Our best look yet at the new sedan’s cabin
The slow tease of the seventh-generation BMW 3 Series, internally codenamed G20, continues, with our spy photographer bringing us glimpses into the upcoming sedan’s interior. The shots don’t reveal too many surprises, but there are a few things we can see.
If you’ve seen a BMW interior in the past couple years, this 3 Series prototype’s cabin should look very familiar. Like the 5 Series, 7 Series, and X3, the 3 Series’ center stack incorporates a hexagonal design theme, with the HVAC and radio controls tapering downward. In two of the shots we get to enjoy a vantage point that’s uncommon in spy photography—a view from inside the car. Our brave spy shooter snapped a close-up picture of the center console, showing the gear selector, iDrive control knob, and various buttons for drive modes and other features, which appear to be capacitive now. The electronic shifter looks like the unit in the Z4, with its park button placed in the same position at the back of the lever. And like a BMW X5 we spied recently, this 3 Series mule moves its ignition button to the center console similar to Volkswagen and Audi models. The instrument cluster in this prototype is all digital, but lower models could get physical gauges.
The car’s exterior is still well covered, but even with this much camo, it’s clear the next-gen 3 Series’ design will be more evolutionary than revolutionary. We see some influence from the 5 Series and 7 Series in the more substantial headlight housings, but the grille—though larger than before—isn’t nearly as massive and in your face as the X7, X5, or 7 Series refresh.
We expect to learn more about the seventh-gen 3 Series as we get closer to its reveal, perhaps as early as this year. Until then, check out these spy shots and imagine yourself in the driver’s seat of a new 3er.
Photo source: CarPix