BMW’s Neue Klasse iX3 debuts later this year, bringing new technology and a novel design language that’ll inform the look of every BMW for the next decade. The iX3 will also deliver a radically new interior treatment for the brand, one we’ve seen glimpses of through the lens of recent concept cars.
But will it be the best interior BMW has ever made? From a tech standpoint, there’s no doubt it will. But what about its appeal to the eye, its usability? And if the NK cabin isn’t the best interior BMW has produced, then what is?
Related: BMW’s Panoramic iDrive Brings Pillar-To-Pillar Display To Future Models, Eliminates Knob
BMW has been making cars since the 1920s, but the brand we know to day really dates from 1960s and the launch of the original, game-changing Neue Klasse sedans, so that’s where we’ll start our story.
1960s: Laying the Foundation
Early sedans had instruments set into a dashboard that stretched across the car, but by the end of the decade they’d adopted something closer to the 2000C coupe’s setup. Compared with the coupe, though, the 1800 and 2000 sedans got a slightly smaller instrument pod and lower dash-top on the passenger side. Even six decades later it looks eerily familiar, don’t you think?
1970s: The Driver Takes Center Stage
BMW’s Neue Klasse machines, including the 2000 and 2002, helped it carve out a reputation as a maker of drivers’ cars, and as the 1970s progressed, the brand’s interiors started to reflect that the driver was the most important person up-front. Compare these pictures of the E12 5-series introduced in 1972 (top image) and the E21 3-series that landed three years later. The Five’s console is square to the dash and as accessible to anyone riding shotgun as it is to the driver, but the Three’s upper console is angled sharply towards the driver, almost shutting the passenger out.
1980s: Refinement and Familiarity
The angled console theme continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s when BMW produced some of its best loved interiors. The dashboards in the E30 3-Series (above) E34, 5-Series and E-32 7-Series still look surprisingly modern, their subtle rolled edges making the ambience less industrial than on the older E21 and E28 3- and 5-series models.
1990s: Peak Analog BMW?
BMW tried something a little different with the E36 3-Series (top picture), but most fans agree that its E46 successor (middle image), which returned to more familiar territory at the tail end of the 1990s using lessons learned from the E39 5-Series, was superior. Some even believe the E46 dash setup is the best the German brand has ever made, and a final great bit of design before screens and iDrive changed everything.
The late 1990s also gave us one of BMW’s most distinctive ever interiors in the Z8. Like the exterior design, the look of the cabin was inspired by 1950s sports cars, and in particular BMW’s own V8-powered 507. Well, that’s the theory. The 507’s clocks were actually in front of the driver, and the wheel looks more like a Triumph or an Austin Healey one, but who cares when the result is this fun?
2000s: Enter the iDrive Era
From the 1950s to the 2050s, or at least that’s what it felt like when BMW revealed the 2002 E65 7-Series and its iDrive controller. And boy, was the future complicated to operate. That early iDrive system and rotary wheel combo was a confusing mess compared with the polished, simplified rotary wheel setup it became within a few years and that BMW is busy phasing out today.
The interiors of this era often looked kind of stark and just plain ugly on cheaper 5-Series models with the small screen and huge cowl. And the new electronic gearshifter joystick that arrived with the 2007 E70 X5 and was soon rolled out to other models was considered a backward step by some. Well, me, certainly. But the dials were always beautifully clear and the rotary climate control dials were much more user-friendly than today’s in-screen buttons. The 2000s also introduced us to tech like a head-up display. We’ll be seeing more of that later.
2010s: Screens Take Over
By the mid 2010s, infotainment screens had climbed out of the console and were now mounted on top of the dashboard on most models. There was even something vaguely retro about the F30 3-series’ layout, the console once again being angled towards the driver. Touchscreen tech finally arrived at the tail end of the decade (and proved more useful than the hand-twirling gesture control), but BMW decided not to axe the iDrive rotary controller… for now. The controller even had a touchpad on some models for handwriting recognition, though it wasn’t much good for left-handed drivers in a left-hand drive car and vice versa.
Related: Physical Controls Are Back Because Drivers Are Sick Of Endless Touchscreen Menus
The dashboard forms were for the most part very conservative during this era, though that did at least make the interiors and controls intuitive. But BMW did let its hair down with the i8 (top picture) hybrid sports car and even more so with the i3, whose dashboard layout, freestanding digital instrument cluster and use of recycled materials mean it still looks modern more than a decade from launch.
2020s: The Digital Revolution
Mainstream BMW models never inherited the i3’s interior design, but they did get a radical overhaul starting in 2021 when iDrive 8.0 appeared on the new electric iX. Inside the SUV, drivers were met with a huge curved display that fused the gauge pack and center touchscreen under one pane of glass, and the console was home to a crystal iDrive wheel.
The widescreen tech was gradually adopted by more models either during facelifts or replacements, and when the new G70 7-series got it for 2023, BMW ensured rear passengers didn’t miss out on the digital fun. Both rear armrests on the current Seven feature iPhone-shaped touchscreen panels and a huge 31-inch 8K monitor that hangs from the roof is available as an option.
2026 and Beyond: A Neue Klasse Screen Like No Other
That’s where we are now, but we already know where we’re going, and it’s wild. The 2026 Neue Klasse iX3 launching this fall will debut something called Panoramic iDrive, which BMW previewed at this January’s CES in Las Vegas. Don’t bother looking for a traditional instrument cluster because there isn’t one.
Instead, you get a massive head-up display panel that runs right across the base of the windshield that shows speed and range, plus a ton of other info that can be customized or muted. That’s paired with a more familiar tablet touchscreen perched on the dash, but no iDrive controller this time. BMW has called time on the wheel, claiming that data shows most people prefer to touch these days.
We haven’t got the space here to cover every single BMW model made since 1962, but there’s enough of a flavor here to get you thinking about your favorite era or model when it comes to interior design.
SadisticRabit, whose Reddit post inspired this story, claims his F07 5-Series Gran Turismo represents the peak of BMW interior design, although we think that’s a stretch. We’re still a sucker for the E46 M3’s interior (below), but leave a comment and let us know your favorite and whether you think Panoramic iDrive is a step in the right direction.
All images: BMW