If there’s one thing that you can say about the styling of BMW cars, it’s that it doesn’t follow popular trends. Instead, it sets its own standards. From Chris Bangle to current design chief Adrian van Hooydonk, the German carmaker has stubbornly shown that it’s not out to please people nor satisfy their conventional concept of beauty.
In 2020, when I first laid eyes on the latest 4-Series Coupe and its gaping kidney grille, I thought it was a one-off experiment. However, in spite of the jokes and the mostly negative critique, BMW has stuck to its guns. The Munich-based company isn’t kidding about its new design language: Either appreciate it or shut up.
I will not deny that I was initially underwhelmed by photographs of the all-new 7-Series full-size luxury sedan. My early verdict was: Who’s going to buy this monstrosity?
But seeing the car in the metal and up close during its official launch last Monday surprised me. Its appearance is not that bad, even including its controversially colossal maw up front. In fact, it grows on you the longer you stare at it. Yes, maybe I was in a good mood after being fed an extravagant dinner, but no, the car really does look okay.
The reaction that the exterior design draws from you is one of admiration. This is about blazing a trail, not copying existing templates. The brand will bravely risk the disapproval from individuals who think they have refined tastes, but at least it will not lead its customers to a path of comical parody. In other words, BMW will not let you walk to a common-looking car in a parking lot populated by automotive lookalikes.
Now, before you accuse me of parroting some marketing literature to sell you this car — P8,990,000 for the 735i and P10,390,000 for the i7 xDrive60, if you care to know — allow me to also share with you my realization about real pulchritude. Outward beauty is just half the story. It sounds cliché, but it’s true: It’s what’s inside that counts.
Because this is a luxury car, it’s filled to the brim with all the technological features you can think of. Heck, you can even tell it to open the doors for you (literally and not just with a push of a button). It’s a piece of work that is capable of impressing Ramon S. Ang and his friends. Granted, RSA is the distributor of BMW in the Philippines (and soon, also of Ferrari). But this is a man, I think, who doesn’t waste his time on things that do not give him his money’s worth.
So, is the new-generation BMW 7-Series worth your hard-earned money if you take into consideration both its outer and inner beauty? You see, vehicles these days are becoming less reliable because of their tech features. The more electronic toys their manufacturers cram into them, the more gremlins they end up with.
In the 2023 JD Power US Vehicle Dependability Study released last month, many luxury brands received failing marks. The study ranked car brands based on the number of problems their products were plagued with. The industry average was 186 problems per 100 vehicles. Only four luxury brands passed: Lexus (133), Genesis (144), Cadillac (173), and BMW (184). Meanwhile, all other luxury marques flunked the survey: Infiniti (205), Porsche (208), Acura (211), Volvo (215), Jaguar (229), Mercedes-Benz (240), Audi (252), Lincoln (259), and Land Rover (273).
Read what you will with the results, but a car’s overall appearance depends significantly on its quality and reliability. A sedan with a ‘hideous’ mouth but fewer problems, or a competitor with an alluring countenance but more issues?
Let me know what your answer is.
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FILL YOUR TANK: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)