Following in the footsteps of Audi and Mercedes, BMW has adopted the ‘Russian Doll’ design; wherein every product basically looks the same. It feels like the cars have taken the ‘twinning’ concept way too seriously. For instance, it is hard to differentiate between the Audi A4, A6, and A8 if not for their lengths. And, this design approach is getting more and more common for brands. Maybe they use it as a ‘brand recall’ strategy, but it is getting out of hand. So, finally, BMW has decided to put an end to it.....finally

It’s Time For The Change

BMW’s Group Design Chief, Adrian van Hooydonk, said that in future, the cars will bear a resemblance to the other family members, but will have their own designs. Speaking to Go Auto Australia, he said, “You will see here X5, 8 Series, Z4, 3 Series – I think you begin to see that while they are part of the same generation of cars, the same form language, they each have a stronger character and identity of their own, while cleaning up significantly also inside and out,”

Not As Easy As It Sounds

People criticize mot automaker's design language nowadays, especially for being so similar to other models in the lineup. But changing this is easier said than done because automakers try to follow the same design language so that people can recognize the brand at first glance – brand recall is more important than model recall. Not to mention the fact that aerodynamics and play a major role in these cars and it needs to be taken care of when designing it. So, all-in-all, we should probably cut these automakers some slack in this department.

Designers Need Complete Creative Freedom

Designs have to be approved by the executives, aka the big-shots; it’s not just the designers who determine what a car looks like. On that note, BMW did a good job in making the new 3 Series look different from the 5 Series.

Conclusion

Hope to see BMW stick to this ‘distinguishing policy’ and let the creative minds provide us even better-looking cars? Are you okay with the Russian Doll theme amongst automakers, or are you a prophet of change as well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Further Reading

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 BMW 3 Series.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW 8 Series.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW X5.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW Z4.