| BMW completely redid its flagship
model, the 7 Series, in 2009 and battles the Mercedes-Benz
S-Class in the luxury department. Chris Bangle is gone as BMW's
chief designer and so goes his 'butt' with him. The Mercedes has
been refreshed but not completely overhauled yet. Still, it
remains one of the benchmarks in the primo luxury sedan
segment. |
| 2010
BMW 7 Series |
vs |
2010
Mercedes-Benz S-Class |
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| A Mercedes grille will always look
better than a BMW's. This is a prime example. The BMW's grille is
oversized like a fat kid's flared nostrils. The headlights
aren't as nice as the S-Class either which employs LED's to give
it a high class look. The Merc's floating LED's on the bottom
side air intakes are an especially nice touch. |
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The S-Class looks beautiful all
around and throws in some sportiness into its design. If it were
a little smaller, lighter, and performance oriented, it could
easily pass off as a sports sedan. The BMW however has a the
twin kidney grille pushed forward giving it an unfortunate look.
The rest of the design isn't bad but isn't spectacular either.
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| BMW's always keep their lines
straight and clean. For instance, the rear door's straight line
looks better than the S-Class's curved line over the rear
fender. Aside from that, the BMW is moderately plain while the
S-Class adds fender flares to give it a more aggressive
demeanor. |
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Finally. The 'Bangle Butt' is gone that made so much controversy
on the last generation. The new 'butt' is better but kept
moderate as to prevent the same backlash back in 2002. The taillights vary from the usual LED bulb variety and look nice with
an uncluttered design. Only the bottom reflectors look out of
place.
The taillights were revised and are now a one-piece design.
Ironically, the Benz has a resemblance to the old 'Bangle Butt'
with a trunk lid that's not flush with the rear silhouette.
The two level design isn't nearly as bad as the old 7 series
though and the S-Class actually pulls off the look. Everything
else is nicely integrated. The only caveat is the Benz's front fenders
which can look
off at this angle. The extruded curve would've looked better if
it were sharp-cornered to match the rest of the car. |
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