@Glos Guy I remember you saying you’d jump at the x3 if it ever came on the scheme, would love to hear your thoughts on the new design that’s just been announced an hour ago, I feel like they’ve really ruined the exterior, who knows it might sell so badly that it’ll end up on the scheme interesting also now bmw are separating their i cars from the petrol version, so the ix3 will be a different design, its own car if you like
I’m not a huge fan of BMWs new stying direction. In almost all cases, I think that their new models aren’t as attractive as the ones that they replace. For example, I prefer the look of our 2021 X1 to the new X1/iX1. I’ve got used to the front and side profile now, but I still think that the rear is very awkward. The rear of the X2/iX2 is better, but the car itself is impractical. My car of choice would be an X5 and I’m in the frustrating position of being able to afford to buy one, but my wife cannot get into it and the split tailgate is a pain for loading a wheelchair. All is not well there though, as it had a minor facelift last year which IMHO doesn’t look as good as the pre-facelift model (the headlights are now too narrow for the size of the car IMO) and the standard leather has been relegated to an option.
I tend to reserve judgement until I see new cars in the flesh though, as sometimes I recoil in horror at pictures of new models (which you are looking at in one dimension) but when I see the car on the road it looks much better. An example is the new 7 Series, which I thought looked awful in photos. I saw a non-MSport model on the road the other day and it was a seriously imposing looking car. In fact, my wife thought it was a Bentley or Rolls Royce. It certainly had as much road presence as a Bentley and looked far better than it does in photos.
There are, however, some BMWs that look as ugly in the flesh as they do in photos, and I’d count the iX, XM and X7 in that category, although I still think that the ugliest BMW ever made remains the original i3 😂
Given how brilliant petrol BMWs are to drive and their near perfect blend of performance, economy and refinement, I’d put up with some dodgy looks in order to get another one, but sadly that choice is no more for Motability customers. I didn’t like the two BMW EVs that I had on all day tests, but doubt that we will see any decent petrol cars come onto the scheme now, other than the tiddlers. I can’t see the X3 appearing (old or new models) so I think the best I can hope for is the X1 PHEV. It would still be a compromise, but I think I’d prefer that to anything that is currently on the scheme.