What I find interesting is when people curse the black plastic bits in the W223 but then the S8 covers the whole dashboard with it. Yes, it has an integrated screen but it's full-frontal black plastic including the center console and parts of the door trim. Add the laggy MMI and aged virtual cockpit. Their new dashboards (A6/Q6 e-tron) are even worse IMO. That said, they are solid, capable cars.

 

Someone posted an article in the M5 forum that BMW is making changes to the design department. I don’t think it said BMW is ousting Dukec, but it mentioned they are moving away from his designs. I’ll try and find the article.

Also, Audi’s new interior design is a tragedy. Audi’s always had clean and functional interiors that were aesthetically pleasing, but not anymore. They went overboard with the screens and it looks like a Frankenstein in the new models.

 

I like Audi's interior design aesthetic; don't like the black plastic. Also agree on the old part; it's gone stale now.

I know without question, when I got in the S580 for the first time, it felt modern, new, and I wanted that. Same ol, does not work for me when I'm dropping ching; I need reasons.

 

I actually like the look of the new M5 although the new 5 series daylight running light layout is odd. BMW has a long history with their angel eyes defining the aggressiveness of their front-end but the new ones (just like the X5) just don't do it for me. But the rest is bold and works for the wagon and sedan. Just the weight gain is unforgivable for a performance sedan...

 

I like the look of the M5 as well but I think his other designs have been a lot more polarizing. But in general, he has not been well received by the BMW community from what I can tell. It’s like Bangle 2.0.

 

I seriously considered the S8, they drive great...to me it just feels really old, the interior feels dated, the infotainment is really small and slow, the exterior of the car feels very Volkswagen and generic...nobody would see one on the road and say "thats $140,000"

They are incredibly well made, the quality feels a step up from the Mercedes but the Mercedes and the 7 Series both just feel much fresher and more special.

 

Here is the mention about the change at BMW. It’s found in this thread https://g90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2129623&page=2 But the article link with the quote no longer works.

 

Here’s a Reddit post from yesterday that mirrors the one from the M5 forum about BMW design changes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BMW/s/3aPgjdgSzf

 

There's a lot of angst over the angel-eyes and I agree with it; the newer design is ok, but in no way better. I've got the new design on my car, and you can color me displeased. It's baffling to me that they would change a nearly universally liked design element, that has been around long enough to have become (arguably) iconic for the brand.

If you take a similar example, say pop up headlights, there were good reasons to move away from them. In Corvette land the pop-ups were considered somewhat the same way the angel-eyes were at BMW, but the designers could point to the fact that they had to take a hit on the test cycle for them, they created issues with NVH, increased build costs, and they were a point of failure. Like it or not, at least they had that foundation under their feet when they moved away from them.

Under BMWs feet, you have arrogance as the primary facilitator to thank for the change. Arrogance is not a good hill to die on.