Over the past few years, it’s become obvious that the entire world is not going all-electric next decade, but that doesn’t mean EV development isn’t important. From the convenience of charging at home if you live in single-family housing to the quietness of the drive, there are plenty of reasons why people love electric cars, and the market’s only going to get more interesting. For a variety of reasons, the Tesla Model 3 is in a precarious spot right now, and everyone’s looking to steal its lunch money. Case in point: BMW just showed off something called the Vision Driving Experience, and it looks like a camouflaged, widebody preview of the incoming Neue Klasse sedan, effectively an electric 3 Series.
The big announcement here concerns something BMW calls the “Heart of Joy,” which is essentially an all-in-one vehicle control module that handles the powertrain, braking, steering assistance, stability control, and charging. Essentially, it handles everything that makes the Neue Klasse platform go, turn, and stop. While this sort of integration has the potential to cut cost, it also has the potential to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, having one high-level module consolidates failure points, which means if it goes out, a lot of functions could get taken out with it. On the other, this consolidation could result in faster powertrain response, more nuanced stability control intervention, and some unique tricks in the toolbox for spirited driving.
While BMW claims the Vision Driving Experience isn’t slated for production, it also claims that it makes 13,269 lb.-ft. of torque. Knowing this figure is almost certainly measured at the wheels rather than the motors, and knowing that the styling follows a trajectory laid out for the Neue Klasse sedan, this is our closest look at the incoming electric 3 Series yet, so why don’t we break it down?
The styling on display here seems like a muscled-up take on what we’ve previously seen on the i Vision Dee concept car of 2023 and the Vision Neue Klasse concept. Sure, the fenders on this prototype are massively flared and each valence sticks out like a pouting bottom lip, but the basics are mostly here, just expect a more grounded execution from the production model.
Let’s start with the short dash-to-axle ratio that really bucks BMW tradition. The base of the windshield is much closer to the centerline of the front axle than on a regular BMW 3 Series, and while this sort of packaging makes sense for a dedicated EV architecture, it’s still a marked departure from BMW tradition. Another trait carried over is how the beltline sits below the base of the windshield, no doubt to accommodate the new panoramic view infotainment system while also potentially sharing a firewall module between crossovers and sedans. The traditional roofline appears to pretty much be a carryover of what we saw on the Vision Neue Klasse, but look a bit closer at this prototype and you’ll see some markedly different details.
Zooming in on the greenhouse, it seems to gain a few important feasibility measures. The big change from previous concepts is the addition of actual side view mirrors, but look a bit closer and things run deeper. The B-pillar is much thicker than on either previous show car, as it’ll need to be for side impact protection. What’s more, the shape of the rear door glass has been massaged again for practical reasons. Rear windows need to roll down, and it seems that BMW is using a blanking plate to facilitate this key function. While camouflage hides the ultimate silhouette of the greenhouse, I’d be surprised if it changed a whole lot beyond this for Neue Klasse sedan production.
Then there’s the elephant in the room: the taillight and trunk lid treatment. Instead of falling away from the car, the trunk lid kicks up with a sort of ducktail, and BMW’s taken the exceedingly odd measure of putting the taillights in the ducktail. Needless to say, the end result is weird as it makes the rear end look disproportionately tall, thanks to a ton of surface area between the bottom of the tail lights and the diffuser element in the bumper.
Anyway, expect to see the production-spec Neue Klasse sedan make an official debut by the end of next year, as BMW’s C-segment electric SUV will be first to the punch on this new platform. While that crossover will likely make up the bulk of sales, enthusiasts are still looking forward to the all-electric 3 Series.
Top graphic image: BMW
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The reflection on what I thought was an improved BMW grille dramatically changed my opinions of the front of that car.
So are color changing wheels going to be a factory option now?
Direct from some aged hipster’s old fixie!
BMW saw the “whole front end is a grille” meme from ten years ago and decided to use it as a product plan.
I mean, seriously, Lincoln tried this whole baleen whale for a front end design language a decade ago (see MKT), and failed horribly. It does not need to come back.
They managed to make the front grill look great and changed the rear to be hideous
The shape of the trunklid looks unrefined — not in a “this design isn’t baked” way but in a “these are the production taillights but in a non-production panel” way.
While BMW claims the Vision Driving Experience isn’t slated for production, it also claims that it makes 13,269 lb.-ft. of torque.
Umm, WHAT?! According to Google the average SEMI makes 1500-2500lb.ft.
That’s the difference between torque at the wheels and at the crankshaft. At the wheels, the torque has been multiplied by the gear ratios of the transmission, differential, and the (effective) gear ratio of having the driveshaft spin the much-larger wheels.
I think that what’s throwing it off for me is the narrow C-pillar width, and the way the roof reaches an apex and then just abruptly cascades down. For aesthetic reasons, I’d want to see a stronger, sleeker shape in that regard. As it stands, it’s currently giving 2014-2019 Toyota Corolla…and that’s not a compliment. It’s such a dorky shape.
As for the front fascia, someone at BMW must have taken a look at the 2013-2016 Lincoln MKZ and thought, “Yes, that’s what we want.”
As I’ve said before, I don’t know what those Bavarians are smoking, but it isn’t sausage.
I’ll go against the grain here and say in general it looks good. I really like the side profile with its short overhangs and traditional 3-box shape with flat rear deck. The front reminds me a little of 80s BMWs and certainly looks better than the beaver teeth. Hopefully the taillights on the spoiler are just camo and not the real thing.
The side on view is giving me Alfa 155 vibes, which is a good thing in my book
Thanks, I hate it
So instead of a horrendously ugly grille they now have horrendously ugly tails? BMW designers haven’t put put out anything good in 20 years.
More like 30yrs IMO. Look at a 2005 vs a 1995. It may just be because I’m an old now.
I like the silhouette fine, and the visibility of the greenhouse looks decent, which is a nice change (I drove an EV66 over the weekend for fun, and those blind spots, yeesh), but the rear is just not good. Hopefully that’s just camo? The giant blank space is just weird, and not endearingly weird, UGLY weird.
Regardless, it’ll be overpriced and over-technologied, and if the current 3 series is any indicator, not all that interesting to drive.
I think the tail lights are part of the camo.
Without some articulation, those lights aren’t going to be US-comnpliant up there unless there’s another set of functional lights that are visible when the trunk lid is up.
S6.1.3.1 Each lamp, reflective device, and item of associated equipment must be securely mounted on a rigid part of the vehicle, other than glazing, that is not designed to be removed except for repair, within the mounting location and height limits as specified in Table I, and in a location where it complies with all applicable photometric requirements, effective projected luminous lens area requirements, and visibility requirements with all obstructions considered.
It’s true that a vehicle’s only set of tail lights, brake lights and rear signal lights cannot be on a movable panel. However, some cars get around this by having a second set of lights that are revealed when the trunk is open (See Buick Cascada) or by having a secondary set of lights on the bumper that engages when the trunk/rear gate is open (See Audi Q5 and Buick i3).
I know, but BMW doesn’t really take drastic styling risks with the 3-series. Those lights on that spoiler are way too far from what blends in in the junior executive parking area to make it onto the mainstream production version.
I think it’s far more likely that these are part of the camo for that test car than BMW installing a set of very silly polarizing lights and then another set of lights in the bumper where people also tend not to like them.
> that it makes 13,269 lb.-ft. of torque
I read this as 13,269 HP of torque. Would have dethroned the Mustang as the deadliest killer at Cars and Coffee
It’s a BMW. It will be fine as long as the tire pressure is set correctly.
At least it doesn’t have the beaver teeth…
Having the taillights in the ducktail looks weird on the sedan, but that’s about the height you’d expect for crossover taillights … you know, unless it’s a Hyundai/Kia and they’re sitting in the bumper for some reason.
US tail light regulations are the reason. I don’t know the exact wording, but the lights have to be visible when the hatch / trunk lid is open. If you mount lights on the trunk lid or hatch, you have to have other functional lights that remain visible from the rear.
You’re right, of course, and I know there are rules about how visible such an indicator has to be. I should really be less off-hand with my asides in this group.
I have no idea which author on this site may be responsible for it, but I have become familiar with many obscure lighting regulations.
My first thought was “oh, BMW is getting away from the massive kidney grille”.
And then I saw the rear.
Here’s what I think the camo is covering. The taillights and the vents in the lower valence are actually connected. The rear end is just two giant kidneys.
I wish you hadn’t showed the 3/4 rear picture,have mercy man.
It’s like a second coming of 1980’s Alfa’s; The low front and high trunk of the Giulietta and the akward linearity of the 75.
Mmmmm, this is a good callout. It definitely has vibes of the dorky 116 Giulietta, or even the later Type 3 155.
Is this a Lincoln? sure looks like it…
This was my first reaction when seeing the headlight/grille treatment – reminds me of the mid-2010s MKZ (and not in a good way).
Should be interesting to see how they deal with the fact that taillights/hazard lights need to be visible with the trunk open.
Looked alright until I saw the back. Wow that taillight assembly needs to move down.
It looks like it could be a handsome car from the side but I still have a reflexive reaction to the grill.
I love the front. BMW finally understood that vertical design features don’t have a place in cars that are low and wide (bye, beaver teeth, you won’t be missed). This is a great, modern interpretation of the kidney grilles that work. I would have done a small set of kidneys in the center instead, like those on an E30, but this is still a massive improvement, if a bit too generic.
The rear, though… I hope that’s just for the concept.
Since so many manufacturers are using the EV shift to go completely nuts with design (just look at the Ioniq 5’s “hatchback-pretending-to-be-SUV” or even the Ioniq 6’s “Honey you left it in the microwave too long” approach).
All that to say, this needs to be a wagon. That’s all.
It can’t look worse than the current carbuncle that is the BMW lineup. However, it gives more updated Mitsubishi or Nissan vibes than BMW.
It’s a ten-year-old Lancer Evo from the future, after some dumb kid’s gotten hold of it and put LEDs on the wheels.
What’s that massive blank space between the diffuser and taillights look like under the camo? Yikes.
“ enthusiasts are still looking forward to the all-electric 3 Series”
…we are? I’m a big fan of the 3 Series and have driven multiple generations of it and I can’t say that I am. The inherent weight issues of a BEV make me skeptical that what makes the 3 Series great will translate. I’ve always appreciated the 3 Series because it feels light on its feet. You can really throw them around, even in base trim, and they provide a rewarding driving experience.
Hell I’ve driven a current gen 330i and almost bought one. In fact, I probably should have in retrospect. They’re fantastic cars, and while I haven’t driven an M340i or M3 I’m sure they are as well. Anyway, I’m sure this will help BMW with Cafe and increasingly stringent European regulations, but I really don’t have any interest in owning one.
I’ll wait for the new ICE 3 Series that’s coming as well…and honestly if you want an electric BMW the lease deals on the i4 and i5 have always been excellent and I don’t necessarily think the massive weight of an EV ruins the experience of the bigger sedans because they’ve been going in a more luxury oriented direction for a while now. But a 3 Series? I’m skeptical. Very skeptical.
In the most charitable reading of that sentence, I guess you could say “enthusiasts are looking forward to the EV 3 Series *relative to the crossover version*” but I’m inclined to agree with you overall.
A 4000+ lb small-medium EV sedan doesn’t seem appealing to me, and I’d venture to say many other enthusiasts too.
ICE 3 series is a case of beer away from 4000 pounds already.
BMW’s seem to be secondary-market enthusiast cars these days. The flat-brimmed vape crowd around here has moved on from WRXs to used 3-series.
“What do you mean ‘you enthusiasts’?”
“What do YOU mean ‘you enthusiasts’?”
#NotAllEnthusiasts
You went full electric. Never go full electric.
Check it out — Chevy with the Volt. Looks electric, drives electric for a while, still got a gas engine. Not electric. Fisker Karma — looks like a race car, plugs into the wall, not electric. BMW i3, has a weird-ass design and “range extender” and wins all these awards. Still not electric.
Elon Musk? He went full electric.
Say what you will about Tesla but the reviews seem to all praise the driving dynamics of the Model 3, a ~4000lb car, and compare it favorably to the 3 series.