Goodness, it has been nearly half a year since my last update. That is pretty much the expected life of a cosmic star in today’s media space. But don’t worry, I didn’t catch the ‘Rona. I just caught something much worse, apathy. And I blame the current G20-generation BMW 3 Series for that.
It isn’t as though the BMW 3 Series is a dog. Once again, BMW hits the small sedan formula out of the ballpark. It is good, really good. The chassis is sublime. Better than its predecessor, which was already the proverbial gold standard of its time.
What’s more, BMW has outdone themselves in addressing their Achilles’ heel, the interior presentation. This time around, BMW graced it with a sleek interior full of pseudo-brushed surfaces and sharp digital displays.
Even passengers will find little to complain about with its larger cabin and comfy seats. All considered the new BMW 3 Series is more of a good thing. So, what is the catch?
2021 BMW 3 Series – More SUV than sedan
Despite its competence and extravagance, there is an underlying feeling that this 3 Series is no longer the compact BMW sedan it should be. Dare I say it, it feels more like a lowered SUV. Big, comfy, with all the BMW feel-good factor, but a bit of a boat.
All descendants of the 3 Series name were a driver’s car that you could bring your family on board. Show it a good road and – despite what it gained in weight or size – it shrinks to fit around you like a latex glove.
The G20-generation 3 Series doesn’t feel that. Its thick-rimmed steering wheel is big and cumbersome. The seat sinks you in, rather than hold you firmly in place. And most damningly, it never hides its dimensions.
Unlike its revered F30 predecessor, you are always trying to guesstimate the extremes of the G20’s prow. Obscured in the distance, hidden by its vast bonnet. Its suspension tuning must take its share of the blame in numbing the immersion of the experience.
Where the F30 struck the perfect balance between comfort and body roll control, the G20 took the “either, or” approach. As a result, it never feels settled on any tarmac more winding and pockmarked than a motorway.
It is either too floaty to get a feel where it matters, or stiff to keep your head dialled in. All the while, you feel as much of a passenger like the rest of your company. For any other car, that is perfectly fine. But coming from Munich’s illustrious 3 Series lineage, it feels like a marked departure.
New priorities
Accuse me of writing another “new car, bad” piece that many nostalgia-ridden enthusiasts are wont to do. But my apathy for this car is overwhelming. More worryingly, it is indicative of the automotive world we live in.
Not only is everyone getting obsessed over pure-electric vehicles and autonomous tech, but priorities have shifted. Everything, from the focus of the product development to the marketing materials, are focusing on friends and family. The driver? Just the glorified Uber driver to their desired destination. Who cares? Here’s Apple CarPlay for everyone to sing along to obscure Scandinavian post-rock.
The G20-generation BMW 3 Series design, embodies those priorities. The dashboard feels broad and open, rather than cocooning. There is no driver-centric flair in its “plugged-in” gear shifter console. And they couldn’t even get the rev counter to rotate the right way.
Is BMW distancing the vanilla 3 Series from the fire-breathing, driver-focused M3? Well, that is arguable. While that may be true from the rave it is generating, despite its ginormous grilles, it is a plain betrayal of the 3 Series’ reputation as the best everyday driver’s car.
BMW 3 Series – The best everyday driver’s car
Forget about the fire-breathing M3 touring car legend or its esteemed road-going descendants for a moment. Those are Munich’s finest, whose greatness is built on the excellence of its base models.
Previous base 3 Series, in few-frills daily runabout form and a quartet of cylinders at your disposal, never fails to impress in the way it injects little joie de vivre into your daily commute. So long as you aren’t seriously gunning for lap times or sprinting to the ton.
That has always been the beauty of BMW’s model range. Handling fun is guaranteed no matter what you pick. And you don’t need to aim high to have a good time. That is until BMW’s recent spate of lacklustre models started to plant some doubt in that claim.
The second-generation X1 and its odd 2 Active Tourer and Gran Tourer relatives, form an unholy triune of blandness. Even today’s front-wheel-drive 1 Series hatchback struggles to assert its position in the hot hatch market. Not the sort of uphill battles you’d expect BMW to die on.
Ultimately those models are the breadcrumbs thrown to aspiring buyers who want to drive the badge. It doesn’t matter that nobody can tell who built these cars without its roundel badges and kidney grilles. What matters is that more sales will be made.
Well, at least BMW’s core models, like the 3 Series, can be counted on to uphold that reputation of excellence. Right?
It pains me to say that part of the magic that made the 3 Series stand out is gone. It still feels as much of a BMW as its younger model lines. But nothing more than that.
The new world order
That is the way with the automotive world. Time and trends wait for no personal preferences. BMW certainly won’t lose an ounce of sales with the venerable 3 Series’ new direction. There is too much providence in the brand for people to ignore. And the G20-generation 3 Series is made for broader appeal. What’s not to like about it?
Me? Like many of my peers in the automotive journalism line, I’m never going to be a paying BMW customer. So, my opinion matters like a fly charging towards a speeding car.
It serves as the sign of the times to me. It is the moment where we deviate from the old order of cars being an extension of one’s inner preferences. Now, cars are merely a personified expression, with little differentiating substance underneath.
That said, this 3 Series me of what I missed about driving. What I missed about writing. And what the BMW 3 Series stood for. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong, and that the gauntlet is handed over to the 2 Series coupe. Hopefully, or it will be another long period of unremitting apathy ahead.