22 May 2009 - 15:00
Nouveau niche
See more 5-Series Gran Turismo pics
Thought the BMW X6 was weird? This one’s going to really make your head hurt, then.
This is the 5-Series Gran Turismo. We saw the concept version back in February, but this is the production model, set to go on sale in the UK this October.
What the hell is it? Good question. Ostensibly, it’s the third variant of the 5-Series, after the saloon and estate. Beyond that, you’re looking at something that genuinely sits in an all-new segment. Problem is, we have no idea what to call that segment.
It’s big, we know that. BMW says the 5-Series GT combines the rear legroom of a 7-Series with the headroom of an X5, along with estate-like boot capacity and the versatility of an MPV. It rides higher than the standard 5-Series – though not as high as the X5 or X6 – and features sliding rear seats: two of them if you opt for ‘Executive’ trim, three if you don’t.
Confused? It gets better. The GT has a Skoda Superb-style ‘double boot’, which allows you to either open it fully – like a hatchback – or just pop the lower section, like a saloon.
In the styling department, it’s more conservative than some of BMW’s recent efforts. There’s still the big kidney-grilled front end – expect to see the same face on next year’s 5-Series – and an X6-style coupe stance, but less of the angular surfacing we’ve come to expect from the barn of Bangle.
It’ll be launched in the UK with the choice of three engines: the three-litre twin-turbo petrol from the 535i, the 4.4-litre V8 petrol from the 550i and, most relevantly to the UK, the lovely straight six diesel from the 530d, which’ll whip the big GT to 60mph in just under seven seconds. All three engines will come with BMW’s new eight-speed automatic gearbox – as seen in the new 7-Series – as standard.
So what do you think of the 5-Series GT, Top Geareans? We’re really keen to hear your views – is it a neat way of sidestepping the anti-SUV sentiment, or simply a niche too far?
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how many more niches are there??????????? what was wrong with normal estates or saloons? why dont they spend there resources on developing a proper car instead of this ungainly thing! Because of course this is exactly what we want in the middle of a recession to cheer us up, another waste of space goint to clog up the roads!!
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pointless - thats alll i wanted to say but apparantly i needed at least 10 characters to post this........ lol!
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I think this will fit very nicely in the seioursly un-cool section of the cool wall.
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@top gear : it's "nouveau riche" and not niche ... and if it's a trick on words it sucks.
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OMG, Its UGLYYYYY!!!!!!!!! Whats wrong with its front? It looks really weird... kinda funny... but more weird... did i mention ugly?!!!
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OMG, Its UGLYYYYY!!!!!!!!! Whats wrong with its front? It looks really weird... kinda funny... but more weird... did i mention ugly?!!!
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pointless.
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8 Speed ? I already think 7 speed gearboxes are over the top. My wife has a Golf 6 with the 7-speed DSG - too many damn gears. I think the 6 that my E60 5 series has is perfect. No more, no less. As for the GT itself, sure, why not. Not for me, but I can see it appealing to enough people.
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So its a 5 series Hatchback made to be as fugly as possible? Roofline reminds me vaguely of a Citroen C4 5 door, looks a lot better on the Citroen though.
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@titou-svs650 You my friend, are an idiot, actually, that might be a bit harsh. While it is "nouveau riche", the play on words is clearly a correct, and quite good one. The term "Nouveau" means "New", and obviously "Riche" is replaced with "Niche", and because this is a new, and very strange, Niche, then the play on words from "nouveau riche" to ""nouveau niche" is not only fine, but good.
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@titou-svs650 You my friend, are an idiot, actually, that might be a bit harsh. While it is "nouveau riche", the play on words is clearly a correct, and quite good one. The term "Nouveau" means "New", and obviously "Riche" is replaced with "Niche", and because this is a new, and very strange, Niche, then the play on words from "nouveau riche" to ""nouveau niche" is not only fine, but good.
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P.S. Sorry for the double post (now a third in a row), my browser is being a pain in the arse.
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The 1-series is bad looking, This car is even worse. Well done BMW.
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It's BMW's Vel Satis!!
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My family has had BMW's since 1972 and we are simply astonished as to how confusing the current BMW lineup is and why some of their cars (i.e. X6, 5-Series GT, X5M/X6M, and 1 series Coupe) exist. BMW has always been about the ultimate driving machine. M versions of the X5 and X6 violate this concept. I understand market pressures and public cries for new vehicles, but the fact of the matter is that these niche models have been absolute garbage because they stray too far from the original BMW mantra of being the ultimate driving machine.
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It's a big saloon made smaller by sawing off the boot.
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Its a bit of a marmite car. You either love it or hate it. I hate it. But with the way the X6 sold it wouldnt suprise me if this does the same. If not, it could be a complete failure like the Renault Avantime, which was also pointless (my maths teacher has one). Which means that if no one buys it it will be cool, like the Avantime. I hope people buy it. Obviously the Avantime's much better though.
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Its a bit of a marmite car. You either love it or hate it. I hate it. But with the way the X6 sold it wouldnt suprise me if this does the same. If not, it could be a complete failure like the Renault Avantime, which was also pointless (my maths teacher has one). Which means that if no one buys it it will be cool, like the Avantime. I hope people buy it. Obviously the Avantime's much better though.
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sorry i clicked it twice
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well.....it's nicer looking than the six series??.....no, no it's not. maybe it'll grow on me? you know, like a rash.
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I don't think its great, I don't think its crap. I'm sure it is well made and drives great, but I'm completely underwhelmed. Why oh why BMW, did you choose to build this wonky looking knock-off instead of the M1 Homage or 1 series clubsport?
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this is the UGLIEST (car?) i have ever seen in my whole life. i would rather drive in vw beetle than this heap of JUNK. somehow bmw always manages to disapoint me, oh sorry i think it disapoints everyone, except maybe people who just want to show of that they are rich...lol :)
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This is just a car for indecisive people! Oh god, do I want the saloon or the estate? Or do I just want an X6? Oh crap, no. Ok, er, I'll have a saloon AND an estate! I know what segment this is. It's a Mercedes R-Class rival in the "I was bored one day and combined our entire range" segment. Mind you, it's not nearly as ugly as an X*. Some will call it conservative, but I think it's both a good mix of 7-Series cues and a nice evolution of the 5-Series look at the same time. Of course I don't like that stupid roofline, but how else do you combine a saloon and an estate for no reason?
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Russian im sorry but i think you have a horrible taste of cars
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rustymx5 (is that even possible?), I agree with you. Why combine their entire range into this lump when Bavaria could easily rival the top-selling Audi R8 and upcoming Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG? Build the M1 Hommage BMW. We know you probably will anyway. So do it now please. And if the 1-Series tii Concept is appearing in so many new video games, surely we'll see that soon too?
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How can BMW justify this as being proper luxury. I can only consider it luxury if I can even look at it. The new Lamborghini Estoque looks brilliant and from every angle it gets better looking. With this however, it looks nice from the front and then goes downhill from there. Sorry BMW, but you should give styling another go. I don't know what this car is (a saloon or an estate) and to be honest, I don't think the car knows either.
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How can BMW justify this as being proper luxury. I can only consider it luxury if I can even look at it. The new Lamborghini Estoque looks brilliant and from every angle it gets better looking. With this however, it looks nice from the front and then goes downhill from there. Sorry BMW, but you should give styling another go. I don't know what this car is (a saloon or an estate) and to be honest, I don't think the car knows either.
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^ "Ostensibly, it?s the third variant of the 5-Series, after the saloon and estate." So it's both.
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BMW has lost it. This looks like a smashed version of the X6 series, which undoubtebly looks dumb as well. Where is the executive gentlemans car? This looks more like a chubby Kia - sorry to say so.
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UGLY just like the new Porsche
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The rear end looks like the Mk II GS 300, which was woeful. As is this.
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please not again, first the x6 rubbish then the tiguan, Q5 rubbish please just stop this shit. I've only been delighted at one niche they discovered new and that is the 4 door coupe thing with the cls, rapide and estoque. Now that was a proper idea but bmw should just leave it. They are quit literally the "masters of disasters"
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'Ve have to create niche ja! Ve'll call it zi Uber-luxury-sporty-hatchback-canoe-limousine-utility-orbiter-lunar-landing-ferry-vehicle klass.'
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Ah, for the back end BMW employed the designer from Ssangyong or whatever the hell they're called.
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Its wired but bmw allways gets away with it like the previous 7 series.
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Utter shit.
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It reminds me of a Ssangyong reject sitting in a dump somewhere in Seoul.... The sad thing is in Asia, as long as its got that white and blue prop on the bonnet, it will sell....and those imbeciles stepping out of it will inevitably be someone wearing the latest Prada shades in the middle of the night looking all important and smug....
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i didn't exactly dislike the X6 (ok i loved it, sorry) but this is just awful. awful! i mean the X6 looks good (to me) because of the lower roof in the back which turned a fat SUV into a more dynamic looking car. so i guess here they tried to make the X6 look even more dynamic. no wait, that would be a standard sedan... i think the marketing people went crazy after the merc CLS (which is still, by freaking far, the best "niche" car). no, that one looks like a fat panamera. and the panamera itself looks fat and ugly in the first place. So to sum up, it is: a-useless b-ugly as hell c- it WILL sell, because some people have money and very, very bad taste.
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Sad, very sad... BMW is for "fast, agile". Even SsangYong Rodius is better choice...
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I think it looks nice. Everyone saying it looks ugly, you will probably change your mind when you see it in real life.
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It's always good to see new innovations specially during these harsh times, about the looks .like most new bmw designs it'll take time to adjust your eyes to it but any way it IS different
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man thats ugly........
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I will change my mind when I see it in real life. I already bought a shiny new hammer to smash the first one I see in. When I see it I'll probably wish I'd got an axe. So I got an axe as well. We'll see how it goes.
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That is uglier then a bulldog chewing a wasp.
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Whatever niche... I don't think the target market buy it because it's belong to this or that niche. They buy because it's what they want, individually. Just like X6 and X5! After all the comments, they just make BMW sells more cars and make more money! And talking about individuality, this is about what I've been long dream, a car (I really mean car) that is very versatile at the back reclinable seats.
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Kill the X3, X6, 5GT, X1. These cars are simply pointless. Then, add the BMW CS, this car is the answer everyone's been asking. Everyone wants a low slung, wide 4 door GT. All the other manufacturers are doing it: Mercedes, eventually Audi, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati.
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I thinks it's a brilliant step by BMW to (apparently) have moved their design studio to China enabling them to be a huge step ahead of the competition in this "emerging market". It's just a bit unfortunate that they sell this pile of junk ousitde of China too. This things redefines ugly..... it's worse...... it makes a Fiat Multipla look good.
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why did BMW built this car ? race with CITROËN C6 , Yes I win !
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For some reason, I sense BMW secretly want to make vans but don't have the guts to go ahead and do it so they have to sort of disguise in with a bonnet. If they feel a billion or three Chinese all want chubby-looking luxury MPV's then they can just go ahead and sell them that. But please don't pollute your own brand with this tripe. And to think they canned the M3 CSL 'cos they don't think there's demand for it... yeah, I can see thousands lining to buy one of these...
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what is it with bmw and coupe-style 4x4s? the x6 is probably one of the most ugly looking things ever, and this isn't great either
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what is it with bmw and coupe-style 4x4s? the x6 is probably one of the most ugly looking things ever, and this isn't great either
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The arse is fat, the wheels are small and even the guy driving it in the promotional photograhs looks as if he'd rather not be seen dead in one. Don't get me wrong, it's a BMW so it'll probably sell millions. Money and taste rarely go hand in hand. This is just like the new U2 album which came out earlier this year. Everyone is trying to "adjust" to it but nobody will come out and say 'Bono mate, I know you've been around a while and you did do a bunch of great records but this latest one has a grand total of two good tunes in it. And quit smoking so you don't sound as if your cords are scraping against one another.' So here it goes. 'BMW mate, er... thanks for the new Z4, the M3s and the original 6 series, but lately your design policy of sticking a pen up a baboons bottom and exciting it with treats hasn't really worked. The 1 series sucks. The X6 sucks even more. Just when we thought a car couldn't suck more, you come up with this. What the hell is going on?'
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I like it. There it is I have said it. 5 series hatch back, i want one, even though its not cool, and its a BMW Mondeo, and the colour they choose for the publicity shots is hideous. Atto
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Y BMW , BUT Y THIS? want more space buy a alphard! just too ugly
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the 5 series GT is the spitting image of the vauxhall cavalier hatchback my company inflicted on me in the early 1990s. btw, pranged the cavalier and ended up in an Astra GTE 16V (brute) via a 205 GTI 1.9 - what a totally awesome car; i'll never forget my first (insane) drive across Battersea bridge and along Embankment.....
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At least it's not quite a full scale SUV and the front and side profiles aren't too bad, but that has to be the ugliest arse since the Ssangyong Odius, sorry Rodius. Oh for the good old days of good-looking Bms with a decent dashboard. Bangle has a lot to answer for!
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Trust BMW to build cars of a beauty that makes your eyes ache and wish you never see another.
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It`s a Maxi
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what the.... car sales are plummeting, governments are pressurising car companies for greener and smaller cars, and bmw, a clever car company, builds a large, un-eco, not-that-fast car that has a nonexistant target customer... intelligent.
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Its not that bad, is it? Well, I'd rather get this then the estate version. Sportier looks? Standard options are good enough thank you...
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Its not that bad, is it? Well, I'd rather get this then the estate version. Sportier looks? Standard options are good enough thank you...
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the guy that its driveing it could use a top hat and it wouldnt matter, for a sport car... should have less head room than a kangoo
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this car is even uglier than the porsche panamera!! i thought that was impossible, but yet again bmw have managed to make one of the ugliest cars on the market!
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Welcome everyone to the 7-series estate (sort of). I know it's ugly as hell and all, but it's genious. It's kind of like with the Rolls Royce Phantom and the 7-series beemer: they are really the same car, but Rollers are sold in seperate dealerships so that their image doesn't get spoiled by the cheaper 7. Now they offer a 7 series estate, but call it a 5-series GT, so as not to spoil the flagship model's image. I've always hated all german cars, but I can't help but admire such clever moves...even though the result could be something as ugly as that.
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No its actually the 5th varient of the 5, they forgot to mention the 6 and X6. Actually, they should do a pickup with the platform as well, or maybe a tank, or a double deck bus, or a van, no actually what we need is a 5 series zamboni. PS: can't wait for the M version
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What the hell was BMW while their were doing this... it is pretty but...pointless
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UGLY and pointless. enough said
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Smart comments, but did I miss something? Isn"t asking a Brit about his opinion on a car a bit pointless. At least the Germans managed to maintain several very successful car companies. All the British manage to build independently is junk....sorry, but despite always nagging about German cars, the Brits are going to be the first ones lining up to buy this thing.
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What should I say?! BMW had gone crazy! What happen with the sporty looks?! Where are they? Now i see at the front something like the Mitsubishi Lancer(the lining between the head lights and the grill), but its ugliest version, and at the back the new SUV/MUV/Sh*tUV version of X6. So what's next?! A sporty 3 door saloon with a little bit of flavor of a dune buggy and some unique ideas from the trucking, for the cock ones.
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That car is born from Teutonic approach with its immanent "welt-angst" to idea of human mobility. Result, let say, is... painful.
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I've heard of hybrid but this is ridiculous...
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Why, dear lord why?
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It's hideous just like the last 5-series and it's got a grim interior as usual nowadays with BMW.
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it has 8 gears???? 8? wot the hell does it need 8 for? so audi has 6 gears, merc has 7 and bmw has 8?? is this sort of like the power competition??? or is it a bit like the how big is ur dik??? and did i mention it was ugly?? well i have now.
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From a design point of view it looks like they have put a straw in the back of an 5series touring model and pump it up right to the point where it´s about to burst.Or maybe they found this while cleaning up Chris Bangle´s office- who knows. It looks even worse than that infamous Mercedes R thing. Also the extended head room comes with quite a twist- i think. You´ll look like a goldfish in a giant bowl riding down the street or a Koi if you´re wearing a fancy suit.
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well i don't like the face.
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Can we introduce a rule whereby anyone who calls a car ugly has to provide a picture of their face & their car?
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Maybe BMW is selling too many cars? Need to slow it down a bit.... so they make this. makes perfect sense!
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As one of the posters mentioned above, a marmite car. I think I like it actually. I do think they (most 'luxury' car manufacturers) have big engines and a bunch of parts that they're trying to make into new cars. But then with a sensible (i.e. non-TG'esq) engine this would be a Zeppelin I suppose. Nothing can be worse than an X6. Can it?
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The Germans must have had one too many pretzels dipped in beer.
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oh god, not again this is just horrid, yes, worse than an X6. Definitely. However, its exactly what the X6 should have been....a more practical, roomier and slightly taller saloon. Only they got that wrong by giving it four seats, a tiny interior and just stupid looks. The X6 has grown on me a bit though....help!!
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It looks like Japanese hybrid crap, errrr car... But they forgot to put the electric motor in it. So... Cool, as cool as they F1 car...
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If you just stop thinking about niches, this is quite a fine car. It is big without being a van or SUV, it offers a lot of creature comfort and I'm quite sure it drives well. As for looks... I aczually like the idea of sitting inside a car, so there is no need fpr looking at it...
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why the BMW do this...........I really can't understand....I think that this car is very orrible in particular the front..... :(
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It's not a CAR and It's not a SUV....what the hell is this....nothing
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ugliest f*ing car i've ever seen. No, wait! ugliest f*ing thing i've ever seen.
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Gross. A complete swamp-donkey of a car. What the hell are BMW smoking?
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Bavarian motor works definitely get ssangyong-ized. Only as to the looks, understood, not for the utility values (npi). Funny behaviour of a top rated global company.
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Great car. Can't see anything wrong with an exec hatchback, especially as saloons are rubbish if you need to put anything in the boot. Niche car spotting is a good motorway game anyway...
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Buy a CLS or an XF instead.
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Is it on me?! I feel like it's on me...
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This is one of the ugliest cars I have ever layed eyes on.
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This is one of the ugliest cars I have ever layed eyes on.
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Assuming the driver is not a midget (thank you, R. Kelly, for that useless associated memory. I'll never forget that now), this car is really a bit on the 'way too big' side of the scales. A 5-door exec saloon the size of West-Berlin is just superfluous. Especially when the styling is of the 'please, don't notice me' school of design. No good for Birmingham, no good for Monaco.
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Oh dear this is what you get when you get when you put a Ssangyong and an X6 into a room with moody lighting, a little too much wine and I'll stop. Still look on the bright(er) side at least they made the X6 look better now more people will want to buy the X6M oh that's really wrong :( I really hope it never comes to Australia
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BMW's take on the minivan maybe. if you look at it like that its genious.
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its a sedan, suv , estate , and mpv rolled into one.It looks quite bad
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You know, it will be a gamble. I hated X6 the time it arrived, but now I can`t get my eyes away from it. The same was with current 5-series. The only bad is - the newest seven series. Compared to what was just before it, it is unnecessarily modern. I mean, with 7-series, you got to maintain some level of conservativism in design. But yes, after "what the hell is that? No, serioulsy: what the hell is that?!" one starts looking at X6 as something pleasant for eyes. I hope, maybe in time passing, this new "je ne sais qui" will also start looking appealing...
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This car is aptly named GT for Great T#*d. ugly, sad looking and pointless, not to mention irrelevant to the brand. i thought BMW would have learned from the Merc's R-Type failure.
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After something like the X6 this was more or less expectable. They always raise cars and call them Allroaders. We face the reverse of that process here. This is an X6 Onroader, or watherver.
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After something like the X6 this was more or less expectable. They always raise cars and call them Allroaders. We face the reverse of that process here. This is an X6 Onroader, or watherver.
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does anybody else think that the front lights look very similar to those of an evo x?
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@Mistersimon Yep, that just about sums it up.
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Is this car necessary at all? An 8 speed auto, is that really necessary? The thing that worries me is that when we all saw the new 5 Series way back when it came out we thought it was awful and now it looks well, so will all cars in the future look like this 5 series GT and will we actually like them then too?!
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If I never see one of these on the road, I will have seen too many!
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Aaah BMW - occupying the car-buying ground that once only Rover occupied; purveyors of automobiles to the terminally undiscerning. Witness the number of tiny orange women and "men" with hair product piloting 1-series around, or yummy mummies (they call themselves that) in X5s, not to mention the reps who clog up our roads with 320ds. 5 series gran turismo? Will be bought by the sort of middle aged management tw*ts without the imagination to get beyond "B" in the What Car? index. What's worse is THEY don't have to look at the thing. Offer a £20,000 scrappage deal on it when new...
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@Isaac: which one had the bag over its head, you think? @StisIrishCousin: no, it still looks bad to me. Like it's got issues 'we don't talk about'. @flossy: Whatever they call themselves, the world at large calls them MILFs. Somewhat undeserved perhaps, but it sounds rather more appropiate. Increase in wealth equals decrease in good taste, well known fact. BMW must be doing quite well then. They predicted their pandering to Southeast-Asian taste some years ago, in order to please those markets. This is it I guess.
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Very ugly! It looks like a Toyota.
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Whats wrong with BMW designers...??? can you tell me please!!!
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BMW design is to americanised, and thats a bad thing
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South Africa, X 6 was not that welcoming when it enters the market, but now it has gained some popularity. Anyway, good luck for BMW marketing team with a new 5 series gran turismo
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Excluding the face, not a great looking car. You have to give credit to BMW though, and Mercedes for that matter, for both having the balls and character to develop unusual cars.
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Mercedes CLS all the way.
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A bad idea that has been very well executed. Same as the X6 then.
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mazel tov it's a camel !
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Like the X6, this is the answer to a question in which nobody asked. Unless they put some sort of a 2.0 L Bio-Diesel Engine in it, it won't sell. Flop flop flop!
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It looks chunky and heavy. As for a new niche? I think VW already created that niche with the 1st generation Dasher/Passat 4 door with rear hatch, Audi Avant and the VW Quantum. It has an ugly front end. I paid more attention to a current 5 Series Saloon the other day, its not a great looking car either.
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I loved the 3 Series Touring, so why not a 5? I disagree with the rear end treatment. Otherwise, bring it on!
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I lie the new BMW's... They can look a bit pointless, specially at this stage in economy and bla bla bla... The new BMW's are for people with an open mind. Forget the ordinary, we've seen too much of that. Is time for brand new stuff, and BMW is doing just that!
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I lie the new BMW's... They can look a bit pointless, specially at this stage in economy and bla bla bla... The new BMW's are for people with an open mind. Forget the ordinary, we've seen too much of that. Is time for brand new stuff, and BMW is doing just that!
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I lie the new BMW's... They can look a bit pointless, specially at this stage in economy and bla bla bla... The new BMW's are for people with an open mind. Forget the ordinary, we've seen too much of that. Is time for brand new stuff, and BMW is doing just that!
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I like the new BMW. It is more Practical than a 5 series saloon and estate. The production version looks better than the concept and doesnt look any different from the side as the saloon. It looks better than other BMW's out there!!!!!!
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It looks like a 3 series after passing through a very large colon.
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The first niche was the X5 because if you really want to go off road you use a Land Rover or Toyota even Mercedes had the G class for serious off roading nit the ML. Then the X6 came along and like the R class it will remain because they do not want to admit they are not niche products they are folloies like the Renault Avantine. Remember BMW brought us the leaning motor bike and the enclosed bike and they were also flops, sorry, niche products. What next the BMW cabbage? Mercedes appricot? Time to shout KINGS NEW CLOTHES!
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Come back Albrecht Count Goertz. Please. http://www.madle.org/og05bmw507j57.jpg Each successive generation of BMWs gets progressively uglier, with the 507 marking the high point of a wave that has been receding ever since. This is why everybody hate BMW drivers. Its not because of the badge, or the expense of ownership: its because BMW drivers are sitting in a very nice place, whilst subjecting the rest of the world to about 14 feet of ugly.
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Its design is one of the eye catching ones on market. Even though it is up-lifted semi station 5 series, it still looks nice. Also the interior especially the material and design concept is excellent. The problem is that, who is going to buy it ? Someone who is in between BMW X6 and 5 Series Sedan ? I am sure that there is a niché market for this car but does it worth to invest on this car and extend the product range.
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The problem with premium sedans like E Class and 5 Series is that they became boring despite their new designs and space age high technology. Consumers are looking forward to see something different but do they really wish to buy something different? Mercedes R Class, Audi Allroader family are major example of wrong decisions of automotive industry. On paper and with market analysis, this kind of niché can be very profitable but from consumers' side, do really wish to buy something which they cannot able to position it on their mind.
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5 Series GT; a light SUV, more sportive 5 Series, something new (So I should buy it then I could be different than others). It is very hard to define a clear meaning for consumers especially for niché vehicles. BMW is taking a big risk, even bigger than the X6.
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It's a coupe, isn't it? Looks like a Morris Marina coupe!
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Russian commented on this article
22 May 2009
very very beautiful,as it is similar to the Porsche Panamera. P.S.-translate with Google.
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