Spy Photos: 2013 BMW 3 Series

I'm mostly looking forward to an all-new interior, the current one is getting tired. Exterior styling could be streamlined some but otherwise the car's chassis doesn't really need much.

My wife and I were driving home last night behind one of those uber ugly 550GT BMW's (the hatchback/sedan behemoth) and both of us agreed that 10 years ago we loved the way the entire BMW line looked. Now, the only good looking BMW is the current 3 series and it appears that won't be the case much longer.

I'll reserve final judgement until I see one with my own eyes but early indications are that BMW has found a way to make another great looking car look terrible.

Dislike.

A lovely 2001 Civic you have pictured there. So why the camo?

@ptcdawg

Me either. I know Chris Bangle took a lot of flack for the designs that came out during his tenure, but the current 5 series is a bloated, fat blob with no passion (as if a bloated, fat blob could have any). If a design isn't interesting at launch, how will it look in 4 years.

Put an E60 next to the new F10. Which one would you choose?

If the new 3 series continues the current design language I am worried.

SPOILER: Imagine the current 5 series but a little smaller ----> BAM thats the new 3 series. Why even camo it? Unfortunately, the new BMW nose is awful.

dougtheeng +1
Why even camo it? With the 7, 5 and now 6 series all out, it is pretty obvious what the new 3 will look like, inside and out.

The all-new 2006 BMW 3 series....

Wow, it looks so different, just like a smaller 5-series... Wait a minute...

as the former owner of two e90s this car...is just as bland and buicky. in fact the new buick has more style. how is it bmw has gone from making tight and classy - e30 - to boy racer - e36 - to perfect - e46 - and now on to big and anonymous? you'd think after the abject failure of the current 3 as a design that they would move back toward the e46 and not further on the road to being a lesabre.

"This car, however, looks more aggressive and less bloated than its big brother."

That's some wishful thinking there IL. Not that I blame you, I hope so too.

Bring back Bangle. The new BMW's have no style and substance. Bland all around.

This is a Civic, not a BMW. I mean, just look at that greenhouse. And I would have to pay $40,000 plus for this? No thanks. The styling is just... old.

@ed - you mean the greenhouse is too small right? Compared to the e30/e36/e46, the greenhouse in the e9x and f cars is really small, with high sides.

@blueguydotcom: Hmm, you may be right about that. But My first thought was that the greenhouse looks like a 2005 civic sedan's, which is really outdated. If it was a Chevy Cruze, maybe it would be OK, but it isn't. It is a 40K car, and really old and conservative looking.

Bottom line: It looks like a car from the '90s.

Someone here calls the new 3-series the "F10". Judging by the Datsun F-10, BMW might be better with picking up another code name...

This thing is huge! It's sad when 2 of my 3 favorite car manufacturers (BMW/Honda) resort to building cars for the masses!

Other than the pointy nose with split grill, it looks nondescript. Imagine it with a Toyota, Honda, Kia or Chevy badge and it feels right at home (at least Kia pre Peter Schreyer). Oh well, as long as it has the BMW logo it will sell.

Prior to the Chris Bangle-led design era, BMWs had always been very conservative designs. The E46, E39 and E38 (all Bangle predecessors) were very clean and conservative. I'm not sure why people are expecting some dramatic restyling to the E90, because the tradition of the brand is to keep the core models - 3, 5 and 7 - very conservative and familial. Before Bangle, it was always about substance and function over style.

"Someone here calls the new 3-series the "F10". Judging by the Datsun F-10, BMW might be better with picking up another code name..."

The F10 is the 2011 5-Series. The new 3-Series sedan will be code-named F30.

@bimmer - because the e9x is a bland, invisible car with no character or style. This new version looks like more of the same. The e30, e36 and e46 had style, presence and flair. To this day all 3 of them look good and are distinctive and recognizable. The e9x cars have never looked good and copying that style over to the new generation continues the flow of BMW from distinctive toward K-car world. The current 3 series has an empty rental-car look about it (like a Chevy)...bummer.

@blueguy,

I never warmed much to the 2006-2008 E90 styling either, but for me it was mainly the odd lighting and too-small wheels and tires on the 325i, with the LCI update largely rectifying the strange-looking lights (for me at least).

I think the current E90 335i - especially with the M Sport package - is every bit as understated and handsome as say an E46 330i ZHP. The E46 did not have flair, it was even more conservative than the E9x. Personally I don't really care about dramatic style, I've never wanted cars that scream "look at me". Which is partly why something like a CTS-V is a big turn-off for me.

To each his own. BMW tried something new in the Bangle era and "everybody" hated it. Now in the van Hooydonk styling era, everybody hates everything yet again. Truth be told, everybody will hate whatever BMW does, and it will never be as good as what they did in the past. It is seemingly human nature to immediately resist change, and not grow to appreciate something until it has become familiar. Look at how many people talk about how the E60 is more attractive than the F10, yet the E60 was reviled at introduction because it was no E39.

No, this doesn't look appealing. First, it was the new 5 series. Now the 3 series seems destined to become a a design blah. The prototype once again reminds me why I'll be keeping our 03 530i for a long time. Why? Because its a pleasure to just look at. Driving it is like to other car. And 30 mpg (Imperial) even at 110 km/ph makes the package complete.

@teleiosgt: Pic #4: It's partly the wide-angle camera lens (they usually use a telephoto lens) that makes it look bulged around the front fenders. The camouflage skin is also making the surface look 2-D when it's actually receding in space (the hood is flatter than it looks here).

I do hope it finally gets iPod/iPhone integration and folding rear seats as standard. It's not acceptable these things are not nowadays in the 3 series.

Car is not even completed yet. We all know difference wheels and other stuff can make.
Be patient and wait till it really comes out.

Good things so far: Turn signal in external mirrors. I want them to add blind spot notification as well.

@bimmer - I rarely hear a cross word about the e30, e36, e46 or e39. They were doing things right in the 90s and early 2000s.

The birth of the e60/e90 cars changed the design direction toward vehicles with 1 monotonous color, no clear bumpers/rubber, nothing on the car to make it look like it was crafted instead of stamped and slapped on the sides. The character line of the e39/36/46 disappeared in favor of the sharp crease (like the Sonata's sides). The wheel wells no longer bulge and wrap around the tires. The front ends are longer and not tightly integrated with the design themes. What used to be smooth, flowing, classic lines has given way to harsh, crisp angles that appear to indicate the BMW fell asleep in its clothes and left in the morning without ironing.

I still pass by e46s and admire the front 3/4 view. The front air dam and the wheel wells, matched with the low hood height conspire to make the tires look as if they fill the spot and the whole thing appears purpose built for speed. Likewise, sitting behind an e46 in traffic I'm still struck by the wells and how they integrate with the rear bumper and upturned trunk (specially with the very small lip spoiler on the ZHP's trunk lid). Front, sides or rear, there's a lot going on with the e46 sedan, coupe and M3. Ditto the e39 from all angles.

Don't even get me started on how infinitely better the e46's interior space is compared to the e90. One is about the driver and open views. The other - -sitting in a big bathtub.

E30 318i sedan automatic - 1160kg
E36 318i sedan automatic - 1220kg
E36 facelifted 318i sedan automatic - 1300kg
E46 318i sedan automatic - 1330kg
E46 facelifted 318i sedan automatic - 1390kg
E90 320i sedan automatic - 1460kg
E90 facelifted 320i sedan automatic - 1500kg

So expect another 60kg or so increase (130+lbs)

"Can I get some help here? Another whale got stranded on the beach"

Seriously, the bloat in modern cars is ridiculous.

The new 3 without camo can be seen here

http://www.autobild.de/artikel/bmw-3er-f30-ab-2012-erlkoenig-1685333.html

Well if thats what it really looks like vchiu, I better go buy a 2011 now. It looks very, cheap. The camouflaged 3 series has those white lines down into the headlights that make all the difference. I do prefer the older late 90's 3 series BMW's. Classic.

But theres nothing wrong with the new ones either. I actually think the new 5 series is the best looking model since the mid 90's. Luxury blended with a very understated authority. Which is what the 5 series should be.

I would tend to agree with Bimmerjay that new designs tend to be more challenged when they go out, then become accepted and even appreciated later out. The 2002-2008 E65 looked weird to me first when it got out, then it grew on me to the point I like it altough I still prefer theE38.

Imho, new BMW designs are going towards a conservative way that is comparable to the pre Bangle era. I could live with this. The problem with the F10 is that it added 300 pounds on the scales and that it is as heavy as a previous gen 7 series. The 5 GT is SUV like heavy, and an X6 is ridiculously obese.

I briefly owned an early Audi A8 (1997). A small V8 with FWD only. This car was very light despite its size. Lighter than today's 328. Not very powerful, but a pleasure to drive nevertheless. Putting on weight is really a path I don't like.

blueguydotcom:

E46's interior is infinitely better? I'd take the E90's bathtub and bigger/ more usable interior/trunk to the compact size of the E46. That and the E90 don't have the subframe issue...

Probably, gonna be a scaled down current 5 series... FAIL

Probably, gonna be a scaled down current 5 series... FAIL

Probably gonna be a scaled down 5 series... FAIL

looks like it is followind the current BMW sedan design.

It doesn't matter to me what it looks like. If BMW replaces the MacPherson strut front-end with double wishbones like they finally did on the 5- and 7-series cars, the new 3 will be a better car than any 3-series before it, hands down.