Based on its 3-Series compact wagon but taking styling cues from the BMW X3, the F3 looks like another sales hit from the meisters in Munich. Check out X3 photos and read the 3-series review.

Consumer Guide's Impressions of the 2010 BMW F3

With America going crazy for crossover SUVs, BMW is conjuring a sleek four-door hatchback based on its 3-Series compact wagon. With punchy six-cylinder engines and high functionality, F3 looks like another sales hit from the meisters in Munich.

What We Know About the 2010 BMW F3

BMW keeps defying today's troubled market, racking up higher sales while other automakers stumble. Credit a continuing flow of gotta-have products and brand cachet built on quality, high resale value, and "engineered for the Autobahn" performance. That's why the Munich-based company can afford to keep spinning out model variations, such as the X3 compact SUV.

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• All BMW X3 Reviews

Now BMW is prepping a different 3-Series-based SUV, a high-style crossover that's almost sure to be called F3--F as in "functionality". Think of it as an upscale BMW answer to the front-drive Mazda 5, only with conventional rear doors, six-cylinder engines instead of a four-banger, and a choice of rear drive or all-wheel drive. Because the program has just recently been approved, sources don't expect the F3 in showrooms until sometime in calendar 2010, perhaps as a 2011 model for the U.S.

However it's designated, the 2010 BMW F3 will combine the basic 3-Series chassis with a sleek new four-door hatchback body with two-row seating for five. European sources expect a sleek "one box" shape, with a stubby nose ahead of a large, steeply angled windshield and a roofline gently tapered to a stubby liftgate tail. Wheels are pushed right to the corners to leave maximum interior space within overall length and width that should approximate 3-Series wagon and X3 dimensions. F3 should stand taller than the wagon but lower than the SUV, with car-normal ride height despite likely availability of BMW's all-wheel xDrive system--and the inevitable max-bling wheels.

For more inside information on hundreds of new cars of today and tomorrow, check out:

• 2009 BMW X3 Review and Photos
• 2009 Consumer Guide Best Buy and Recommended Award Winners: Check out which cars won our Best Buy and Recommended awards for 2009.
• Future Cars: Step into the automotive showroom of tomorrow with reviews, analysis, pictures, prices, and preliminary specifications on scores of vehicles that will be appearing next year and beyond.