[TusharK]

BMW really wants us to like their new designs. Case in point is the latest commercial for the new iX electric SUV.



BMW has come under a lot of criticism for its polarizing designs in recent times. It all started with the 7 Series and X7, when BMW first introduced the oversize grille. Fans weren't too happy when they saw the new M3 and M4 either.

Now, even the all-electric iX gets a disproportionate grille and fans are not holding back to voice their opinions on social media. In response, BMW has released a media campaign in a bid to silence its critics.

The video titled "What's your reason not to change?", features actual quotes from social media. Rebutting each and every one of them, the narrator asks if we have started to feel uncomfortable with the unknown or have we just stopped being open for anything new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XHr98Foq-w

Link to Team-BHP News

[GrandTourer]

If only they would make the grilles look better! The rear and side profiles of the car are actually really smart and exciting. The problem is also not the size of the grille, but the design of it. I mean there are so many other cars which have huuuge grilles, but they look good with the car's overall design. Cases in point -

• Audi A8
• Audi Q7
• Lexus ES (Okay it's polarizing, but not as much as BMW)
• New Innova
• Aston Martin DBS (IMO it's one of the best looking supercar)

You want big grilles, make big grilles that look good on your cars, instead of justifying the look in a commercial.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

To make matters even worse, BMW is engaging against their own fanbase on social media as well! (Source)

Originally Posted by GrandTourer

If only they would make the grilles look better! The rear and side profiles of the car are actually really smart and exciting.

I find iX to be the first car from BMW to look unappealing from all angles - front, rear and even interior!

[Holyghost]

What happened to BMW designers? Looks like quite a few have left Mahindra to join BMW design team.

[SreeT]

There's nothing new about the grille. Beavers have been sporting that look for millions of years.

[HKap]

The iX looks ugly. I'm amazed how the same company can simultaneously come up with an absolute gem in the i4 and an ugly duckling like the iX. I really wish they use the i4 as a reference design for their electric car lineup. In fact the iX3 looks much better(it is theX3 with a battery). Just put a more powerful motor and a bigger battery in the iX3 and don't bother with the iX.

[Big Smoke]

I find it so amusing that BMW managed to make a super ugly grill in a car that doesn't even need to have a grill!

In fact, they managed to make the whole car super ugly.

[Abhi5868]

Seems like Peter Pettigrew was the chief designer

[DicKy]

"Ok boomer"

These were the words that I read first, even before reading on to see what happened, or was even aware of the launch of the iX.

Impression. Negative.

Though I would be under the 'millenial' tag, when someone says (or rather types) "Ok boomer", just want to reach out and slap the entitled young prick.

And now we have BMW saying it to their target market.
Pretty sure their social media handler is a cappuccino sipping one who would rather uber than drive to work.

Guess, BMW is confident that this is just another Chris Bangle design episode, where the disruption will lead to success.
Well, BMW; there is a difference between deviating from established design for adventurous ones VS aesthetically ugly ones.
The iX comes under the latter.

Personally am able to see and get used to weird new designs. Appreciate even. The infamous ugly ones. Aztek, Multipla, 1st gen Rodius. Like them all.
Maybe not the Aura's rear end, but after getting used to the new Creta, can appreciate their attempt at a miniature Genesis influence.

The iX, on the other hand doesn't even look proper from most angles. The i3 was weird, because it was intended to.
The iX looks just like an ugly crossover.
Usually I dig flat bottomed steering wheels. Here, it is so messed up, it looks like a rendering from an old video game.
Have to agree to one of the comments they used.
"Looks like a low budget 80s sci-fi"

Their hostile over reaction itself is a sign, they know they are pushing too far.

Edit : Compare this to Merc's classy ad for the EQC with the Weeknd

[procrastinator]

This EV has one of the largest grill amongst all the BMWs

Funnily, it’s EV and doesn’t need one, at least here.

It seems BMW wants to grow — but it is growing wrong things.

[klgiridhar]

Is this the same company which gave us cars like the i8? Some designs take time to grow on us but when a company treads along a path where it loses its soul completely and at the same time, disputes with its disappointed (for all the right reasons) fanbase, it won't take long for people to start abandoning them.

It is the customer who is the king, not the company. What's more surprising is them questioning the people, "aren't you ready for change?", trying to shove those ugly designs down our throats.

People will just say, keep your incredible designs and embrace the change yourself & move on, if they continue like this

[dragracer567]

To be honest though, I saw a 4 series on the road here in Dubai and the grill doesn't actually seem that bad in the flesh (since the number plate reduces the mass of the grill). The same was the case with the 7 series and the X7.

Now, I am sincerely hoping that's the case with the iX EV as well since when I first saw its picture (the tan one), I couldn't wrap my mind around how hideous it looked (same with the 4 series as well)! The red one looks quite a bit better though I don't know why. So, lets just wait till we see the car on the road.

Moreover, I don't understand why European brands are being so aggressive these days, first with Skoda in India and now BMW!

[ZenMaster]

The only other current car that looks this disproportionate is the MG Hector.
The front is overdone with a headlamp design that looks OK but nothing like a BMW and a weirdly shaped kidney "grill". One might get adjusted to the size, but the shape just doesn't gel with the rest of the car. It just looks like they designed the car and the grill separately and then just slapped it on the front at the end.

The side profile reminds of MGHector. Same is the case with the oversized boot with the integrated rear light. This design has never worked for me on anything except the Audi Q8 SUV.

The rear portion just looks so heavy. If I have a single word to describe the the car's looks, its "OBESE".

Its looks like someone who is obese and tired and just want to sit on a sofa watching TV rather than going places.

[loki]

Seems like everyone is trying to follow Hyundai these days. Make weird designs for a few years, and then let the regular designs make a comeback as new models 4 to 5 years later.

Something to keep the design game moving. The issue with having a signature kidney grille is that BMW seems to have exhausted all possible variations and shapes. The only option left was to make them in XXXL size and weirder. Maybe the regular kidneys will come back after a few years...

[Kosfactor]

A design that reminds me of the greatest automotive failure perhaps, Edsel.



Some called it a toilet seat grill.