The Agents Expose The BIGGEST Flaw In The All-new BMW 3-Series' Interior...

I would have to agree. First, the configuration of the speedo and tach in the launch photos is cringe-worthy. Second, even the C-Class has a more robust option for that primary instrument screen. Not sure if Merc's is as fancy as Audi's VC, but it's definitely better than what we see on the new 3 Series.

Don't hate the new gauges but don't love them either. How hard would it have been to give you the option of traditional round gauges? It's only a computer screen after all.

Most of us do not really watch the Speedo constantly - we are accustomed to the speed we go - and are generally fairly close -

Still - it will take maybe 2 or 3 seconds to learn where the speedometer readout is for any particular speed - which we would have to learn regardless of having round gauges or something else since they are in a different place than our LAST car. THis is clearly not an issue at all

I disagree. BMW new interior is up to date, modern, logical... it has that indescribable timeless crispness. The Audi interface is confusing and distracting... very busy. Well done BMW, you have rediscovered your mojo!

Odd, the reviews from people who have actually used the new interface in person during test drives of the new 3, 8, X5, X7, and Z4 (aka no one affiliated with this website) have been very positive. In fact, they’ve all remarked at how nice the new interiors are overall. Is that where all the anti-BMW posts are coming from? They stopped inviting you to their drive events?

If things were so great at BMW, it wouldn't have lost its U.S. and global sales titles to Mercedes-Benz years ago and still remained in second place. Furthermore, Audi has closed the global sales gap considerably to the point where BMW is at serious risk of dropping to third place globally next year.

If the weak sales performance versus the competition over the past five years wasn't bad enough, BMW just issued a profit warning saying that the U.S. tariff war with China will hurt its business considerably.

The 3-Series was BMW's chance to turn things around, but it missed and badly. This interior is absolutely cringe worthy and pathetic given how old and outdated it looks and functions versus Audi and Mercedes-Benz's interior. People also don't want race car handling sedans these days. If they did, SUV sales wouldn't be going gangbusters.

How can anyone tell if there are hard plastics from a 4 inch picture?
It looks clean and not overwrought. An improvement from the current car.

Look at the picture of the light controls. Surrounded by hard plastics. If a Toyota Corolla can build a dash that doesn't show or use these hard plastics surely BMW can do it as well.

Actually - the "leather" looking surround around the light switches which actually extends across the whole bottom of the Dash - is actually soft - padded material - not hard plastic.

The Idea that the debate is focused on the dashboard tells the story that the glacial pace of change at BMW for the sake of pure profit is still the center topic of their product development... this "all new" 3 series needed to knock it out of the park and clearly it did not. Whether the interior is a video game or an analog dinosaur is less to the point than the interior is NOT a luxury car quality for 2019. BMW yet again proves that the small minded profit seeking Management is out of touch and indifferent to the demands of the car market. As it is, the 3 series space is a dying market segment and the Tesla Model 3 is killing 3 series sales, (I personally don't like the Tesla, but the buying public seems to) so to think that the new 3 should be less inspired than the Tesla is a HUGE mistake in planning and execution for BMW. BMW AG is so arrogant that they think slapping the roundel on a car makes it sell and well they are learning that the head in the sand approach to product cycle development is not working... so should the debate be about the overall arrogance of under investing in the new 3 and not the shit dashboard and cheap looking interior and mid-cycle looking exterior update...??? while BMW says this is an all new car, no one and I mean no one that is looking for a personal statement of success will be drawn to the 3 as the only choice in the compact luxury segment... fail and we are watching the slow but certain down fall of a once great company... so much for BMW AG having a seat at the table in the minds of the buying public...

I miss the days when BMW made amongst the best, no nonsense, non-trendy interiors. They were noteworthy for their time, and amongst the best.

An even bigger problem for BMW will be if it decides to stick with this type of interior for its next 5-Series, 7-Series and SUVs. BMW has historically designed its 3-Series first and then filtered that design up the ranks. While Audi has gone the futuristic tech route with its dual touch screen and Virtual Cockpit setup, BMW has remained stuck in 2000.

The interior problem could be far more problematic for BMW than just the 3-Series.

The dash is discordant looking beyond belief. Would it have been so difficult to make it look harmonious?

Not sure about all the hate on this interior. I own a 2017 A4 and for a company that is so highly regarded for their interiors, there is an awful lot of hard plastic in that interior. Anything below the horizontal air vents is hard plastic, and there is a surprising lack of stitching on the door panels, but customers seem to turn a blind eye.

I also owned an F30 3-series and while I agree the design of the interior is now outdated, the materials quality was actually BETTER than my current-gen A4. Examining these new pictures closely, you can tell that the whole upper and lower portion of the dash and doors are soft touch, which is better than the competition minus the C-class. But optically I actually prefer the more modern, cockpit nature of the A4 and this 3 series interior, PLUS the infotainment system in this car is the best in the business. There's simply no match for both a good touchscreen paired with a central knob.

Not saying it's perfect, but I would argue this interior is near or at the top of the class.

Too many buttons that are distracting to look for the desired function, especially ones moved from easy view (lights and audio). Dials are much UI for frequent selection or adjustment, otherwise better to centralize to the main UI display.

Also question the trend to smaller center air vents.

The other bad trend is the bulging lower door panel bottle holder. I find these too much in the way (for feet) when entering/exiting and force you to full swing door opening. It would be much better to have collapsible storage for these that are infrequently used. Also don't put bulging speaker enclosures here either.

This place is awesome. The same people criticizing Tesla for it's buttonless modern interior (including that one wacko who posts the same exact thing 50,000 times here) think the BMW is too old fashioned.

I have a BMW. I'll get another one in a couple years. They do what I need.

To all the people criticizing, how can you tell there's an abundance of hard plastics from just a photo? Journalist who actually sat in the car seems to like it, and their comments suggest that it's mostly soft touch material. I recently test drove a Q5, and that thing is awash with hard plastics, yet it is accepted because of Audi's reputation.