Spy Shots: 2009 BMW 3-Series sedan facelift

BMW 3er still drives better.

So this tells me you haven't driven the BMW. II have driven both)

I've driven them both and the BMW is far better. I warped the wimpy rotors on the IS350 on a test drive taking the car down from 90 MPG to 35 in a hard brake test (was seeing how straight the IS would stay with hands off the wheel and I was NOT impressed).

The Lexus is not a driver's car. It's an appliance. With good reliability.

houstonThinkImAllThat: ¨looks better¨ Says who? You? Being a Lexus fan makes your taste for cars less than say....good.A 3 series is a benchmark and all competitors to copie it one way or the other and it is an icon, like you or not.If you prefer (god help me) Lexus, ok, go ahead and be happy with it, but don´t you dare to trash a brand that has been around for more than eighty years...

The only thing the IS has going for it is the comfortable 10-way power seats for both the driver and front passenger. Other Lexus cars short-change the customer by failing to provide identical seat features and benefits to both the driver and front passenger and that is only one of the reasons I perceive the Lexus to be generally only half a car. The IS falls short in overall space and has a puny little trunk. I don't like the fact that AWD is only available onthe IS250 and that I have to order the IS350 Sport version to get RWD and LSD. Who the hell is Lexus to tell me how to mix and match things in the drivetrain. I'll stick to German cars -- put that thought in your pipe and smoke it!

Way ahead of its time? It looks dated already, old BMW's become classics, old Lexi don't.

If you like...

I think BMW has made an ugly car, well, just about as ugly. The only shocker is that BMW seems to be aiming for the rear end styling of the Volvo S40 with that new blockly butt.

The front look a little bit better but the back is still as hideous as usual. I don't know they change the back and it lights to make it look like an old gen VW Passat and a Volvo S40?

Still hideous as usual when being compare to the Lexus IS, G37, Acura TL and A4.

It looks VW Passat (rear-end) to me,
though a bit better than what it is.
The coupe's rear end is much better.

BTW, Lexus IS is ugly. The ugliest among all Lexus vehicle.
The front end is OK, but the tail light are hideous.
In my humble opinion, of course.

I don't think the IS is ugly. The front and side are actually quite nice, however, the rear is just hideous. I think its even worse than BMW's rear.

what's the difference. The rear-end's still ugly.

Who is still giving Audi crap about their facelift? theres no difference here at the bmw design team, And some people had the nerve to insult the Designers at Ingolsdat.

It was not a facelift, it was the All New A4. But this is a facelift.

It wasn't the all-new A4. The chassis and dimensions were exactly the same, give or take the difference created by the new bumpers. It just LOOKED different.

The one coming out next year is the ALL-NEW A4.

Im talking about the one coming next year....

a facelift so soon?

That's right on time. BMW typically facelifts their models after the three or four years of the seven year build cycle. For example, E46 3-series came out as 1999 models, facelifted in 2002. Coupes were released as 2000 models, facelifted for 2004. New 5 and 6-series came out as 2004 models, 5 was just refreshed for 2008 model and 6 gets its refresh in October as a 2008. In this case the E90 came out in April 2005 as a 2006 model (i.e. it was a very early release), so by the time October 2008 comes for the 2009's it'll have been three and a half years, or right on time for the refresh.

I just hope they have camo over the portion of the tail lamp that is on the trunk lid. And I hope with that camo off it makes it look a whole lot better. Otherwise I agree it looks very Passat is. The older Passat that is.

Just looked at the pics on a better monitor and I can see the camo there now. so we'll see what happens when that comes off.

It still look too narrow, too small, and too damned Asian...

Especially from the rear!

I liked the 3er much better when its design/styling actually had purpose, rather than this bunch of convoluted lines running all about being passed-off as (the latest) fashion...

"Style is Timeless, Yet Fashion's Only Now" H&O

Now the back of this 3 Series really look like the current Hyundai Elantra except the light just look different.

Why would anyone in Europe get ugly piece of crap when they can get the Ford Modeo. The Ford Modeo out run the 3 series in straight line run. There was an article about the comparision was posted on here 2 or 3 months.

I would rather get the Ford Modeo instead, it look better, faster and better quality than the 3 Series.

I wonder if you act stupid or is it in your nature? The top of the line mondeo beat the 3 series in a straight line. ( Im not sure but its not the 335i, and I dont even think its the 330)

Let me see your IS250 beat the mondeo then.

P.S They fixed the heating problem, go figure.
AND the reliability difference between BMW and Lexus is VERY small.

I love the response, "beat the 3 series in a straight line." This is the difference between a luxury enthusiast and a driving enthusiast. Performance is more than straight line acceleration. Which Mondeo is faster than which 3er. No Mondeo is faster than a 335i.
Like Mark Twain said there are three types of lies; lies , damn lies, and statistics

A brand that has been around for more than 80 years,you would think it would had better reality and quality.

But it the quality and realiability of the car is still like shit. Remember how it went overheat on the fourth lap when it was being compare to G37? right!...

I guess pushing the 3 Series to it limit and it went overheat, I guess that what you mean by it drive better ;) There an article about it on this website, search and read it for yourself.

That was the twin-turbocharger, not the 335i. You can blame Mitsubishi- BMW used their turbochargers.

"better reality"?


I think your "reality" is warped.

For those that want a great sporty 4 door that doesn't look like a prop out of a Godzilla or Batman movie will continue to buy the BMW 3-Series.

Like Audi did with the A4/A5, what BMW should have done was just took the Coupe and stick two more doors on it. That would have rendered the best-looking car in the segment, in my opinion.

Can you believe I was banned from Autospies! And all my posts were deleted!

I would like an explanation quite frankly, considering the many years I have been a user and my lack of bad behavior....

Eds?

Anyway, I would like to say its a shame that the 3-series is getting touched-up so early into its life-cycle.

When this facelift comes out in October 2008 as a 2009 model it'll be three and a half years into the lifecycle, which is halfway through. That isn't "so early", it's "exactly when BMW always does refreshes".

What the car really needs is an INTERIOR face lift.

I think the facelift may touch on the interior. (Perhaps better materials?)

C class wins for looks, 3 series wins for performance

The current 3 series SEDAN is one little ugly car, the behind more so than the front. The coupe looks alright, they knew they had to do something about those tail lights. On looks alone, the C-class, A4, TL, even the IS look better. On performance and handling, the 3 series is still the class leader, the ultimate driving machine. by the way the only car that has beaten the new 335i in comparison tests is another BMW, the E46 M3.

Kinda early for a refresh, don't you think? I wonder how all the current e90 3-series sedan buyers are going to feel when the proper bodystyle is released.

From this it looks like the kidney grill has been changed to look like the grill from the coupe which is good. That was the one design element I wasn't so keen on.

Can someone provide a link to some info about Mit's turbo in BMW's engine?

page 9:

http://www.sae.org/automag/techbriefs/01-2007/1-115-1-14.pdf

"A special austenitic steel with a high proportion of nickel is used to accommodate the high exhaust temperatures in the turbochargers, according to Udo
Lindner, BMW Project Leader, 3 Series Powertrain. The steel, used in the spinning wheel, can accommodate temperatures up to 1050°C (1920°F). Lindner noted
that BMW worked with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop the turbochargers."

I could be wrong, but I thought that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is NOT Mitsubishi Motors. The Motors company is independent and manufactures automobiles only; Heavy Industries manufactures heavy industrial equipment, aircraft, tanks, trains, etc.

mitsubishi industries also builds turbos which are used in its vehicles among other makes. industries and motors, its subsidiary, both fall under mitsubishi.

The Lexus IS is the ultimate chick car of the 21st Century. Just ask Meadow...