Which BMW model or ERA has the best interior design?

BMW’s Neue Klasse IX3 will debut later this year, bringing new technology and a novel design language that will inform the appearance of each BMW over the next decade. The IX3 will also offer the brand a thorough new interior treatment, and we’ve seen a glimpse through the recent concept car lens.

But is this the best interior BMW has ever had? From a technical point of view, there is no doubt. But what about its attraction and usability to the eyes? And, if the NK cabin isn’t BMW’s best interior room, what is that?

Related: BMW’s Panoramic iDrive brings column-to-column display to future models, eliminating knobs

BMW has been making cars since the 1920s, but the brands we know do date back to the 1960s and launched the original, game-changing Neue Klasse sedan, so we’ll start our story here.

The 1960s: Laying the foundation

Early sedans set the instrument on the dashboard, which stretched to the car, but by the end of the decade they adopted something closer to the 2000c Coupe setup. However, the 1800 and 2000 sedans have a slightly smaller instrument pod and lower dash on the passenger side compared to the coupe. Even if sixty years later, it looks familiar, don’t you think?

1970s: Drivers are at the center stage

BMW’s Neue Klasse machine, including those from 2000 and 2002, helped it gain the reputation of driver automakers, and as the 1970s evolved, the brand’s interior design began to reflect that drivers were the most important people. Compare these images (top image) from the E12 5 series launched in 1972 with the E21 3 series that landed three years later. The five-pole console is a square of the dashboard that can be used by anyone riding a shotgun and a driver, but the three upper upper consoles tilted sharply with the driver, almost keeping passengers out.

1980s: Improvement and familiarity

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, BMW created some of its favorite interiors. The dashboards in the E30 3 Series (pictured above) The E34, 5 Series and E-32 7 Series are still surprisingly modern, with their subtle edges giving the atmosphere less industrial scope than the older E21 and E28 3 and 5 Series models.

1990s: Peak simulates BMW?

BMW tried something different on the E36 3 Series (top image), but most fans think its E46 successor (middle image) returns to more familiar territory using lessons learned from the E39 5 Series, which is superior. Some even think the E46 DASH setup is the best ever for the German brand and the final design changes before the screen and Idrive changed everything.

The late 1990s also gave us one of the most unique interiors BMW has ever produced in the Z8. Like the exterior design, the cabin looks inspired by sports cars of the 1950s, especially BMW’s own V8-driven 507. Well, that’s the theory. In fact, the 507 clock actually looks more like a win or Austin Healey in front of the driver, but who cares when the result will be interesting?

2000s: The IDrive era

From the 1950s to the 2050s, or at least that’s how BMW feels when it reveals the 2002 E65 7 Series and its iDrive controllers. And boys, the future of operations is complicated. Compared to polished, simplified rotary wheel setups, the early iDrive system and rotary wheel combination became confusing within a few years, and BMW is busy with phase-out today.

The interior of this era usually looks a little bit brighter and is ugly on the cheaper 5 Series model with a small screen and huge denim. There is also the new electronic gear quick joystick that arrived in the 2007 E70 X5 and soon launched it in other models, which some consider to be a step backwards. OK, of course I. But the dial is always clear, and the rotating climate-controlled dial is more user-friendly than the buttons on the screen today. The 2000s also introduced us to technology like head display. We’ll see more later.

2010s: Screen Takeover

By the mid-2010s, infotainment screens had crawled out of the console and are now installed on the dashboard on most models. There’s even some vague retro about the F30 3 Series layout, the console is tilted with the driver again. Touch screen technology has finally reached the end of the tail for a decade (it turns out to be more useful than manual rotation gesture control), but BMW has now decided not to rotate the rotary controller with an axe…for now. The controller even has a touchpad on some models of handwriting recognition boards, although this is not good for left-handed drivers in left-handed cars and vice versa.

Related: Body Control is Back Again As Drivers Tired of Endless Touch Screen Menu

In this era, the dashboard form is very conservative in most cases, although this at least makes internal and control intuitive. But BMW does put down hair with the i8 (top picture) hybrid sports car, and the i3’s dash layout, standalone digital instrument cluster, and the i3 using recyclable materials, meaning it still looks modern for more than a decade of launch.

2020s: Digital Revolution

Mainstream BMW models never inherit the I3’s interior design, but when Idrive 8.0 appears on the new electric IX, they did have a thorough overhaul from 2021. Inside the SUV, the driver encountered a huge curved display that fuses the gauge bag and the central touch screen under a glass pane, and the console is home to the crystal liquid wheel.

Widescreen technology is gradually being adopted by more models during the makeover or replacement process, and when the new G70 7 series gets 2023, BMW ensures that passengers don’t miss digital fun afterwards. The current seven-function iPhone touchscreen panels have two rear armrests and a huge 31-inch 8K monitor hanging from the roof are all available as an option.

2026 and beyond: Neue Klasse screens are unique

That’s where we are now, but we already know where we are going and it’s crazy. The 2026 Neue Klasse IX3 launch will debut this fall, and it will be previewed at CES in Las Vegas in January, with BMW making its debut this fall. Don’t bother looking for traditional dashboards, because there isn’t one.

Instead, you get a large overhead display panel that runs on the bottom of the windshield, displays speed and range, and a lot of other information that can be customized or muted. This pairs with the more familiar tablet touch screen painted on the dashboard, but this time there is no iDrive controller. BMW calls time on the steering wheel, claiming that data shows that most people like touching these days.

We haven’t covered all BMW models here since 1962, but there’s enough flavor here to let you think about the times or models you like when designing your interiors.

Sadisticrabit’s Reddit post inspired the story, claiming that his F07 5 series Gran Turismo represents the peak of BMW interior design, although we think it’s a stretch. We’re still the suction cups for the E46 M3 inside (bottom), but leave a comment and let us know your favorites and whether you think the Panoramic iDrive is a step in the right direction.

All images: BMW