[mathys]

Hi all,

not sure if this should go in a different thread, feel free to merge/move.

I saw the new 3 series live in Paris last Thursday. Compared to all the Frankfurt shows I've been, the stand in Paris was very compact.
My prejudice was that the the interior would be the main attraction and I would be underwhelmed by the exterior.
It came out exactly opposite. the exterior looks great in person.
On pictures the M-pack front bumper looks overdesigned, in real life it makes complete sense. The cut-out of the headlights and the rest of the bumper make a great combination.
It looks pretty aggressive and is a bigger change than the F30>E90. It still is evolution, but BMW played it less safe than other brands have done with their core model updates this year.

I still find the choice of removing the corona rings a shame. The laser headlight design does make sense with the rest of the front, but I would have preferred a slightly better resemblance to the previous corona style. The hood lines are very sporty.
Also the rear lights look much better in the flesh, the 3D design and dark glass make it look wide in the rear. I can see a facelift coming where they replace the black part with a dark-smoked red glass. Now there is no hue of red in the upper part.

Also the sports line and luxury line look great, which wasn't the case in the past if you ask me. You can't go wrong with any of them.

All wheel designs are pretty boring, expect for the 20" M-performance multi spoke they had on display. I would definitely try to get those when speccing a new order.
And yes, the Portimao Blue is amazing!

Than the interior:
Happy to see there is not much piano black surfaces, on other German cars in Paris it looked terrible with all the scratches and finger prints.
The interior door design is amazing, with the flow of door handle and lightning. Biggest upgrade of it all.
The full digital cockpit looks better too than on pictures, but I would have loved an option to select in the software circular classic dials instead of the ones used now. I would even consider ordering the classic analog dials in combination with the HUD, if that is allowed. No need for the over-sophisticated dials behind the wheel.

The biggest disappointment are the buttons. The feel of them is not right, both on the central dashboard and steering wheel. As the steering wheels seems 100% the same as it is in the new X5, I fear they will not improve them for models being built for customers.
Also the buttons around the I-drive controller do not impress. The worst I found the 8 programable buttons. When you press a single one, the whole row moves! Maybe this still will be adjusted prior shipping the new 3 series.
The sport seats are pretty and well comfortable. I will only receive my F31 M-pack next month, so I can't compare one on one.
The a/c controls are a nice update with their new location.

I missed the self-adjusting center caps, would have been a cool feature to check out.

Anyway, these are my 2 cents about the new model. Will add a comment later if I forget to mention something.