BMW 3-Series (G20) / M3 (G80) / 4-Series / M4

[Beeblebrox237]

Relevant

 

[homeforsummer]

Somehow manages to look both awkward and dull. Good job, BMW.

 

[homeforsummer]

Somehow manages to look both awkward and dull. Good job, BMW.

 

[TheCracker]

I like how they manage to make each new version only inconceivably different to the outgoing model, yet at the same time completely different. I spend the first year after they've been released wondering if i've seen a new one or not.

I do like the short rear overhang. Although that is a copy of how Merc does the C-class rear end treatment.

 

[Turbo]

Long wheelbase G20 spied testing. Likely China-only, but who knows for sure.

https://www.carscoops.com/2018/10/2019-bmw-3-series-long-wheelbase-stretches-first-spy-images/

 

[05XR8]

The M-sport gives me that two-face vibe

 

[FT-1]

Looks neater in Sport trim, personally I think this is the best looking variant right now.

 

[Clark]

Not a fan. Very similar profile to the C class and some Lexus IS similarities as well. Just doesn’t seem very BMW like and just doesn’t look nice full stop.

Bring back Bangle.

 

[homeforsummer]

Bring back Bangle.

I don't know whether it's a case of age mellowing the designs or simply that it's taken some time to appreciate them, but I can't think of a single Bangle design that a) doesn't look at the very least too bad these days and b) doesn't look better than any of the current BMW range.

A few of the Bangle designs have always looked good - I was on board with the E90 3-series from the start, and the Z4 Coupe - but even the more challenging ones have aged well. The E60 5-series still looks fresher than either of the generations that have followed. The E87 1-series has always looked better than the F20, even if some of the details (particularly the DRLs) age it somewhat. The E85 Z4 convertible continues to look better than the one that followed and the very latest one, and I even quite like the early E65 7-series these days, which everyone detested when they were new.

And much as I like the generations that preceded those (E46/E39/E38 etc), I think Bangle's stuff has aged better in a modern context than the more conservative BMWs that went before. An E90 looks, for the most part, bang up to date, but an E46 (actually another Bangle design) is very visibly a car from an older generation now. If anything, it's the relatively clean surfacing of Bangle's stuff (can you believe it?) that dates it more than anything else, given how incohesive and busy BMW's stuff has since become.

 

[Clark]

I like the current generation (all the F cars) but the new G cars are look a bit over styled and then bland at the same time from some angles (eg the rear of the new 5).

I don’t know if F30 will age well but I still think it looks nice now (I know I may be biased) , but as you say the Bangle cars all still look good. The LCI E90 really doesn’t look old at all.

 

[homeforsummer]

The LCI E90 really doesn’t look old at all.

If I wasn't terrified by the potential running costs of 2000s-era diesels I'd really like an Alpina D3. Ditto a 320si, which now feels like one of those cars I should try and save before they fall into banger territory and disappear completely.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Problem with retrospective appreciation of styling is that it doesn't help sales figures. Appreciating designs generations down the line is all very well and good but, IMHO, BMW are currently at a low moving average in terms of new designs. Not sure what the first car under Kaban will be (next 7-er?), maybe that'll be a looker, maybe not, but for now I'd say it's a question of needing to get rid of Van Hooydonk before regaining the likes of Bangle.

 

[Clark]

@homeforsummer I’d love a B3 GT3 but give me an E90 or F30 Alpina with an N54/5 and I’d never want for another Dailey drifter ever.

 

[kikie]

All those BMW codes make it very hard to understand previous posts.


Ok, google but that is too much work.

 

[MatskiMonk]

All those BMW codes make it very hard to understand previous posts.


Ok, google but that is too much work.

Okay... but I'm really not sure this makes the conversation mucher easier....

Spoiler: Right then...

Right, @homeforsummer likes this

and this

he still prefers this

to this

and this

He also prefers this

to this

and this

to this

And generally speaking prefers most of those, to most of these

He'd have one of these

or these

but is concerned about running costs.



@Clark wants one of these

these

or ideally, these...

Crystal?

*inevitable image fails aside

 

[Clark]

My ideal BMWs would be an F30 Alpina B3S with their version of the N55B30 with an South African E30 325is Evo with the M20B27 Alpina Block as a weekend car.

That clear things up @kikie

 

[kikie]

Crystal?

*inevitable image fails aside

Crystal clear.


👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Anyone else think the headlights look like those on Peugeots? Like how there's an indent for some reason.

 

[Clark]

It just looks cross-eyed

 

[VXR]

Looks neater in Sport trim, personally I think this is the best looking variant right now.

That definitely looks better than the M-Sport and M340i treatment. Also appears to be a 335d or 340i anyway. I'd absolutely avoid the M Sport models, their body styling is getting worse and worse on the 3er.

 

[Omnis]

This is the best looking 3 series since the E46. Even if the tail lights look like Lexus, it's still better than anything they've done since Bangledom

 

[Apok]

As much as I also dislike how busy and incoherent the design is I'm not hopping on the "Bangle's designs were actually alright" train. I agree that his designs have actually gotten a bit more tolerable with age, but styling wise I still prefer most other generations.

 

[Aphelion]

Yall are weird.


I really like it, not even in a way that i can see would be contraversial.

 

[Maxx2013]

Meh. F30 looks way better to me.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Yall are weird.

I really like it, not even in a way that i can see would be contraversial.

I don't find it ugly, but for me, it demonstrates two problems; BMW's current drive to reinvent some of the classic cues and details is offering some questionable results. It also shows that BMW are trying to evolve a design philosophy that is now in its third generation, and in the case of the 3-er, past its best.

I just don't like the way they've resolved most of the details on most of the new models, 3, 5, 8, Z4, X2.. I'm not really a fan of any of them.

 

[Omnis]

Looking at this from different angles, the only thing I hate is how the syndesmosis grill juts out like it has pectus carinatum

 

[HuskyGT]

Cars these days are a design mess. I don't know if I'm looking at a Camry or a Jetta here... All cars look the same.

How I miss the E36. That car was beautiful in all the sense of the word.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

I think modern BMWs look amazing. Especially the current 5 series. It's a very clean and simplistic take on BMW's signature design characteristics.

And then there's the new design language that can be seen on the 8 Series and Z4. Both of which are fantastic.

Although, yes, the rear lights on the new 3 series do resemble Lexus's, but other models have done it much better. Such as the 8 series above and the X4 (only the lights, the rest of the car is not so good). I think the gray portion of the lights need to be smaller than the red portion for it to look less like a Lexus.

 

[Danoff]

How I miss the E36. That car was beautiful in all the sense of the word.

You should probably buy a clean E36 M3 then (sedan preferably), before they get too expensive.

 

[HuskyGT]

You should probably buy a clean E36 M3 then (sedan preferably), before they get too expensive.

They are HARD to find. I wanted an E36 and could never find one well-cared for. Not even a regular E36. Just beaten up convertibles and a couple sedans with over 150,000 miles.