Here’s What’s Changing In The Facelifted BMW 3 Series

Back in April, we got a bit of a trailer on how the upcoming midlife refresh of the BMW 3 Series would look like, thanks to its all-electric equivalent, the i3, being unveiled in China. Now, images of the updated sedan have surfaced online in China. Sure, there was a leaked image back in July 2021, but the latest images showcase the sedan in a lot more angles, and in the standard and long wheelbase (called the Gran Limousine) body styles. 

Here’s a five-point guide about the updated 3 Series:

Bolder Presence 

You’ll immediately notice the changes up front with a new front bumper design, featuring a massive air dam that takes up most of the frontal real estate. Like the i3, it now gets revised LED headlights with new arrow-styled LED DRLs. Thankfully, the traditional twin-kidney front grille remains standard-sized, but there’s the option to either spec its slats in vertical or horizontal layout with a chrome finish to add bling.  

While the overall silhouette remains as is, there are new alloy wheel options, with the rear getting a lot chunkier, thanks to a more pronounced diffuser.

Familiar, Yet More Party Tricks

While we haven’t got a cabin shot of the facelifted BMW 3 Series, the i3 gives us a clue on what to expect. In the electric sedan, the cabin layout is largely similar to the 3 Series, but the top of the dashboard features the biggest change. There’s a twin-screen setup that combines a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display and a 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It runs on BMW’s latest i-Drive 8 user UI that comes with plenty of party tricks that can be controlled via touch inputs or voice commands. 

Multiple Powertrains

We’re yet to know what’ll power the updated 3 Series, but aside from the all-electric i3, the sedan should get multiple powertrain options including petrol, diesel and hybrids. In India, we’ll likely carry over the current 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and diesel engines as well as the 387PS/500Nm 3-litre straight-six turbo-petrol motor from the performance-focused M340i. 

When’s It Coming?

Considering the timing of these leaked images, we think BMW will give the 3 Series its midlife refresh sometime towards the second half of 2022. Back home, we could get the updated model towards the end of 2022, or by early 2023 at the earliest. Expect a price premium over the current model that retails from Rs 46.90 lakh to Rs 65.90 lakh (ex-showroom).

Rivals

It’ll rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4, Volvo S60, and the Jaguar XE.