As a BMW owner since 1992, I thought they lost the plot from the E90 3 Series up to my current F30 3 Series, & considered them marvellous but unattractive cars.
Then along came the all conquering SUV from all manufacturers & suddenly my F30 looks svelte, compact & pretty attractive to me!
I gather most current SUV BMW’s are still considered pretty much market leaders for performance, handling & comfort. Some here may disagree but one thing is almost a given.
Modern BMW’s are probably the ugliest vehicles on the road. They face some very stiff competition but continue to be the market leaders in looks. As a big BMW fan, it really pains me to say this.
Very nice. A friend of mine back in the late 70’s or early 80’s had a lovely BMW 1602 in white with the Martini stripes. It was quite a small 2 door but very pretty and would look tiny up against modern BMWs.
I think they are quite good looking and Renault seem to have done well in producing smaller EVs like the Renault 4 and 5 that are functional but stylish. The new EV Twingo looks funky too.
I wasn’t a big fan of the Renault Scenic when I test drove one. It’s not a bad car I just did not like the interior much, it’s just personal choice.
Must say I have been pleasantly surprised by the X5 - much better quality than I had expected and, I suspect, the tail end of a generation. Likely the next gen X5 will have reduced material quality as we have seen with recent models - if only the prices reflected this!
I think there are significant cooling demands from the battery packs and running gear - hence several EVs aren’t able to offer up a ‘frunk’- jam packed with EV kit.
I was recently told by BMW, Audi & Mercedes sales persons that the reduced interior material quality, evident in all three, is due to the manufacturers having invested billions in EV’s that they can’t sell in the numbers they thought they could.
They have therefore all embarked on very substantial cost cutting, immediately evident in the interior quality.
However, I would be surprised if this cost cutting extends to the mechanical quality of their vehicles.
I went from a pretty (IMHO) Mercedes E250 coupe (2013j to a rather bland looking BMW X3 M40d.
However , the BMW is a far better car. The magnificent 6-cylinder engine and auto gearbox are far superior and the handling is pretty good for a fairly large SUV. It’s also more suitable for my rural location with 4-wheel drive.
Still great vehicles, shame about the looks (which must play a large part in lureing potential first time BMW purchasers into showrooms in the first place).
I too am a long-standing BMW owner. I have owned several 3 and 4 series since 1994, never bought another make since. They are probably not as attractive as they used to be but, in my view, the i4 is good looking from all angles (except perhaps full frontal) and the quality of the interior remains (relatively) luxurious. What’s more the performance, ride and comfort are outstanding and the hatchback makes it relatively practical. I am not fan of SUVs, although the new iX3 seems likely to be a significant commercial success.
I’m sure that is the case - the Europeans have been whacked by development costs and relative lack of demand. By hook or by crook, the Chinese are grabbing significant market share, particularly as EVs aren’t becoming regarded ever more as ‘white goods’ allowing brand loyalty to slide.
Considering these three manufacturers grabbed huge market share by nailing the concept of quality of their cabins and touch points it seems counter intuitive to allow the bean counters to torpedo one of their USPs. That and what seems a huge hike in prices may prove a damaging cocktail for some/ all of them.
Interestingly the new IX3 is cheaper than the outgoing model, much better spec and I have not heard that the interior feels cheap. R+D may finally be delivering lower EV manufacturing costs? Still not cheap of course but progress of a sort, and pretty unusual these days.
Interior quality is good compared with all current vehicles. It’s just not as good as it was 5/10 years ago.
Also sticking the bottom 1/3 of a flat screen TV across the dashboard in all vehicles, & scrapping most switches, must represent a huge cost saving. In my opinion it hugely detracts from the cabin ambience the luxury German car makers have developed over many years to increase the appeal of their vehicles.
For twenty years, I was a devoted Mercedes customer. However, a noticeable decline in build quality and a relentless cycle of mechanical issues ultimately ended that loyalty. My final vehicle proved to be the breaking point: over a five-year period, it was in and out of the service center nearly every month, with one repair attempt alone taking four months. I finally said, “That’s it. I’m done.”
This is my new Chinese EV. That is jam packed with technology and safety. It’s still surprising me after 4 months in how clever the Chinese thought of everything.
Perhaps a more relevant question was; why didn’t they make us any money? My brother was in Ford management until 6yrs or so ago. I blame him.
Their EV strategy is a mess. Re-badged VW platforms in Explorer, Capri, now R5/Micra rebranded in a new Fiesta. Took them years to wrangle an EV model out of the Puma. I think they have given up on Europe really.
Probably knew him. Some really good engineers but the European management are really not in charge………pretty much any LL2 V.P in Dearborn HQ had more clout than the CEO of Europe, or any European V.P was just a puppet. The U.S had no clue about the European market, very sad.
