model they didn't have to screw up; huge disappointment.

 

[martinbo]

Personally - I’ve always thought that the pre-LCI G20’s bumper has a little bit too much going on. I’m looking forward to the cleaner, more prominent front-end. That rear bumper is bugging the living shit out of me on the other hand…
So far we’re only seeing the M-Sport spec, I’m curious to see how the standard model turns out.

 

[Merc1]

I have no idea what you guys are seeing. I see a chicken wire/rats nest of a front bumper now.

M

 

[dalab]

e46 LCI looks very unidentified

I did not say that it was better than the Pre LCI but successful, from a perfect front they made a successful LCI that modernized it to the point that the Pre-LCI as can be seen, has the kidneys and headlights finished downwards (as it was for decades) and in the LCI the kidneys and headlights point upwards setting the trend for BMW and many brands to this day

 

[Merc1]

I’m sorry but how can a change like this be successful if it’s not better? The point of a change like this to a car is to make it better.

M

 

[dalab]

I’m sorry but how can a change like this be successful if it’s not better? The point of a change like this to a car is to make it better.

M

I understand that what is sought is to update, modernize and not be relegated in comparison to the other new models of the brand and competitors.

 

[Merc1]

I understand that what is sought is to update, modernize and not be relegated in comparison to the other new models of the brand and competitors.

That makes absolutely no sense if they're going to ugly up the car. I guess what it's whatever you need to tell yourself in order to justify BMW messing up one of their last good looking sedans. Something that is "successful" should be an improvement, not a step backwards. Just to seek an update without an actual improvement doesn't make sense either.

M

 

[advantage20]

I’m sorry but how can a change like this be successful if it’s not better? The point of a change like this to a car is to make it better.

M

Apparently most consumers today (not referring to the enthusiast minority who can actually provide an educated opinion) think the other way around: if there is change, then the product has to be better, and the exhilaration of novelty (and the potential peer appraisal and pride derived from it) shuts down their critical thinking.

Ideally a renowned brand aiming at volume growth walks a fine line between cherishing its heritage and jumping on the trendy bandwagons, and even if it chooses to do so it typically manages to maintain a tasteful design -- Porsche spontaneously comes to mind, perhaps their design language is a little bit too conservative but it strives to remain timeless and elegant (which is another reason why their cars' value doesn't plummet over time). Arguably a design that is both modern and timelessly tasteful is harder to achieve but not impossible, and designer talent certainly isn't lacking.

No, it's a deliberate choice, BMW admits having embraced a quick buck for trendy consumers strategy (which for instance the latest visual campaigns or the ever-present "progressive" adjective clearly are a code for), even though it will bring less in the long run; i.e. admits selling purely consumer products instead of something more instilled with a soul... all the while usurping and capitalizing on its illustrious past ("sheer driving pleasure", "unmistakable proportions", "sporty and elegant"...) as if there still were something mystical and ethereal being preserved. It's this huge leg split that makes us enthusiasts, those who have kept the myth alive, sick to our stomach, but who are we to judge anyway since the brand's representatives openly declared we were disposable.

 

[dalab]

That makes absolutely no sense if they're going to ugly up the car. I guess what it's whatever you need to tell yourself in order to justify BMW messing up one of their last good looking sedans. Something that is "successful" should be an improvement, not a step backwards. Just to seek an update without an actual improvement doesn't make sense either.

M

My last post and the "successful" one are in reference to the E46 its LCI and the messages and photos published about it, I think there was a small misunderstanding

That makes absolutely no sense if they're going to ugly up the car.

About the G20 The pre LCI is very good, this new one changes little (vertical x horizontal, top to bottom) and a more aggressive bumper in line with the X3/4, for the simple fact of renewing it a bit, I will wait to see it or the official photos for a better opinion

For example, the "complacent" LCI of the E65 I did not like at all since it lost all the personality and specialness that the original had, as if it had given up, so an LCI is not always better, to show it is enough to see the Mercedes E classe LCI

 

[Matski]

It's this huge leg split that makes us enthusiasts, those who have kept the myth alive, sick to our stomach, but who are we to judge anyway since the brand's representatives openly declared we were disposable.

Just feel the need to point out that you don't speak for all enthusiasts, so knock that "us enthusiasts" sh!t on the head.

 

[dalab]

BMW admits having embraced a quick buck for trendy consumers strategy

I don't remember them ever admitting that, and of course that's not the reality, but you can ask Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo and all those how it feels to not have thought financially as well.

Porsche spontaneously comes to mind,

You cannot generalize, or sometimes compare things that are not, Porsche sells 300,000 cars and BMW is on its way to 3 million, it is not the same.

the latest visual campaigns or the ever-present "progressive" adjective clearly are a code for), even though it will bring less in the long run; i.e. admits selling purely consumer products instead of something more instilled with a soul...

Marketing campaigns, it happens that "the ultimate driving machine" which is one of the best slogans in history, is already a bit old, if you don't renew you don't sell, and those who get sick to their stomachs may get sicker if the company goes bankrupt , enthusiasts of the E30 are not ruled out, it's just that that one is no longer manufactured for a long time, in the 80s "only" 446,000 BMWs a year were sold, I remember that the "X" line did not like the enthusiasts, so for Running such a complex business takes more than just being enthusiastic.

timelessly tasteful

A matter of taste, most with exceptions and historically seem timeless to me, (there are more than 20 different cars in the brand that are currently manufactured) and Porsche or Ferrari are not saved either

I assume you didn't like the G20 LCI?

 

[Merc1]

The one issue I take here is that you most certainly can compare Porsche to BMW. Who sells the most cars is matterless. It's how it's done is in question here. Porsche is absolutely a master in the space they compete in. Profits, quality, styling, performance, you name it they're one of the best going and they're doing it without resorting to all sorts of weird (terrible IMO) design choices like BMW and Mercedes and they've easily stayed truer to what the brand has always meant vs BMW and Mercedes which have seemingly sold their souls (and eyeballs) for the Chinese market. There is no way the 7-Series or EQS needed to look like they do. Mercedes and BMW know how to design beautiful cars when they want to.

M

 

[advantage20]

So we're assuming that BMW would go bankrupt without brilliant styling innovations such as these?

A part such as this diffuser + fake vents/reflectors could have been made to look sportier than before by emphasizing the original idea, i.e. looking at the way it was envisioned, which made everything blend in together harmoniously, and just pushing the various elements a bit further (towards the M3 bumper direction). Slapping on completely new pieces just because they usually tend to look sporty in abstracto won't automatically make the overall design look better in a particular context, and indeed I believe it doesn't at all in this one.

And still, that's us assuming that the masses cannot appreciate and won't buy good design; but again, they can be given the novelty elements they are fond of without disfiguring a balanced and coherent design into brash and clumsy just for the sake of change.

 

[dalab]

So we're assuming that BMW would go bankrupt without brilliant styling innovations such as these?

A part such as this diffuser + fake vents/reflectors could have been made to look sportier than before by emphasizing the original idea, i.e. looking at the way it was envisioned, which made everything blend in together harmoniously, and just pushing the various elements a bit further (towards the M3 bumper direction). Slapping on completely new pieces just because they usually tend to look sporty in abstracto won't automatically make the overall design look better in a particular context, and indeed I believe it doesn't at all in this one.

And still, that's us assuming that the masses cannot appreciate and won't buy good design; but again, they can be given the novelty elements they are fond of without disfiguring a balanced and coherent design into brash and clumsy just for the sake of change.

You are comparing a 340 against a 330, a nice photo against a Chinese leak without lighting, I am not saying that it is better, just waiting for the official presentation.

btw, they are not fake vents but a stylistic resource with red caps
I did not understand the black diaper

 

[advantage20]