BMW’s do-it-all approach remains a stumbling block.

Competition makes a difference. It’s good for life, good for our economy, and in the auto industry, good for dry drivers. For the longest time, the BMW 3-Series was the gold standard; king of the hill; The best choice in the small luxury sedan segment. BMW’s small car is so competitive, so balanced in terms of refinement, cohesion, luxury and style, that it has dominated the segment for decades. The 3-Series is a dryer that appeals to everyone.

But competition – as always in life and in business – has caught up. Competitors began to exploit the 3-Series’ balanced approach, each excelling in a particular area. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is more luxurious and upscale, the Audi A4 adds segment-leading technology, and the Alfa Romeo Giulia, although new, is still better. And despite the advances in the 2020 BMW 3-Series, those rankings still stand. Long an asset, the 3’s do-it-all approach has now become a disadvantage.

But competition – as always in life and in business – has caught up. Competitors began to exploit the 3-Series’ balanced approach, each excelling in a particular area. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is more luxurious and upscale, the Audi A4 adds segment-leading technology, and the Alfa Romeo Giulia, although new, is still better. And despite the advances in the 2020 BMW 3-Series, those rankings still stand. Long an asset, the 3’s do-it-all approach has now become a disadvantage.

However, the new 3-Series, codenamed G20, is a radical departure from the last generation car, the F30. That was evident at the end of the road, when we sampled the 2020 3-Series in southern Portugal.

The new design, both inside and out, is a huge leap forward over last year’s car, even if it is significantly evolved. The 3-Series has the same expressive face as pioneered on the 5- and 7-Series, giving the Äase sedan a more spacious, sporty character. The profile features the BMW brand’s Hoffмeister kink at the rear of the greenhouse, but below the bodywork is a pleasing character line that extends up at the rear door and lines up with the cutout between the rear fender and the bar. Fenders. Slender, L-shaped horizontal taillights create a pleasant look from the rear.

Our main complaint, and it’s a minor one, is that the character line and taillights feel a bit off. There’s clearly a bit of a Lexus IS in its design, but the 3 is softer, less aggressive and easier on the eyes than the oʋer-styled Japanese sedan.

The Cain is a device that echoes the design of last year’s 3-Series. The C-Class’s standards are higher still but the design still works well. Designers raised the infotainment screen to the same height as the all-digital instrument cluster, making scanning from one device to another a breeze. Below the center screen are physical HVAC buttons, followed by reconfigured presets, while below is the storage compartment, its lid giving the impression that the center stack and dashboard create into a continuous block. The center console has a familiar BMW layout, with the gear lever sandwiched between the engine start button and driʋe mode control on the left, and the iDriʋe button and button on the right.