The New BMW 3 Series Looks So Good It Might Just Save The Sports Sedan

Menu Home » The New BMW 3 Series Looks So Good It Might Just Save The Sports Sedan The New BMW 3 Series Looks So Good It Might Just Save The Sports Sedan By Thomas Hundal September 30, 2026 10:45 am 123 Comments For several decades, if you only had space for one car and really loved driving, a sport sedan was the de facto choice. Athletic enough to thrill and delight yet pragmatic enough for the shopping run or the morning commute, these often stick-shift machines gave the whole family the experience of performance motoring, and the BMW 3 Series was often the best of the bunch. Now, things have changed. Families are getting into quick crossovers, much of the sport sedan field seems more bloated than ever, but BMW’s coming back for the crown.

Welcome to the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series, codename G50. This isn’t the electric i3, but rather a sharper, sleeker take on the familiar CLAR platform with turbocharged internal combustion power. Dimensions are up fractionally over its predecessor, but the layout of engine up front, differential out back, and a luxurious dash-to-axle ratio remain. Think of this as a heavy makeover of the 3 Series we already know and admire, just with more available power. A lot more available power.

While a 330i with a two-liter turbocharged inline-four will be available, it carries over the same 255-horsepower peak output from the old 330i. That’s good for zero-to-60 mph in a claimed 5.9 seconds but that’s probably not what you came here for. If you’re buying a sports sedan of this sort, you’re probably more interested in the straight-six-powered M350, which drops the “i” and gains a larger engine designation than the outgoing M340i. So, is everything under the hood new? Not quite. Pull the release in the kick panel twice and you’ll be greeted by a familiar three-liter turbocharged B58 straight-six.

However, said B58 has gained a new turbocharger, reshaped intake ports and combustion chambers, and a whole host of tuning tweaks to produce a whopping 443 horsepower right out of the gate. That’s 57 more horsepower than the outgoing M340i while maintaining the same peak torque figure of 398 ft.-lbs. as the new car’s predecessor. Granted, a small portion of that peak power number comes from a 17-horsepower 48-volt mild hybrid system, but the end result should be rapid nonetheless. Thanks to a standard ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive, BMW claims zero-to-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. That’s about as quick as an F80 M3, and there’s more to this new M350 xDrive that makes it curiously strong for an M-Lite-Car.

Like the previous M340i, a limited-slip rear differential is standard on the M350 for straight-line traction and, um, big skids. An incoming drift mode that BMW promises to push out via an over-the-air update should make it even easier to vaporize Michelins by sending 100 percent of torque to the rear axle, just like in an all-wheel-drive M car. Add in wider track widths and a revised braking system, and the M350 seems poised to haul the mail. There’s just one drawback: weight. The new M350 has a DIN curb weight some 92 pounds heavier than the previous-generation M340i xDrive, with the official figure landing at 4,100 pounds. That’s hefty for a compact sport sedan, but it’s also nearly 200 pounds lighter than an Audi S5.

Still, you might be able to excuse some of the weight gain because of the styling, a sensational adaptation of BMW’s Neue Klasse styling language. Admittedly, it is rather spec-dependent, as earlier spy shots on basketweave-aping wheels were a touch underwhelming, but the new 3 Series is certainly less fussy than the outgoing model. It adopts a clean down-the-road graphic in M Sport trims, with a trapezoidal lower grille nicely balancing out the headlight treatment. Speaking of lighting, those daytime running lights can be flipped between white and yellow, a neat little bit of personalization.

Around the side, the only knock here is a really stupid set of door handles. Electromechanical flush-fit handles might have a concept-car wow factor, but if they fail, it can be a headache to get into a car. Beyond that though, the surfacing is minimalistic and clean, with a toned-down interpretation of the sort of shoulder line BMW used to make. Really, the most visually contentious thing on the new 3 Series is the somewhat inelegant plinth on its trunk lid for the badge, but with surprisingly enticing mirrored taillights and functional quad exhaust tips, a small recess seems, well, insignificant.

Inside the new 3 Series, there are more things that will make you say “hmm,” starting with the latest version of iDrive. It features an almost rhombus-shaped infotainment screen augmented by a lower windscreen-spanning HUD, and from playing around with the system earlier this year, it’s much nicer to use than the outgoing iDrive 8.5. Absolutely bizarre-looking, but more user-friendly. There’s no longer an infotainment knob in the console though, so if you hate fingerprints, bad news. Beyond that, the steering wheel gets vertical spokes like the one in the i3 and iX3, essential controls sit in the console, and … oh man, why did they have to make the HVAC vents digitally controlled? Hey, at least the fabric on the dashboard and door cards has plenty of texture.

Minor quibbles aside, the new BMW 3 Series is looking like the strongest new generation in ages. Not only should it haul the mail and look reasonably sleek, it’s entering the market in a time of deep malaise. The new Audi A5 feels wholly unacceptable, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is four-cylinder-only and creaks, the Genesis G70 is old, the Alfa Romeo Giulia is even older, and the Volvo S60 is dead. The G50 3 Series didn’t need to up the performance ante this much, but BMW’s engineers couldn’t resist. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

So, if I wan’t the electric one, it also has to be less pretty? Darn!

0 Member Ppnw 7 hours ago I love the NK direction BMW is taking and this might be the most attractive interpretation yet.

It’s a bit disappointing that the 330 isn’t getting an increase in power. With the 350 moving so significantly upmarket (and close to M3 territory), there’s a ton of room for the 330 to break 300hp at the very least.

With the proper aggressive fender flares, this is going to make one hell of a good looking M3. Please offer a stick for one more generation!

0 Member Rod Millington 8 hours ago Where’s my M350 wagon? Or i3 wagon for that matter.

0 Member Jmfecon 9 hours ago Still ugly, not the ugliest of the current BMW lineup, but far from beautiful.

Hope one day they will figure it out and make beautiful cars again.

6 Dave S 10 hours ago Almost a dead-ringer for the Giulia. Especially in that color.

3 Ca Hu 11 hours ago as a former 3 series owner (e91 325ix) if I wanted another one it would be a e46. I don’t fit in an e36 and the 46 drives better than the 90s. A modern heavy automatic holds no appeal even if it wasn’t ugly and I am in the give me a manual or an electric camp.

0 Member ClutchAbuse 11 hours ago That thing is outright hideous.

7 I Farted So Hard it Hurts 12 hours ago I thought you were seriously trying to be a smart ass because that thing is somehow even more ugly and hideous than their current lineup. Its fugly and its not going to save BMW.

4 JokesOnYou 12 hours ago looks like it’s wearing some kanye west designed sunglasses or something. also, what is the new achilles heel for this gen 3 series?

0 Member Urban Runabout 13 hours ago While the flanks are clean – I cannot decide whether the front is just as bad or worse than the outgoing 3. The rear is decidedly worse.

The flush door handles and fake DLO behind the rear doors are unforgivable.

As for the interior – I can’t get past that horrendously over-designed steering wheel.

And the base engine is just fine – 400-something horsepower is just excessive.

With all their faults – it’s a good thing we can still find older BMWs.

2 Member Fourmotioneer 13 hours ago I’m with Thomas on this one. Prefer the new i3 body with the lower hood though

0 TooMuchWombat 13 hours ago That front end… woof

1 Member Vanagan 12 hours ago Reply to  TooMuchWombat How dare you. Dogs don’t deserve to be quoted about that monstrosity, even they would stay mute.

0 JayJay 13 hours ago Well the beaver teeth are gone, but I’m not impressed. There’s just a bit “too much” over both the front and rear lights, and the rest of the car is really nothing special, looks like a 10 year old Alfa Romeo or a 20 year old Saab.

2 Joze Hanc 13 hours ago I’ve looked at the photos two times and… we must be looking at different photos for writing “this car looks so good…”

“Looks good” is so far from words I’d describe this blob of metal, glass and plastic that it’s in other galaxy or something.

Maybe all the BMW’s from yestyear ruined me forever as there is something strange going on.

3 Dan 14 hours ago Wow, a front end treatment that is actually *worse* than the current one… Wasn’t sure that was possible. But hey, at least we can hope that the in-dash advertising still present…

8 Dave Klotz 13 hours ago Reply to  Dan That straight-on front end shot makes me think of an AI-update to a ‘79 Pontiac LeMans. But maybe that’s what they were going for….

1 Ricardo M 13 hours ago Reply to  Dan The new ass-crack face makes the beaver teeth look reasonable by comparison.

0 Member Ben 14 hours ago This makes the beaver-tooth BMWs look better by comparison, and those are hideous. This is very much a car where it looks like the designers of the different elements never spoke to each other until it was time to reveal the car in all its…glory? No, that’s definitely not the right word.

2 Member 4moremazdas 14 hours ago Huh. I like the Neue Klasse styling language, but I’m not sure if this one quite hits it right. The grille and headlights seem a little pinched. The grille also reminds me of Pontiac, not that that’s a bad thing.

The interior is… something. I’ve been complaining about automakers plopping two screens or a giant widescreen down in front of the driver with no hood/instrument cluster detailing, but I think they misunderstood. It looks like they left the hood but pulled out the stuff it’s meant to shield and stuck it at the base of the windshield. Kinda weird, but better than the dual ipads I guess?

1 Member Bodnar 14 hours ago Take my money!! This is a huge improvement over the previous generation. Only thing I wish is that it wasn’t $50k+. Bring this styling to the 2 series too.

0 Member Redfoxiii 14 hours ago The exterior looks a little better but it’s still chockfull of modern BMW choices that… well I’m sure someone likes them, but not car nerds like us here.

0 Member 3WiperB 14 hours ago We have a 2021 330e, and I think it’s a really good looking car, especially in the M-Sport trim and Blue color that we have. I like a lot about this new version, but the front just looks odd to me. It needs “normal” door handles. I also don’t know the reason for the large screen across the top instead of a gauge cluster screen, but it seems far less functional than what they currently have. The side and back views look great, as does the steering wheel.

0 Colin Greening 14 hours ago I don’t have many feelings about BMW, positive or negative, but man I just don’t care for this. The cars they were building in the 00s-mid-10s looked leagues better.

2 Member Taargus Taargus 14 hours ago larrydavidunsure.gif

3 Eric Gonzalez 15 hours ago Like the front (thank god we’re over the stupid giant beaver teeth grilles), like the side profile (except for those dumb handles). Don’t like the rear and hate the interior.

So it’s a net “meh” in my book. Try again, BMW.

0 Member Ex-Exeo 15 hours ago WTF have they done to the rear doors? The Hofmeister kink belongs behind the doors. This thing looks like a fucking Opel Rekord C (or like a Cortina Mk. 3 for our British friends – what’s the US equivalent? A 1966 Chevelle?).

The front looks less terrible than the current lineup, but they could at least have delivered a decent kidney by moving the chrome stripes a few inches inwards. Let’s hope for a Mopf.

1 Member Theotherotter 15 hours ago Can we please bring George Barris or Bill Hines back from the dead to section that body about 3 inches?

1 Member Ex-Exeo 14 hours ago Reply to  Theotherotter I don’t think it’s the body that needs sectioning. It’s the BMW designers.

2 Member Urban Runabout 13 hours ago Reply to  Ex-Exeo Drawn and Quartered.

1 Member Ex-Exeo 12 hours ago Reply to  Urban Runabout Oh, I just realized that’s a British English term. Capital punishment would be a bit harsh. In US English the equivalent would probably be committed designers who should actually get committed.

0 Member Urban Runabout 11 hours ago Reply to  Ex-Exeo Harsh punishments are frequently deserved.

Meanwhile – are the Quandts blind? Or do they just not give a fuck?

0 Member Ex-Exeo 10 hours ago Reply to  Urban Runabout Meanwhile – are the Quandts blind?

They have a tendency to make poor choices.