The BMW iNext Points To the Future Of The Automaker's Electric SUVs

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Sep 17, 2018

The concept's appearance leaves a lot to be desired

BMW’s plan to introduce 12 all-electric cars by 2025 took a big step forward when the German automaker officially unveiled the iNext SUV at a Lufthansa hanger at JFK Airport in New York City. The New York unveiling was one of four stops for the iNext in a global tour that started in Munich, Germany. From Germany, the iNext traveled to New York aboard a Lufthansa cargo plane. The SUV also has stops in San Francisco, California, and Beijing, China, before returning home to Germany.

If the BMW iNext points to the styling direction of BMW’s future electric SUV, then color us confused.

The SUV’s front section, in particular, is the source of the sore spot. To be more specific about it, the SUV probably has the worst interpretation of BMW’s signature kidney grille that I’ve ever seen. As if the grille isn’t unmistakable enough on its own, BMW decided to supersize it to ridiculous levels. That’s a big grille, and even saying it doesn’t do justice on how horrible it looks. To make things worse, the sheer size of the thing ruins what is otherwise a strong design concept from BMW. The thin headlights look sharp. The panels look clean, a product of the flowing style that BMW appears to have adopted in designing the concept SUV. The fake air intakes are functionally non-existent, but they do help create depth to the SUV’s design.

The side profile of the iNext doesn’t stand out, but that’s ok. The thinner-than-usual B-pillars look fascinating from afar. It gives an extended glimpse of the SUV’s interior. The wheels will grab your attention, too, but only to the point when you understand that those are strictly concept versions. It’s the same story in the rear. There are notable design elements — the thin taillights and a rather curious rear bumper with two massive-looking fake exhaust pipes.

It’s possible that the production version of the BMW inept is going to look nothing like the concept version. For the sake of the concept version that we just saw, let’s hope that BMW departs away from it in a big way. It’s not the worst concept design the German automaker has come up with, but it’s not going to be anybody’s favorite anytime soon, either.

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