The current BMW 3/4 Series is nearing the end of its life and a new model is on the way. So far, we have already seen spy shots of the new 3 Series sedan testing as well as its larger wagon sibling, which we hope will continue to be offered in the US. From what we have seen, the new 3 Series will share many design cues with the larger 5 Series sedan, but we haven't had a good look at the car's interior - until now.

This latest crop of spy shots from out eagle-eyed photographer includes several angles of the new 3 Series' interior. This week we also saw leaked images of the new Z4 sports car's interior and the 3 Series shares many of the same elements. The lower dashboard layout appears to be virtually identical to the Z4, with a new center-column starter button, a new electronic shifter, prominent drive mode buttons, and a revised iDrive controller. The 3 Series also features a digital cockpit, which looks to be similar to the one found in the Z4 and 8 Series.

By our estimation, the Z4 and 3 Series employ what will likely be the new BMW interior design language for its small vehicles. This is good news because we felt the current interior on the 4 Series Convertible we tested recently was getting very long in the tooth. BMW's new interior looks like a far better match for other compact luxury models such as the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class.