Team-BHP - The ugly grilles of the new BMW M3 and M4

My first reaction when i saw the M3 and M4 was "why BMW.... WHYYYYYYYY???"

But as i see more and more of it, it seems to grow on me and maybe that shock is turning into acceptance.

If we talk about % area coverage it remains lower than its competition. Its just the kidney grille design that makes it look so ginormous.

On the M4 it looks better than the M3.

I completely loved Chris Bangle's bimmers in their day

I saw both the new M4 and M3 on the road last Friday. They look Normal and Okay to the eye. Of course, those Grilles demands attention. I did not like the grilles personally but on-road they look okay, of course not great as their predecessor.

I might be the only one to say this - but I didn't find these grilles too bad. Look quite aggressive overall with the philosophy of the car.

And especially with their recent large kidneys over last couple of years infused with chrome - these actually look better with at least sharp edges and cuts. Shouldn't be too hard to get used to them.

That's one of the ugliest grilles on a beauty. This comes from the brand that designed the M3 E46 which is a beautiful and smart looking car. A smaller grille would do wonders to this otherwise brilliantly designed car.

Looks like they wanted a radical design which is pretty much in your face. What they do not realise is that the owner will have to live with that face. And the saying 'If you don't look back at your car while walking away, you have the wrong Car' will hold true!

Especially when one of the competitors is the Beautiful Alf Romeo Giulia GTA-m

I am left wondering.. what sort of market research or customer study goes before finalizing the car design. Why do manufacturers feel that grill getting larger and larger is an evolution ? Happens will almost all manufactures these days !

Agree with most of you, this grill, at best will become an acquired taste / compromise due to the rest of the car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charanreddy (Post 4897756)

I am left wondering.. what sort of market research or customer study goes before finalizing the car design.

Market research is overrated. If you had asked customer what they wanted, before the iPhone was announced, in their ideal phone they would said gps, 3.5mm jack, long stand by time, mp3 player and perhaps a few gigs of memory. I did not like the grille's myself but I am warming up to them the more i see them. See how i said them and not it. The two grille's are so big now that I couldn't address it as 'it'.

Umm....am I the only one who likes them? I like them, really really a lot. Damn! They have so much character. The way the contrast with the swept headlights assembly and merge into those bonnet lines gives them an angularity. And I think the 3 looks better than the 4, because of a more pronounced contrast.

What in the name of Odin is THAT!

BMW....Come on man... Don't make ugly fast cars...please don't do it.
On a serious note, I think the grilles won't look THAT BAD if the number plate didn't break the uniformity of the design. Kind of like Alfa Romeo, if one has to draw a mental picture.

Still. I hope BMW learns it's lesson from the market.

I'm primarily a biker. I've known the E93/ M3/ M3 GTR from the famous video game, the 2005 Need for Speed: Most Wanted... where it was set in the legendary 2001~ times when Porsche was forced to get it banned from the track to beat it.

I find the front grill not too better than before lookwise, but now I find its more purpose built.

A high revving, high compression car can really use those huge grills. But forget that for a moment.
I actually find it more sharper and aggressive then before... Don't we expect racy machines to look like that?

Many a time, I found myself looking at BMW cars wondering if they're the M3, because of the kidney grills up front, only to know that they're some far cheaper 3 series or something.

This grill will give it an identity. Like S1000RR got with its asymmetric headlamps.

I have a funny story on this.

I show car photos/videos on TV to my 2 and half year old boy, and he has picked up most names. He is particularly fond of BMWs and so far identifies the models X3, GT and 5 (he confuses 3 and 5) as they are in our society's parking lot. He asks me to show photos/ videos of BMW cars. The new M3 came on my Youtube suggestion and just made a passing comment 'Eee ye kitni gandi hai' (eew, it looks so bad). He picked up that line and yesterday fried my brains asking 'Baba, gandi BMW dikhao '. I was not able to understand which BMW he is talking about and he too got frustrated. Then his mom reminded me that you were showing some new car to him and said its ugly looking. Then it struck me : the new M3 is the gandi BMW for him :D

But to be honest, I liked how the competition versions look without any chrome. Sure, they are unlike any of the old BMWs, its just something we probably need to adapt.

Unpopular opinion but I kind of like this grille. It is definitively not as attractive as the previous generations but I don't find it ugly.

I absolutely detested the one on the X7 and the new 7 series, but I think this one fits in much better.

I too don't mind the new grille, at least it has given the M3 some newness. Otherwise both the M3 and M5s were kind of looking the same since the E90 M3/ F10 M5 came out.

Though for me, the E46 M3 CSL will always be the best!