BigMike

Lexus/Toyota really bites BMW designs big time... It seems they just decided to go after being a BMW-look-alike as much as possible without getting into any lawsuits.

As much as I hate Lexus/Toyota, I really think the new BMW 7 needs more work--just doesn't look 'cool' enough...

timewa

Most comments are negative so far. And even after a couple of days I'm also still not enthousaistic about the F01.

There are some nice features but to me it looks more like a very modest evolution and I think I like the E65 facelift better.

Then again, when the E60 came out I really did NOT like it, I wondered how BMW could have designed such an ugly car. And now I have one and I love the design, so maybe it just needs some time to get used to.

JetBlack5OC

Exactly you stated the difference from the E60 launch reaction.

The E60 was like nothing BMW had designed before, people couldn't grasp the concept. They then decided, lets just call it ugly.

The new F01 7-series is almost a step back in terms of design. It is very bland. Nothing on the car fits together. This car is getting killed for its horrible looks and step back in exterior design, YAWN.

tex_phil

I really like the whole look of the new LS, its very nice.

Heloha

I guess it's just a matter of time till Hundai steals the design too!

igor

What a confusion of colours in the instrumental dials :thumbsdown: What for is the blue lighting in the central cluster instead of traditional amber which is anyway still present elsewhere?

TMQ

I took out my 2008 7 series brochure and compared them with the photos of the new 7. I think the new 7 is more aggressive - both the front lights, rear lights, kidney grille, and side profile. The side profile is executed the best. Very sleek, clean, flowing, unlike the current 7 with a character line for decoration only.

Regarding the big front grille, it's taller compared to the current 7 and the CS concept. For a big sedan, maybe it's OK. the front lights take on the E60 direction and are fine by themselves, however together with the upright grille, they don't match well together.

The rear is also a mix of design elements. The rear reflectors are fine, but when matched to the rectangle tailpipes look quite out of place (i.e. very crowded). With the round tail pipes things look better, however the tail lights are too big - too much red, especially at the lower outer edge where it begins to wrap around. Adding the horizontal chrome bar and it all look busy and out of place for a big executive sedan. Lexus LS gets the job done well - conservative, simple, and almost elegant - like the BMWs of the 90's.

When the current 7 came out in 2002, it received a lot of criticism for its design also - but it's for more its new design language (flame surfacing, high rear deck, the shape of the lights, etc.). This time, I'd say it'll be criticized more for the lack of a cohesive theme.

Interior wise, the current 7 is an evolution of the X6. It's well done and not much surprise there. It's much better than the current 7 design.

Personally I think the E60 is the perfect size and would never bother looking into a full size car. I hope the F10 has better designs.

JetBlack5OC

Why the hell did they put some hideous chrome sidemarker on the car? Looks straight off Ebay.

If someone bought chrome sidemarkers on Ebay and put them on their E60. They would get blasted to no end on this site.

Same goes for that hideous chrome trunk trim, what the hell?

I don't like how the tail lights wrap around the car, they have a weird bubble look to them. Not exactly clean lines.

BMW-ALPINA

I think it looks great, but i don't understand why BMW don't use white turn lights anymore. White turn lights looks so much better than boring red. I think we have to wait for the facelift white LED turn lights or some after markets to make the rear perfect...

Rudy

The new 7 does not have red turn signals -- it has amber LED's which can be seen in one of the videos posted here:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=57686