BMW introduced a mid-life cycle refresh for the whole 3-Series range in 2008 and improved the station wagon version named Sports Wagon in North America or Touring in Europe.
The German carmaker had to improve its cars to fit into the Euro 5a emission standards. Since it had to refresh the engines, it added other modifications to the car’s exterior and interior. Worth mentioning that the 3-Series was the best-selling BMW model globally.

At the front, the main difference was on the company’s “kidney” grille design, which featured rounded interior edges instead of the clear-cut style used before. BMW also included the grille’s chromed top rim in the front fascia, not on the hood as it was on the pre-facelifted version. The lower bumper area received a smiling cut instead of the straight one. Further modifications followed in the rear, where the new LED taillights featured smaller reversing lights.

Inside, the most visible change was for the automatic transmission selector. On the 2008 model, BMW adopted the joy-stick system used on the bigger brother 5-Series instead of the classic, linear style with a side gate for the manual mode. The 40/20/40 split-folding bench in the rear allowed the trunk to increase its size from 460 liters (16.2 cu-ft) to 1,385 liters (48.9 cu-ft)

Under the hood, the German carmaker offered a vast engine choice and started it with a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated gasoline unit that provided 136 hp, seven more than its predecessor. For turbo-diesel versions, BMW introduced a fuel-efficient 115 hp unit paired with a 6-speed manual. The carmaker renamed the all-wheel-drive versions as xDrive instead of xD or xI as before.