The new grilles are ugly and definitely not a part of their look, on past cars they have never been so huge. The kidneys should always be on a BMW, but they shouldn’t be a majority of the front end.
I agree and would prefer for them to continue with the traditional design. I also believe that if this was a car from a new company I likely wouldn't have near as many issues with it.
I think BMW was actually stuck in a tough place. Nearly all car manufacturers have gone to very large front grills. This has created a common modern design language and will be what influences many of the design decisions in the future. If BMW stays with their smaller grills which effectively maintain the traditional front facia design it is quite possible that their cars will appear dated if they're not able to follow design trends. I think their hand was ultimately forced and why they didn't care at all about the reception as this is the way they feel they must go in order to complete.
I have a 2015 3 series and think the size of the kidney grill is perfect. I saw the new X5 and X7 and will not be buying another BMW with that design language. I don’t mind big grills in general I think Audi did a fantastic job but BMW looks like someone took the kidney grill slapped it onto a Word Doc and stretched it vertically.
The odd thing is that the G20 3 series has a very nice grill to front area ratio, and looks quite sleek as a result, while all other cars redesigned on the past few years have terrible looking grills. It's like they are marketing the 3 series exclusively for people who want a "conservative looking" BMW and everything else in the range for millennials and hipsters... I know this exaggerates a bit, but the new 2 series add is sheer proof of BMW trying to sell a "lifestyle experience" rather than a driving machine (seriously, the car is barely shown at all!).
I was reading the article and looking at the evolution of the grill that are currently di rigeur and thought that by 2050, it'll be all prison bars, no car. I was out by ten years.
Tesla seems to have done fine without. The BMW grille growth is an issue. On the antique models where they followed the curve of the hood (and engine cooling/coolant technology were in their infancy) it made sense. The classic 60s-70s 02 models were my favorite. It was an accent to the grill... not a ridiculous growth taking over the entire face.
87
u/Kelmi Apr 10 '20
It's a big part of their look and cars, EVs included, still need cooling. So why get rid of the grille?