[cdgatti]

Anyone else excited to see the G20 looks so good? I have been anxiously waiting to see if this car would make up for the sins of the F30 - and I think it looks very good and has received rave reviews from the journos who have driven pre-pro cars. Things are looking good for us E90 holdouts who couldn't bring ourselves to dump the E90 for the F30. Hopefully the G20 will be our payback for having patience!

[Efthreeoh]

Missing a clutch pedal.... 'Nuff said.

[cdgatti]

yes that is unfortunate - maybe the 2 series will have it.

[CTinline-six]

Honestly I like the looks of the F30 better. Then again I never thought the F30 looked ugly, just the driving dynamics of it were a bit different.

[Nickco43]

The G30 exterior looks like a Lexus while the interior they spent all of their energy on the instrument cluster and navigation system. The rest of the interior looks basic. Maybe it will grow on me like the E60 but hopefully my E90 will last six years until the next gen 3er will come out.

For now my E90 is almost 100% fully loaded.

[BimmerNugget]

Yes, the rear end looks like the Lexus IS. Interior is finally on par (but not better than) with the Audi A4 and the Mercedes C300.

I don't care about any of that, as long as they fix the damn steering. I'd put the G20 on my shopping list in 2 years. I've got both the E90 and F30 328i (GF's car) to play with everyday, the difference is night and day. Never driven an M sport equipped F30 but I doubt it's better than the E90 hydraulic power steering.

I am PRAYING they sorted out the electric power steering with the G20....

[Cabdriver]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Missing a clutch pedal.... 'Nuff said.

Yeah having a hard time accepting the decrease in available pedals myself. If that option exists elsewhere I'll hold on to my e90 and look elsewhere when it comes time to replace the gti (6mt).

[e90yyc]

If they figured the steering out, I like it.

I don’t know why they went with those taillights though... The new X3’s brake lights also remind me too much of the new A4’s.

I guess if this means they took the best aspect of every car from which it borrows design cues, and combined it all into the Ultimate Driving Experience, then I’m into it

[cdgatti]

Yes... here's to hoping the steering is improved. It must be very difficult nut to crack obviously. But supposedly Porsche has pretty good steering feel with the electric steering system - so it can be done.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Yes... here's to hoping the steering is improved. It must be very difficult nut to crack obviously. But supposedly Porsche has pretty good steering feel with the electric steering system - so it can be done.

Fun fact... the ATS has very good steering feel and both the F30 and ATS used the same EPS rack... who'dathunk.

[n50four]

Big as an e39 (I've always liked the iconic E39 M5). The 3 series (or any other car in this class) is just getting bigger and bigger.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

I'm curious what the 4 series will look like. So far, I like it a lot. I'm hoping it drives better than the F30.

[hassmaschine]

No more MT - but oh, the BMW logos on the wheels now stay horizontal when the wheels turn! And you can get the car painted to match your purse!

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Cabdriver

Yeah having a hard time accepting the decrease in available pedals myself. If that option exists elsewhere I'll hold on to my e90 and look elsewhere when it comes time to replace the gti (6mt).

Even the cars that are offered with a manual transmissions by the manufacturer are difficult to find. I was shopping for a new Accord a few years ago, and while the LX model was technically available with a manual transmission they were nowhere to be found. I was willing to drive 500+ miles yet no dealerships had any in stock. I found ONE Accord with Sport trim (a tier above the LX) and manual from a dealer 75 miles away from me however they wouldn't budge from MSRP. Meanwhile the LX with the CVT was almost $3000 less than MSRP.

However, the lower end of the car market still offers manual transmissions! I once had this crazy idea of getting a Hyundai Accent with a manual, but even that got crushed a bit when they discontinued the hatchback version of it. Hmm... the Ford Fiesta ST isn't *too* expensive!

As for the G20, I'm not a fan of the styling. The grill is enormous and the tail lights are just weird, reminds me of a Lexus, or upside down Audi tail lights, or a variation of the tail lights of the last generation of the Kia Rio. I also found this interesting stuff on another site regarding it's size:

The new 3 Series, a model that was always relatively small, is now larger than the E53 BMW X5. More specifically, it’s longer than than the E53 X5. So this new 3er is longer than what was once considered a large SUV. That’s crazy.

It’s also wider than an E39 BMW 5 Series.

One of the things I really appreciate about my E90 is the small footprint, yet very generous amount of space inside. I like the fact that it's relatively narrow and very easy to maneuver in city driving conditions.

[snedanator]

I think overall BMW have done an amazing job on the styling on the G20.

[TemjinX2]

manuals would be nice, but most of the kind of people that buy manuals are the type to buy these cars used. Manufacturers only care about new car sales, and not enough people are buying new cars with manuals, so i dont blame them for not offering it. All the luxury car manual buyers seem to move to either M cars or 911s or caymans.

[TemjinX2]

I like the front end of the g20, thats about it. The interior looks exactly same as the f30. BMW needs to step up their interiors like mercedes did.

[hassmaschine]

Whatever. You can keep your fake engine sounds, purse-matched-interior, and roundels that don't rotate with the wheels.

[techwhiz]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Anyone else excited to see the G20 looks so good? I have been anxiously waiting to see if this car would make up for the sins of the F30 - and I think it looks very good and has received rave reviews from the journos who have driven pre-pro cars. Things are looking good for us E90 holdouts who couldn't bring ourselves to dump the E90 for the F30. Hopefully the G20 will be our payback for having patience!

Too big.

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

...I guess if this means they took the best aspect of every car from which it borrows design cues, and combined it all into the Ultimate Driving Experience, then I’m into it

So BMW is the new Kia?

[cdgatti]

Personally I am happy the car is larger, if it is lighter and more agile than the outgoing model, may as well get more car for $50-60K.

[Jesda]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

So BMW is the new Kia?

That's an insult to Kia.