2009 BMW 3-Series face lift
July 11, 2008 by George Skentzos
Only a few short days after revealing the new 7-Series, BMW has also unveiled its face lifted 3-Series sedan and touring variants due to make their first public debut at the Paris Motor Show.
Only mild styling tweaks have been made to the 2009 3-Series, with the apparently controversial front and rear design receiving special attention.
New BMW design trademarks have also emerged which coincide with the new 7-Series, including a more sculpted front end design, with significant changes made to the rear tail lights.
The cabin has also received a slight refresh, with new trim combinations, a revised arm rest and a more ergonomic version of BMW’s iDrive controller which includes a new high-resolution 8.8-inch colour screen.
Unfortunately the engine was one of the key areas which did not receive any enhancements, however not to worry seeing as how much of the range is powered by BMW’s award-winning six-cylinder engines.
Australian specific details are yet to be released.
Print it: 
i will say i again we have had NO RECALL’S IN AUSTRALIA that artical referes to america! do you live in america! and dont start this bull s**t about not havig any problems with bmw crap crap and more crap bavarien! my wife owned a 2002 320exec before the lexus and you will never see her in a bmw again after owning a lexus! the looks,the driving, the finish, the equipment level’s everything about a lexus is far superior to bmw! who would own one off these butt ugly new 3 series! and lexus service is also was better than bmw thank you!
BMW competes mainly against Merc and Audi for market share in the new car market, partly because the majority of people cannot afford to buy them at the prices that they charge, or do not want to settle for a base model with a 2 litre engine in the BMW 320, a 1.8 litre engine in the C200 and Audi A4.
Some people would also object to the $1,900 Merc charges for metallic paint ($1,600 by BMW and Audi for metallic paint).
When Merc had the latest C200, it reduced the price by around $10,000 because sales had been falling (fewer people were prepared to pay that kind of price for a base model that did not even have alloys as standard).
I think motoring journalists should inform more Australians how over-priced these German brands are in Australia. The base BMW 3 series in USA is the 328, priced around US$30,000 (slightly less than the Lexus IS250), while the base Merc C-Class is the C300 priced around US$32,000.
If Australians boycott buying the 3 Germans for a year, their prices might fall. However, some of the rich people (the ones who can afford to buy them at whatever the price) probably do not care much about paying the premium price. That’s ok, we live in a democratic society, do as you please.
Hey Jbot hows things babe?……..Actually as I said they were as per caradvice article last year.
So Burt you need to check your facts before you abuse me again!
Quote
” Lexus will recall 264,000 cars- including 927 in Australia – with GS and IS sedans affected .
The issue relates to cars built between December 2003 and December 2005 which may have a faulty fuel pipe that could lead to a fuel leakage. Lexus says no accident has been reported as a result of the issue but 39 defects have been reported by drivers
The recall affects 215,020 cars in Japan. About 49,000 other vehicles will also be recalled worldwide, in markets including the US, Britain and Canada.
Lexus Australia has initiated a safety recall campaign on a range of Lexus IS250 and GS300 models that were built between December 2004 to November 2005. In all about 927 vehicles are involved in Australia.
According to Lexus Australia, there is a possibility over time on certain vehicles that a small split may appear in the fuel pipe.This is due to a weakness created in the pipes during manufacture, combined with natural corrosive agents in the fuel and fuel pressure pulsations.
The recall is the second in a just over a month for Lexus’s parent company, Toyota. In October Toyota recalled about 470,000 cars in Japan to fix problems with their fuel and steering systems.
Burt Ive owned 6 BMWs and as Im a car enthusiast and look for performance you’ll never find me in a Lexus! Hows that Lexus service going for you mate! Apology still accepted?
what the hell do i need to apogize for!if your telling me i am not a car enthusiast your the one who needs to apogize to me buddy! i have not said this yet but i have ordered a new lexus ISF it will be here in november for my wife i wont even get involved what i drive! SO DONT TELL ME I AM NOT A CAR ENTHUSIAST i will buy lexus over bmw any day and that is my choice RIGHT! i wont cope anyone telling me that my choice of cars is wrong thank you! if you have owned 6 bmw’s i feel sorry for you and if think the new 3 series is a good looking car you have been brain washed!
hahaha,seems you need to take a deep breath mate.I didn’t say you weren’t a car enthusiast did I ?
Why do you feel sorry for me owning BMWs ???????? Never had any problems with them and thats over a period of 20 years how long has Lexus been going for? So you’ve order a new IS-iF and? You have read the write ups on the the current E90 M3 over the IS-iF……..M3 still on top. Seems you have an anger problem through reading your last post and you need to turn the caps lock button off oh.
That apology would be for being wrong about the recalls, so you man enough to say your wrong or just ready to ramble back at me again? Either way seems your embarrassing yourself……..Another bloke that has a problem it seems being told by a female their wrong !
yes i have read the writups on the isf vs m3 and that is why i am buying the isf! way better looking car and quicker more torque better to drive way more wow factor and better equiped!
B. Missile drives an old M3 that is worth much less than any Lexus IS250.
Hey Tony what does the value of my M3 have to do with anything let alone comparing it to a YAWN…IS-250 . Change feet Tony you too are embarrassing yourself,grow up!
Seems you both cant accept facts so are prepared to devalue this thread by any way you can ,unsubstantiated insults! I am waiting for my last post to be ,moderated so you can be wowed at the IS-F verses a E92 M3 and a Merc C63 I guess you know what wins………not the Lexus 3rd! Toyota lovers…….geez seems you suffer from inferiority complexes!!
IS-250 IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS BMW. Ha Ha Ha.
TOMAS69 U ARE A BOGAN.
make sure you research all posts with your m3 vs isf because everyone i have read (and thats a lot) have different results so dont give me this m3 is better crap because i have read them all as well and everyone has a different outcome! who the hell is this realcars guy what do you know jurk! i owned a bmw 320i (yes i did own a bmw) and you want YAWN it is no where compared to a is250 it was gutless at least the older bmw’s looked better than the current model 3 series!
Are they still built in Africa? I’d want my german car built in Germany. Not that it would stop me from buying one if the need arose. I’d Rather the 135i over anything below a 335 anyway.
I see Thomas79 is still digging himself into holes again.
If it aint Toyota…its Lexus (Toyota’s with more plastic wood, thicker glass and more sand in the firewalls)
In all seriousness though, I cant see the point of updating a model every 5 minutes…Does hurt on the resale.
Where’s Ernie?
Why don’t Burt and Tomas69 take their Toyota Loving to another thread.
Comparing Lexus to BMW give me a break please!!!!!
May as well buy a Toyota Burt.Must have been something wrong with “your” 320 or a figment of your imagination!Ha Ha Ha.
BMW are the innovators.
Lexus are the imitators.
Get it Burt/Tomas69?
Burt, get your head out of your a$$ and accept the facts! Lexus (IS250) DID have a recall in Australia due to faulty engine fuel pipes (29/11/2007) Ref.2007/9683
For your reference:
http://www.recalls.gov.au/sear.....EXUS+IS250
IS-F has nothing on the new E90 M3, so quit your b!tching!
Burt, get your head out of your azz and accept the facts! Lexus (IS250) DID have a recall in Australia due to faulty engine fuel pipes (29/11/2007) Ref.2007/9683
For your reference:
http://www.recalls.gov.au/sear…..EXUS+IS250
IS-F has nothing on the new E90 M3!
hahaha……Realcars !
Fenno 4 cylinder poverty pac stuff is made in South Africa 6 cylinders are made in Germany!
Make sure I research my posts……you have to be joking thats just what I do Burt…….If you did the same you would have worked out you wifes Lexus is due to go back to the dealership for its recall!
Read them all have you Burt so I guess this one?
Car and driver extract for you BURT
” In every performance test of note, the M3 outgunned the Lexus, yet it didn’t trail in refinement or comfort. The BMW’s suspension, like the Lexus’s, will never be accused of pampering its driver, but it absorbed every bump without upsetting the chassis.
Maybe BMW hasn’t gotten this generation of iDrive right, but the rest of the car has no equal among many peers. “”
Shall I keep finding them for you Burt cause you provided nothing so far into today posts including that apology!
Quote [Camski] I took the only test driver C63 in NSW out. It was black but don’t remember the number plate. That was one monster
So I take it you live near Parramatta then; – the nearest dealer being Marshalls on Auto Alley…. my mate saw one there last week
Burt – I find it ironic that you have ordered an IS-F for your next car.. mainly because when you say IS-F it sounds like AS IF… which you could use in the following sentence
“A Lexus is better than an BMW M3?…. AS IF!”
Whereas “M” division is much more apt “BMW?…. MMMMMM!”
Saw a billboard ad for the new M3 it said “M3 – At the Heart of every BMW!
which proves my earlier point that even though their are those who can only afford an entry level BMW such as an 135i it’s still gonna have similar features to those higher up the tree
if you still believe that all BMW drivers are badge snobs including those who own a poverty pack BMW like a 318i
then surely the same goes for those poor people who own an Echo Starlet or Yaris as you could say the only reason they drive a Yaris is so they can be seen in a Toyota as ATM its Australias most popular make of car.
When in actual fact its more likely to be that its all they can afford or is most suitable to their needs – the same applies to most other car owners except of course 4×4 drivers the majority of whom drive a mbiel fortress purely because of the image it conveys…. they are the real posuers
Burt it seems that you’d get on well with UK celebrity Alan Partridge…. he is a fan of Lexii [Plural; you know]
Unlike your average family sedan when it comes to premium performance cars – looks has very little to do with it as most owners of such performance cars buy performance cars because of their performance [funnily enuff]
For example look at the Ferrari Enzo for example or the Alfa Romeo Schigera; not the most attractive car but it performs really well and goes fast as it was intended to
I mean you don’t look at the mantle whist stoking the fire.
Well I know you don’t look at the mantle place when your poking the fire babe……….
Burt you are not a car enthusiast if you think getting a Lexus with a big engine is what makes you one and I think its time you backed out of this message board seeing as most people dont agree with you. Lexus has no personality. In a big Top Gear test between the M3 the ISF the C63 and the RS4 top gear said that the Lexus is best for going in a straight line but not if you want to have alot of fun. The M3 is a better car. The M3 and C63 mainly have alot of personality because they are not perfect. The lexus isnt either but you feel cold getting out of a Lexus and the steerings a bit dead for such an expensive “performance car”. And Im not saying the 3 series is pretty but the IS is hardly pretty either. And i have never had anything but reliablility from my BMW. And I have a 1992 3 series and it hasnt broken down once! And like Wheelnut said. Lexus is for Alan Partridge! And what does it matter where the recall was? Theyre all built in the same factory! And if the 3 series didnt take off here then why did I see so many being driven around ADELAIDE today? Way more than I saw of the IS! And theres a reason for that. Id prefer to look like a poser than an accountant or lawyer any day.
Fenno how M I digging myself into a hole??
I give up, this site is is obviously being ruined by a bunch of loud mouth, badge upsest bogans, who blab their ignorant views on everyone, regardless whatever it goes against the statistics or common sense!!
Tomas because you dont like the facts and base your opinions on stats not facts that doesn’t make the rest of us bogans cause we’re correct ! Everything Ive stated is fact and in most cases Ive backed up with evidence seems the Toyota lovers don’t like facts just surveys!
Oh and this site has been ruined by Toyota extremists in the past thats why all the regulars get sooooo annoyed when people start sprouting on about the worlds most boring brand!Toyota!
If you notice thats why your mate Dingo gets deleted each time!Cause hes too extreme and then starts to insult people when they don’t agree with him!
I had a 540i BMW – wonderful to drive, comfortable to cruise between capital cities but reliability shocking. A colleagues M5 here on the Gold Coast not much better. Own two lexus vehicles never had a problem and the service is superb.
I know BM; Not only do the Toyo-philes find it hard to accept facts from reviews etc which show/prove that there are infact other cars around which [shock horror] are better than their beloved Toyotas/Lexii
But over the weekend I got on a few topics and made the same repetative comments as to how the rising fuelprices will affect Toytoas sales and the popularity of 4×4s – mainly Landcruiser and Prado which are the most popul;ar in Oz
This also infuriated Tomas who asked me to refrain from just getting on here and spruiking my supposedly narrow minded “anti toyota rhetoric” .Yet I did it for no other reason than to see how the Toyo-Philes liked it when the shoe was on the other foot.
Judging by his reaction they dont particularly like that either
“Now tell me why you’d buy the 320i over the IS250?”
Resale.
“Besides the 1 series in general, is a girls/womens car according to the European car sites.”
And what do you think the general consensus is amongst Aussies about Commie and Toyota drivers?
Bill if you think the epitome of in house motor tuners sounds like a girls car you must be driving a door slammer!
Lower revving you said it, and 1 litre more than the M3,not to mention it needs to go on a diet to match the M3s power to weight! M3 chassis pffffffttt, nothing comes close!
Give me a break………….if there wasn’t M3 the Lexus IS-F wouldn’t exist !Typical Toyota trying to gain more performance luxury ownership,thing is their not ahead of BMW,MERC OR Audi……..TOYOTA THE FOLLOWERS!
Will we go on cause I havent started yet!
Funny that when we discuss our local manufactures the Toyota camp come out in full all 4 of them………hahaha
Then when we discuss the epitome of in house performance manufactures the Lexus supporters come out to defend the follower Lexus!
Get over it,get used to chasing the innovators!
Wheelnut…………I guess the rest of us Ford fairies will have to continue to protect this site from Toyota and Lexus extremists.
Your a Holden supporter that drives a Subaru and I’m a Ford supporter that drives a BMW……seems we’re not extremists that have anything to prove but the truth!
What we do agree on is that Toyota and Lexus are not what they try to exhume as Burt worked out today when he found out Lexus have recalled cars here!Do we get an apology? NO!
Bill and what did 5th gear say? Tiff is a BMW fan and would still prefer a M3!
Jason show me where Lexus is matching performance and better quality………..sick of you Lexus supporters ranting on with your own opinions not fact!
Is there any truth to the claim that Lexus utilise the Camry platform?
You talk pure garbage bavarian missile we are talking basic daily drive cars here i have a IS250 sport and a lot of my wealthy clients have them also if we want cars to handle and fly we have a whole garage full of race cars to fly around on my race days i want a car that i enjoy on the road and listen to the brillant mark levenson system while im in city trafic so go back and drive your dinki toy yes i had bmw and its been in bmws workshop for faulty parts 5 times in 6 months which i got rid of it for the lexus and yes i can afford any car i disire but my race cars are my passion.
Well Chappy how do I talk garbage? If you think an M3 and an IS-F is a every day driver then I want your pay packet!hahaha
Realcars……why not, the rest of these guys are just providing their own opinions lets say yes!
Top Gear Time………..let look out for Lexus on the COOL WALL!
Wheres my prove? I guess when you can speak English Ill come back to you…..in the interim the Aston DBS is still s e x y……………Astons my dream car,reliability? Crap I don’t care or do other buyers waiting 5 years for an Aston why? cause we’re car enthusiasts not survey lovers!Jason get some passion!
On that note its good night from me and good night from him!
I think that these surveys should actually expand on what sort of problems the cars have instead of just saying X brand is more reliable than Y brand. At least then it will shutup the tools who think that having your car higher up on the list means that its less likely to break down.
Jason, Chappy, Burt you guys are waisting your time with these ignorant bogans…
It’s time CAR ADVICE cleaned up this site, and deleted their one eyed rhetoric. If they are such self proclaimed car enthusiasts, why do they spend so much time on here??
A real car enthusiasts goes for a drive, just for the sake of it!! But these guys don’t. Bavarian’s missiles 10 year old m3 is probably out of action anyway!!
And the rest of the losers, are to afraid to say what they drive!!
I asked for proof Jason!
The IS-F doesn’t match the M3 what else can I say but Google your proof if you don’t believe me!!
Lexus address a market for Lexus not taking away the prestige crown off the number 1 in house car tuner…………..simple as that! Catchup for Lexus to Merc and Audi before you think you can over take over Motorsport baby!
Tomas you have seen my BMW M3 one of only 3 in the country so stop waffling on! Seems to me you Toyota drivers are afraid of bogans at the end of the day no matter what they drive,grow up Tomas!
You live in the same City as me so I cant wait to line you up in Perth one day,you go to the drags,more than happy in your what…..Prado STOP pretending to be a performance car driver cause so far today all Ive seen from Toyota and Lexus owners is what? Im going to get a…. and you cant beat Lexus!hehehe
You guys have no idea what fast is! Ever driven 702 hp? Nope didn’t think so! Lexus wouldn’t do it,and Toyota would charge you too much,me, simple as a 671 on an old pushrod 351 Cleveland in a XA GT Coupe!You ever twisted a tail shaft from burnouts? Nope thought so!
Blokes like you hate being nailed by chics don’t you? Car enthusiasts……..hahahaha yep right!
You know what BM? I agree with you. BMW is a great, fun, sporty brand and Lexus is boring, reliable and bland but its very hard to agree when you just keep ranting on the way you do. And Thomas79 – everytime someone on this website says what they have someone says yeah right and an argument starts! I, like Chappy, could have any car I desired and I have a garage full but if I said what any of them were, someone would say that If I had that sort of money I wouldnt be sitting on a computer forum!
One thing im curious about is why so many people think the IS is better looking than the 3 series. Im not saying the 3 series is a beautiful swan but the Is looks good from the back and front but they dont match each other. The back is boxy and practical but the front is sporty and coupe-ish. They just dont go. At least the 3 series is consistent.
Bavarian Missile, when the f**k did i say , or pretend to be a performances car driver??? And when did i say i was a toyota lover??!! I do drive a Toyota prado, but thats after considering every other car in it’s class, and i got it, even thoguh i had to wait well over 6 months for the delivery!!
Also to car enthusiasms, there is much more then just going fast on a straight!!! But i guess thats way above your bogan mind set!!
And as one of 3 M3 in Australia, don’t make me laugh!!! what was so special about??
Anyway, I hope one day you win the loto or something, and will be able to afford a brand new lexus!! then you will be able to know, what driving pleasure and luxury is about!!
Anyway I’m off to a site, so Bogans dont bother me!!
well bavarian missile it seems there is more than 4 supporters who think you are WRONG! CAN YOU SAY THAT WRONG! so now your a drag racer as well how do you find the time to do all these things when you live on caradvise rubbishing everyone who does not drive a 10 year old 3 series bmw (remember a lot were made in africa) your w**ker mate realcars gee i would love to know what he drives if anything, maybe he drives a top fuel car with you over in perth! you pair make us all laugh with your garbage! you are not the only one with an opinion on this site remember that!!!!!!!!!!!
and the aurion drag car has 1800hp it is owned by tony wedlock it has run 6.4 sec qtr mile and is powered by a toyota supra 2jz 3.2 litre 6 cyl!
People like Bavarian Missile are the ones who make BMW, Benz & Audi can charge top dollar for their entry model piece of sh1t. Stubborn fanatic. They always think BMW is better than lexus no matter what happen. well, it’s up to them if they want to be ripped off.