German Car Zone

Yes, I think BMW has their work cut out if they are going to best the E90.

The E46 was a MASTERPIECE! The BMW that worried MB and Audi so much that for a long time they thought that they'd never catch up again.
The interior finish of the E46 rivaled much larger and expensive cars.

I think it was Merc with the poor fit & finish on the W203 who misled BMW into thinking - 'Yipee! Now we can make our cars cheaper and uglier and make more money!' Well with the new A4 Audi was tricked too - really not the typical Audi quality that is always talked about.

BRING BACK THE I C O N, BRING BACK THE E46 QUALITY & NICE LOOKS - BMW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^ Hmmm, and I thought you were German! Not a fellow South African. Interesting - explains many things.

The interior quality of the E46 was exceptional. But, here's the news flash - most car makers are downgrading the quality of their interior plastics for two reasons: lowered input costs and material recyclability. So, you will find harder, lower polyurethane content dashboard materials in many modern cars compared with their predecessors.

The debate on hand here is that the E90 is actually a darned nice vehicle to look at when one removes the sentimental rose-tinted glasses of faded memories. Certainly, to my mind it looks better than both the C-Class and the new A4 and yet, it's the oldest of the three.

Well, you like the Subarus, so...


You're right about the plastics: the problem is recucling, and ecology.

Green plastics (reducting the pollution occured during the manufacturing process of the material) as well as the recycling ease are making most modern plastics less pleasant to look at/touch than before.

They are however very expensive for the carmaker...

BTW, does it show that much that I'm a lawyer? I hope not...

That's a good point. So you're saying that because I like Subarus as an owner, driver and instructor that I have questionable taste in car styling? Nice try - you are so a lawyer.

Understand this, I know better that anyone you've ever met or spoken to on any internet forum why a Subaru looks the way it does. Yes, lately they've got dodgy styling but much of that stems from what's underneath the sheetmetal. [Combined with a complete lack of design direction]

Now, because I can appreciate the merits of technically impressive yet dull-looking Subarus, this places me in a far better position to judge the styling of cars from makers of all kinds who have less self-imposed constraints placed upon them.

Car styling is a secret favourite topic of mine. I spend a lot of time reading up on car design, terminology and technical rules. If you have a plain old objective look at an E90 you will see that - according to established schools of thought - the 3er is:

a. Perfectly proportioned: (3 & 1/2 wheel rule wheelbase; A-pillar line intersects with front wheel centre; rear wheel centre aligns with centre of C-pillar; DLO is 1/3 of total height of the vehicle; bottom door shutline lines up perfectly with wheel centres; and so on...) [Notice I didn't even mention the over-used "short front overhang" point]

b. Instantly recognisable as nothing but a BMW: strong DRG.

c. Through the use of modern metal surfacing has the necessary visual tension to create a sporty, dynamic image - even when the car is stationary

So tell me, is that enough of an informed opinion for you despite my appreciation for the only car that's never let me down. Ever.

From German descent, but proudly South-African! Please to meet you my fellow countrymen!

Regarding the plastics, that is a pitty. The E70 X5 has nice soft touch plastics that is matt in finish, so does the X6. Looking at the E46 & E53 you can see that even on the
E70 and E90 lower grade / greener plastics are used in areas not so in your face....

I like the E90 and do think the interior quality is better than it's newest rivals. Though not on par with the E46.

^ The same can and is being said about the B8 A4 vs. the B7 - as you alluded to in your earlier post.

Martinbo koud in die RSA nê!?

I know we are talking about the upcoming 3er, though I do want to mention BMW learning from their mistakes with the 1er. My wifes 120i titanium silver pre-facelift interior are made of such cheap plastics, looks like you can hose them of! With the facelift variants BMW corrected their mistake and hopefully kept that one in mind...so future BMW - Like the upcoming 3er would benefit from better quality materials

Very much so. Quality can shift between generations depending on the company objectives of the car. If ratings in quality polls has slipped then they tend to up their game and if the company's reputation is satisfactory then cutting corners is way of increasing profits.

Human... Een van my kollegas stuur vir my 'n email wat sê dis "Moer Koud!". Maar ja, bietjie warmer vandag dink ek! LOL

[We're not really allowed to delve into local lingo on this forum... ]

Plastic quality is also a very subjective thing. Just because the plastic surface doesn't depress 0.2 mm with a well-aimed finger prod and now the car is perceived as poor quality in general. I think a 1er is very nicely screwed together, despite some harder plastics being used. As long as it doesn't rattle - I'm happy.