Interior Features

Interior Features

General
The interior of the E46 has been completely redesigned with an emphasis on more space, luxury and convenience without compromising the 3 series sporty characteristics. The overall increase in length of 1.5 inches and increase in wheel base of 1.0 inch has added to the interior room for passenger comfort.

The new instrument panel/dash is similar in design to the E39 with a slightly less pronounced orientation to the driver. The E38/E39 type face vent grilles are used for air distribution The multi-function steering wheel is standard equipment on both the 323 and 328 models. There are two different steering wheels available. The four spoke wheel from the E38/E39 design and a new three spoke sport wheel. The MFL includes the controls for the audio system on the left and the cruise control on the right.

The E46 comes equipped with a manually adjustable (tilt/telescopic) steering column. There is 30 mm of vertical and horizontal adjustment for the steering column.

Display for driver information is located in the instrument cluster. The secondary display in the console consists of the audio system and climate control panel.

Two different radios will be available at the start of production. One with the integrated tape player and the other radio incorporating a single in dash CD player.

Accessory switches are located in the console below the heater control panel. These include the ASC switch and the heated seat switches.

A new design (push to open/pull up to close) window switches are located in the center console on either side of the gear shift lever. The power window circuits include the one-touch and anti-trap features.