The BMW 3 Series recently received a mid-cycle refresh, or “LCI” in BMW-speak. With that LCI came new grilles, new headlights, some updated air intakes, and some new interior bits. With the M Sport package, the newly facelifted 3er looks sportier than any other G20-gen 3 Series. If you want to see what it looks like in person, there’s a BMW M340i Touring LCI with an M Sport package in a German dealership already and we have some live photos for you.

Thanks to its Alpine White paint, the M Sport package’s black accents really pop on this M340i Touring. The grille surround is gloss black too and it looks great. I like how BMW incorporated the active grille shutters behind the new grille insert, which gives it some visual depth. Although, I think it would have been better to use the 2 Series’ design, which has the active shutters double as the grille slats, which is cooler.

Out back, there’s a new pseudo-diffuser, which is really just a black plastic panel in between the trapezoidal exhaust pipes. It barely even looks like a real diffuser and it’s honestly painful to look at. BMW is far from the only brand using faux diffusers and it’s a trend that needs to stop as soon as humanly possible. It’s horrific. However, it’s really the only bad looking part of the car.

iDrive 8 and Large Curved Display

Inside, the new 3 Series LCI gets the same infotainment layout as the BMW i4. That means it gets the same dual-screen iDrive setup, with iDrive 8 on the main screen and an all-new digital gauge cluster in front of the driver. It also gets the new toggle-switch gear selector, instead of the usual electronic lever. While the screens themselves are far better than the previous iDrive 7 screens, it’s still incredibly frustrating that BMW moved the climate controls solely to the iDrive screen. Not only is it more annoying to use, it’s dangerous to use while driving.

Overall, though, the BMW M340i Touring looks good in LCI form and it’s helped by its M Sport package. If you’re thinking of buying one, these photos will help you understand what it looks like in person.

[Source: BimmerToday]