Sedans are a dying breed in America. Last year, cars of all kinds comprised only 21 percent of sales. That doesn’t bode well for one of our favorite vehicles—the sports sedan. Even at BMW, home of the sports sedan, cars represented just 34 percent of sales in 2022. Ten years earlier, they were 30 percentage points higher. And the 3-series, the car that we have long regarded as the core of the BMW brand, hasn’t been the sales leader since 2018. Either the X3 or the X5—or both of them—has outsold these compacts, even combined with the 4-series.

So it’s gratifying to see that BMW is still making a strong effort to keep these models up-to-date and competitive. For 2023, the 3-series, four years into its latest generation, has received its Life Cycle Impulse (LCI)—BMW-speak for a mid-cycle refresh.

The LCI models carry subtle aesthetic differences. The headlights are slimmer and simpler, with twin, inverted L-shaped daytime running lights in each light. The lower air intake appears larger due to a blacked-out upper portion, and the corner air inlets are simpler and clear. Mercifully, the 3-series has been spared the vertical-nostril look. The rear bumpers are now more sculpted, and the black exterior trim is now standard. The M340i also gets trapezoidal tailpipes and a standard, subtle rear spoiler. Overall, the new model retains excellent proportions and looks good.

Inside, the most obvious change is BMW’s Curved Display, which houses a 12.3-inch screen for the instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch touchscreen for the iDrive 8 infotainment system, the latest version on offer. That screen is a lot larger than the 10.3-inch one in the earlier 3-series, but it comes with a price.

Instead of a long strip of physical switches, the 13 HVAC buttons below the center register are now gone, as are the audio controls and radio presets. Now there’s just a single strip comprising two audio and two defroster buttons—and a welcomed volume knob. Turning on your seat heater requires a couple of actions to get to the right screen, or a voice command—either of which is slower and more cumbersome than simply pressing a hard switch.