SPIED: THESE Are The BEST Shots Of The Next-Gen BMW 3-Series (G20) Caught INSIDE And OUT During Testing

If there's one vehicle that BMW cannot drop the ball on, it's the 3-Series. It's the Bavarian's biggest seller and it is a company icon. This is the vehicle that led the blue and white to conquer the American luxury market.

But, there's a ton of competition coming from all angles today.

Not only are sport-utility vehicles eating into the 3-Series' market share, it's also seeing the most intense competition ever. After driving a new 340i, I have to say I walked away rather unimpressed. Compared to the all-new Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, there is no clear differentiator when it comes to the 3'er these days.

That's why we think BMW is going to have to swing for the fences this time around.

In these all-new spy shots, the vehicle largely looks to be an evolution on the outside. Expect its design to become more streamlined and its kidney grilles to become more prominent. As of now the greenhouse remains the same with that Hofmeister Kink.

The inside is in its very, very early stages of development. Though a large portion of the interior is cloaked, it's clear this mule is equipped with many components from the current-gen 3'er. As research and development advances we'll start to see MORE of the 3's interior.

**SEE the FULL collection of spy shots by clicking "Read Article," below!




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MDarringer - 8/12/2016 8:52:15 AM

+1 Boost

They could probably drive the new car around completely free of cladding and no one would notice.

TomM - 8/12/2016 9:00:48 AM

+3 Boost

Not even a Tesla on Autopilot!

GermanNut - 8/12/2016 10:06:53 AM

+3 Boost

Agreed and the interior already looks cheap!

BMW has a lot riding on this new 3-Series redesign because if it screws up and offers the same exterior design as the current generation with another cheap interior, it can kiss catching Mercedes-Benz goodbye. With Audi's next A8, A7 and A6 promising groundbreaking technology and new design, BMW could very well fall to third globally and stay there for the foreseeable future.

What a drop that would be! Going from 1st place for 11 years to 2nd place for 2 years to 3rd place for 10 years!

TomM - 8/12/2016 9:06:19 AM

+3 Boost

The clear problem is that BMW makes the 3-series their lead car styling - as Audi makes the A4 the same - and they style the rest to look like them - since they are/were the sales leaders. Mercedes styles the S class first - and that makes the others styled to a higher level - and for LUXURY car buyers - that is a major difference.

However - I still believe that there should be CLEAR styling cues for each class so that a 3 series is obviously a 3-series - and a 7 is obviously a 7 series too. Mercedes ONCE had that with the E-class - and I believe that changing that was a mistake. THey don't have to be MAJOR differences - but something that will only appear on one of the levels

Cadillac needs the same with the CTS/ATS as well. The problem with both of those is that they might as well be the same car - there is simply not enough rear seat room in the CTS to justify the added price.

GermanNut - 8/12/2016 10:01:59 AM

+2 Boost

"Mercedes styles the S class first - and that makes the others styled to a higher level - and for LUXURY car buyers - that is a major difference"

Audi is going to follow the Mercedes-Benz approach and style the A8 first and have its design trickle down to the A7, A6, etc.

cidflekken - 8/12/2016 12:09:58 PM

+4 Boost

Not sure what's going on in Munich with BMW, but this "new" 3 Series is almost laughable. The exterior, though camo'd, looks near-identical to the current model. And even with changes to the front and rear,you can clearly see the profile is the same. The bits and pieces of the interior we see look almost downmarket compared to even the current model. Is BMW just not willing to put in the effort and cost because they know the world is moving towards SUVs and away from sedans?

GermanNut - 8/12/2016 4:50:52 PM

+2 Boost

"Is BMW just not willing to put in the effort and cost because they know the world is moving towards SUVs and away from sedans?"

That would be an awful strategic decision by BMW. Its SUVs overall in the U.S. YTD have seen a sales DECLINE. That is indicative of a huge problem with its SUVs considering each of Audi's SUVs is up YTD (even the aging Q5) and Mercedes-Benz only has one SUV that is down just 0.6% YTD with all others up.

More U.S. buyers are purchasing SUVs than ever before and BMW still can't increase its SUV sales. When that problem is combined with a "new" 3-Series that looks just like the current 3-Series with an interior that somehow looks even cheaper than the current one, BMW is going to have a major problem.

Given the 3-Series is the basis for the 5-Series and 7-Series, this could be a disastrous decision by BMW.