Hey! The new BMW 5-Series has been revealed, let’s have a quick-look at it.
Yes, the newest 5-Series has been revealed and it looks… not good.
It seems at this point BMW has two or three different design philosophies competing against one another. Perhaps BMW, as a global brand, is becoming like Ford; where they make cars all over the world that look completely unrelated. Perhaps BMWs intended for the USA and China will look completely different to those intended for the German market.
Yes, I am being flippant but it’s a serious point. BMW’s current line-up of cars is changing in some areas, and in others the changes are not happening at all. The result is a lack of cohesive design the brand over. On the one hand, you have the ‘small grille’ cars which includes the 1-Series and 2-Series, and then there are the vertical-grilled 3 and 4 Series. Then you have the, uh, divisive new 7-Series and X M.
The result is a real mix up, and the new 5-Series does not seem to slot conveniently into any previously-established camp. It has sort of small front grilles and actually seems very much too reminiscent of the current 1-Series. Perhaps there is some very clever psy-ops tier aspirational marketing going on. The front of the new 5-Series looks like the front of the current 1-Series – cue every 1-Series owner peering out from between their curtains and murmuring to themselves “must buy new 5-series…” before shaking their heads and wondering why the curtains are open, and that perhaps the lawn needs a mow.
And whilst BMW have always been quite clever in releasing daring new aesthetics, I doubt things have gone this far.
Anyway, back to the 5-Series.
It’s rather slab-sided and the rear end does not match the front. In fact, the rear end reminds me of when Mercedes first introduced their simplified and much rounder rear ends in the mid-2010s. As Mercedes have maintained this design language, the new 5-Series seems more obvious as an imposter.
Whilst a proper car designer may be able to explain in much greater technical detail what makes the 5-Series feel disjointed, one of the key issues I can see is the gloss black trim that covers the lower sections of the sides and rear.
This is quite a new fad for BMW, first being most pronounced on the i4 and the new G42-generation 2-Series. For what reason BMW have decided to make this part of their new design language, I cannot say. But it does not look good. The main issue is that the gloss black sections are angular and do not follow any established straight lines, unlike a traditional two-tone paint scheme.
As a result, the gloss black look like a poorly designed ‘racing livery’ or wrap that someone that lacks a good eye may create. Also, if the black side skirts are in fact a clever optical illusion; an attempt to reduce the visual ‘heft’ of a car, then again they are not a good sign. If designers make a car so visually chunky that they need to employ these tactics then surely that’s almost an admission of guilt.
Ah, but its BMW right. No matter what they do, they always pull it off with such conviction, grabbing the automotive masses by the scruff of their necks and shouting ‘look at it!’ to the point where we all, from fatigue, accept our fate and that BMW have again introduced something strange looking.
We’ll get used to it.
Kerbside 