[Imola.ZHP]

Originally Posted by Chips335i

I'm pretty jealous right about now.

That shift lever, the DCT, the new iDrive, the new trim, the shadowline, the diesel, the new colors, the led's....

Suddenly I'm ready to upgrade and my car is barely 2 years old.

^ thats exactly what BMW does. If you prefer the e92, your update will happen next year. It's almost as if they set people up to want to do leases, then you would always have the most current car, and always be in debt. lol

I love it, but I'm too close to completely owning my e46 ZHP. Though the miles that are piling on do scare me :eek !

[tyler9595]

Originally Posted by san~man

+1

Also, the hump in the hood looks too much like an X hood. The front bumper is nasty, almost old Camaro looking.

I'm happy with my MY08

I agree - bumper is fugly, accent lines in hood make it look too tall imho - looks like the suv

wow, seems like most people really like the LCI facelift. I'm not feeling it...disappointing b/c I wanted to order a 09 e90...I guess I have to stare at it a while and hope it grows on me...

[-A.T.G-]

Maybe it has been mentioned before in this thread but you can find a UK press release here (from bimmerfile.com):
http://bimmerfile.com/files/the_new_...ries_gb_fv.pdf

Now what strikes me as a bit strange is that according to that PDF, the lower end models are getting a wider track at the rear and not so much the upper end models (as mentioned by autoweek @ http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...6/1023/CARNEWS).

If you look at page 61 for the 318i, 320i:
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,506/1,535

for the 325i, 330i, 335i (p.63)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529

for the 318d and 320d (p.65)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,506/1,535

for the 325d, 330d, 335d (p.67)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529

(the same goes for the saloon btw).

Note that all models get a wider track compared to the pre-fl which was
1500/1513.

Does anyone have more info on this?

[ihavedrivenanm1]

A lot to take in.

First, for those commenting on iDrive initially getting a bum wrap because of an older demographic not understanding technology - that is nothing but fan bois crap.

The problem with iDrive - then and now, is that it is not intuitive - you cannot learn by feel and remember what "button" does what, you must physically and then visually verify three, four, sometimes as many as five times for each function. That is two to three times as many steps as should be necessary and requires taking ones eyes off of the road multiple times per function. Technological complexity has nothing to do with it - it is simply bad, over-engineered design.

The addition of the short-cut buttons on the controller should be an improvement as you can memorize which button accesses which feature which require you to take your eyes off of the road one less time for visual confirmation.

Personally what keeps me from getting iDrive is that second, ass-ugly, cancerous, goiter-like hump that houses it. I was really hoping that the refreshed '3' would offer a new, integrated Nav/iDrive screen like the X5/X6 and new '7' - pity that it doesn't.

I really like the coup kidneys now on the sedan and the tail lights are much improved but the narrower center hood V-accent lines are a miss.

The 17" rims shown are butt-ugly, they look like a throw back to the early 90's and the Estate 18's [if indeed they are the same as the standard SP 18"s] are 'meh' at best. Why is it that the wheels for every BMW refresh are never as good as the originals. A slightly modified 182 would have done nicely.

The options of several two-tone interior colors - FINALLY - is great. My personal favorite so far is the Oyster/Black [Lemon/Black is a bit too dull for me]. I love beige BMW interiors but recently they have had just too much beige. The contrasting black carpet and black door sills looks great.

Some interesting new exterior colors. But - maybe it's me but I will, if it holds true, be lamenting the loss of a medium-to-dark green option. BMW [like all European makers - Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Ferrari, etc.] have always had a medium-to-dark green option and I don't see why BMW would do away with such an option now - Tasmin Green while nice just doesn't cut it IMHO.

Someone tell me I am wrong but are the driver's side door/window controls STILL in the same impossible-to-reach-without-stretching position? But I see that they didn't fix the "hidden" window button on the passenger side so I guess at least they are being consistent.

Freaking run-flats. Gd'amned freaking run-flats. Oh well.

The side-view mirrors look chunky and awkward. They should have taken the original e90 mirrors and just turned them upside down with the bulb part pointing up [instead of down as they do], like the original California-style mirrors on the Ferrari 308. If you have to make the mirrors that chunky then at least put in some active LED blinkers like Mercedes in order to break up the mass.

Keep the seat belts black – has no one learned? Seat belts get caught in doors; they get handled by dirty hands hundreds of times a month which soils the belts. Black belts help cover these stains up and keep them from showing, so too does black or darker colored door sills.

Make chrome/shadowline trim a stand-alone option. Some of us under 40's want the Sports Package AND actually like the contrast of the thin chrome trim against the black door sills and pillars. Why make us choose?

Pull the sports seats out of the Sports Package and make seat choice a stand-alone option also; a] Standard, b] Sport, and why not develop a "Comfort" option for the '3'. Again, let us choose. I want the sports suspension and 18" wheels but I hate the sports seats and I know that I am not alone.

This is a small criticism but why can't the sedan have flush mounted headlight washers like the coup does – they just look so much better flush then sitting on top of the bumper as they do on the sedan.

BMW really needs to redesign the '3' steering wheel. I mean what is with that colostomy bag protruding from the center. What, every car maker but BMW can flush-mount an airbag? And the buttons, come on – a fresh/recirc button on the wheel? I would rather have a fan speed button, no? How about an up/down wheel on each side with 4 or 5 programmable/assignable buttons. And that cheesy chrome trim has to go – it is clearly just an afterthought

[MMVI]

Good comment list above, I agree with pretty much all of it.
In the UK we do seem to have a bit more choice regarding kit but we dont have the very good value packs that you have.

Personally I am VERY disappointed but that is qualified with some relief.
The saloon has always and still is, borderline ugly. The coupe however is classically beautiful what an amazing difference just a small number of lines in the right place makes.

I strongly agree about the Nav hump, plain wrong, and would like to add that I think the rear lights whilst nicely updated with the notch are in fact upside down.

BMW should have updated the E90 to M3 saloon specification. A missed opportunity, but why I am not bothered, because I have a coupe on order and since they did not do the modifications I would have liked to see I will now benefit from the distinction the E92 has over the E90 and enjoy the difference.

[Fraggy]

Love the ribbed hood, the tails, and the new idrive controller.

[ksfrogman]

In addition to the dedicated buttons that surround the iDrive knob, it would be nice if the flash memory capabilities of the Bluetooth system were improved. It takes forever to sync the cell phone database, which means I have to wait before I can even use my Navigation system as it freezes up during this process. In the meanwhile, my hand is on the iDrive knob waiting for the car to give me back control of it.

As for the hump, it doesn't bother me like it does others. It's round, organic in shape, and places the screen closer to the driver's view of the road. Those of us who have it already are used to it to the extent that non-Nav dashboards look a little naked.

Once again the mirror redesign was probably done to match the flamed surface design of the new hood, and give the refresh a bolder look. This too doesn't bother me much, though a Disney character comes to mind--Dumbo.

The headlight redesign keeps up with some recent styling trends seen in other vehicles. Think of Scion tC and Audi Q7/8. The straight horizontal line makes the front look longer.

The taillight "L" interpretation is an interesting one. It is less bland, and more aggressive-looking. I'm not sure how the notch-at-the-bottom-instead would look.

[remmib]

Originally Posted by -A.T.G-

Maybe it has been mentioned before in this thread but you can find a UK press release here (from bimmerfile.com):
http://bimmerfile.com/files/the_new_...ries_gb_fv.pdf

Now what strikes me as a bit strange is that according to that PDF, the lower end models are getting a wider track at the rear and not so much the upper end models (as mentioned by autoweek @ http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...6/1023/CARNEWS).

If you look at page 61 for the 318i, 320i:
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,506/1,535

for the 325i, 330i, 335i (p.63)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529

for the 318d and 320d (p.65)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,506/1,535
1,506/1,535

for the 325d, 330d, 335d (p.67)
Track, front/rear
mm
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529
1,500/1,529

(the same goes for the saloon btw).

Note that all models get a wider track compared to the pre-fl which was
1500/1513.

Does anyone have more info on this?

I believe that's because the 6 cyl models has 8" wide wheels and the 4 cyl models has only 7" wide wheels.

[Imola.ZHP]

^ the "upper" end models might have the wannabe LSD that was introduced in the 1er. The 1er salesperson information packet released just prior to 1er release mentioned something to the effect that "while the wannabe LSD is not yet available in the 3er, it will be at a later date when higher horsepower 3ers are released...

Would this effect the track width? I'm no expert, by far, so this is a total WAG (wild @$$ guess)...

But it re-inforced my decision NOT to buy an e90 at that point, anything about "higher horsepower" models being released would make me wait. Now I'm going back to school, so I'll just be keeping on with the e46 ZHP...

[BES335xi]

[simp0man]

I really like the turn signal but then again that is a potential mod issue for clear conering the lights. OH well, I wonder what the e92 will look like too.

[sablemagus]

Originally Posted by ihavedrivenanm1

And the buttons, come on – a fresh/recirc button on the wheel? I would rather have a fan speed button, no? How about an up/down wheel on each side with 4 or 5 programmable/assignable buttons. And that cheesy chrome trim has to go – it is clearly just an afterthought

I actually like the look of the steering wheel, and I also like my fresh/recirc button, and I use it frequently. It's also the only way to go from auto-recirc to full-recirc and back again without having to cycle through the full-fresh option on the button in the HVAC control panel.

As for fan speed, I never touch mine. This is the first auto A/C system that I don't have to constantly adjust the fan speed on because it's always picking the right speed. It only blows your head off for the first couple minutes after starting the car, which is a nice change from most auto A/C systems, which seem to be a blow-your-head-off-or-don't-blow-at-all affair.

But for people like me without the premium package or the standalone Bluetooth package whose steering wheel buttons for phone and voice control are placebo buttons, I wish those were reprogrammable for different functions, rather than doing absolutely nothing.

And I agree with the poster who commented about the taillights looking like an Infiniti G -- I see the same thing. But hopefully it'll look a bit different in person.

Overall, a great design refresh! I like it a lot!

[lkevinl]

You haters are just jealous... LIKE ME!!!

LOVE the new tail lights. Our tails are not the abortion that the first new 7 series tails were but the face lift tails on the 3 are a definite improvment. Looks like we'd need a new trunk to upgrade.

Does this mean that the angel eyes are really always on like the coupe? Are these headlights really going to look like this or is this the euro version? I think this new look will really grow on us.

I don't care about upgrading my headlights but if they are going to offer always on angel eyes as DTRL like on the coupe, then they had better offer software update for us to do the same!!!!!!

LOVE the new hood... definite improvement.

Looks like the 3 is getting the 5 series shift knob. I'm jealous... loved it in the 5 series.

If the side mirrors offer a little more real estate, I could live with the new design.

Again, I think it is hard to criticize the updates except out of jealousy!! Actually, this seems like fairly major updates in comparison to previous facelifts. Mine is not yet 1 year old! Kind of upsetting in a way. 2 years to go on my lease!

Is it just me or does this photo make the new 3 look like a mini 7 series?

[J Lau]

Looks nice!!!
I like the headlights alot
but overall, I think the current e90 looks better.

[E91_E88_E21]

Originally Posted by J Lau

Looks nice!!!
I like the headlights alot
but overall, I think the current e90 looks better.

you can do your own tal light face lift

Attachment 169689
change the outside lights from the face lift and you have leds and paint the others like that

[ede92]

Wish there were pictures of the new wheel options...

[Freude am fahren]

Damn,

that front bumper lookes sick.
And i dont mean it in a nice kind of way!

I hope the M-line has a better styling!

[BMW-ALPINA]

The new hood and the front lights looks sick
This car need some aftermarket rear lights and M-sport package to be a perfect car.. I really don't like the ugly rear lights and the front bumper..

[BES335xi]

is this a photoshop?

[Rev]

OMG. hmm... the lines of the new bumper looks like this car! no?



The new headlamps are ass (eyelid) & 'perforated' LED blinkers? wtf? I think only audi gets LED's right. but I do like the new tail lights.

[Crisp]

No one has pics of the 2009 E93?

[Imola.ZHP]

^ why? It will look the same as the 2008...

Coupe/Vert do not get "face-lifted" until 2010...