stopped by the BMW dealer yesterday to look at the 530xi, and the car that caught my eye was the new 3 series. Very nice car. I actually prefer the styling, both inside and out, of the 3 more than the 5. Feel like the 3 pushed the styling to the limits without crossing over, whereas the 5 crossed over the line in some respects...

just my 2 cents. picked up both the 3 and 5 brochures, and keep on looking at the 3 brochure. Sparkling Graphite is a great color, also...too bad no go on a 5.

 

Nope... sorry dont like the 3 looks, it looks a LOT worse than the 5 from the rear... and i dont find it looking that good. The 7 I didnt like when i fisrt saw it... but grew to like it. The 5 I liked it from day one. the 3 I still havent grown to like it.

 

i know that this was a topic before... but i will mention it ..... i saw the new...06 lexus is.... body styling so much like the 5 or the 3.... but might consider it for my wife she love toyota/lexus and likes all the bells and whistles it has for the price along with the reliability..... anyways ... just a thought...oh yeah.... i like the styling of the 5 better than the 3

 

I have to disagree.

Styling wise, I think the E60 is far better than the E90. The E60 has a certain road presece that no other car on the road can come close to, with the exception of maybe the E65/66. The new 3er seems to be a bit of a compromise and seems almost confused in the direction it wants to go in terms of styling -- sort of like of a confused teenager in the throes of puberty.

Handling, the roles are reversed. I think the E90 is much better at carving up pavement than the E60. Sure the E60 is a bigger car, but both the E90 and E60 are comparable in weight (3450 v. 3500 (3800 for the 545), respectively) and now that the E90 has the same suspension setup as the E90, there's no comparison really -- the E90 is simply a better road handler.

 

For sporty driving my E90 is more fun than my E60 545 was. To be fair the 3 is a stick and the 5 was Step.....don't listen to opinions on style....like politics and religion arguing about style is a pointless debate.

BMW outdid itself in the new 3....with the right options you'll get just about everything a 5 can offer...except an inch or two here and there.

 

There are no bad BMW designs in recent times. They may have a quirk here or there, but overall they just seem so cutting edge. Someone mentioned "presence". The whole line up has that now. The 7 and 5 series sedans are outright stunners - no one comes close. My eyes are drawn to them in every configuration. So unmistakable - could not be confused with anything else and that is good. I rarely see another 6er so I have to be satisfied by looking at my own and it is always pleasing. The 3, while still good, actually has less of that "presence" than its family members but still better than anything else in its field.

 

fromt front and side the new 3er looks like E60 for the few moments....and from far away but the back, the trunk of the new 3er is so bad. it looks like Toyota or something

 

Just wait for the 335 or M3 coupe & cabrio to banish any thoughts of ugliness.......I'm starting to favour skipping my M5 order and waiting for the M3 cab.....reckon it will be a real winner.

DD

 

I'm admittedly not objective as an e60 owner, but overall I like the e60 better. The e90 rear end spoils a very nicely designed frontend. It does look bland and more like a Toyota from the rear.

The area where the e90 looks better is the dash-- I think the e60 dash went a little too far IMO.

 

JJL, i must say i had the same problem i liked the 3 series alot more than the 5 in fact i was even concidering getting the new lexus is350 but narrowed it down to the 5 or the 3.........i myself like a sporty car thats quick and tight so i really liked the design of the 3. however i opted to go with a 545 for two reasons........much more room and in LA your less likely to see a 545 then a 330.......the 3 series is like water everyone has them........nonetheless........my point being after buying the 5 and riding it around for 2 weeks i have fallin in love with it its handling, power, the comfort inside the car......nothing can meet the standard my friend has a 3 and its not the same different playing field and let the wify drive the jap crap =) dont touch the lex not even worth it